We Love GMOs and Vaccines

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We Love GMOs and Vaccines is a Facebook page started by Stephan Neidenbach, and run by UC Hastings Law Professor Dorit Reiss. The page shares memes and articles about GMO technology, pesticides, agriculture, and vaccines. The page often shares content from Skeptical Raptor, Science-Based Medicine, Unbiased Science Podcast, SciBabe and similar accounts that also promote GMOs, and pesticides. The page's "about" section description reads, "We are fans devoted to promoting biotechnology and exposing those who wish to demonize it."[1]

In July 2015, Neidenbach posted to the group GMO LOL on Facebook expressing thanks for the "..amount of people going after the antis now..." comparing it to when he started the We Love GMOs and Vaccines Facebook page. "Wow. When I started We Love GMOs and Vaccines 1 1/2 years ago I was just home trolling when I was sick with mono for a month."[2]

In July 2016, founder Neidenbach detailed a conflict he had with Erin Elizabeth, the Owner and CEO of Health Nut News, in a post on the We Love GMOs and Vaccines website, "The image that brought the queen of anti-vaxxers to her knees." Neidenbach describes how he "baited" Elizabeth into using his full name with a meme making light of the suicide of Dr. Jeff Bradstreet, and used an "alternate account to post the image, so my personal one was not put in time out by the Facebook “bots”."[3]

On July 17th, 2016 Kevin Folta shared his blog post about the incident on Facebook with the caption, "What is happening today on GMOLOL and WIGMOV is awful. Have we learned anything from them?" In the comments he says, "...harassing people, inciting group action to take down websites... that's off base." The blog post, "Disgusted With Science Advocates" has since been deleted. [4] In a later blog post Kevin describes the page this way, "WLGMOV pushes buttons, piles on some snark, and also shares information that is consistent with the scientific literature." He also states, "This is not to say that I agree with the way that WLGMOV chooses to communicate all ideas. I too find some of the presentations of low caliber and offensive. One post recently caused me tons of personal grief with people I care about and communities I professionally serve."[5]

In August 2016, the We Love GMOs and Vaccines page was removed and then subsequently restored by Facebook, prompting Neidenbach to write an article published by the Genetic Literacy Project, "Facebook bows to anti-science activists, shuts down ‘We Love GMOs and Vaccines’" where he states, "My criticism of the anti-biotechnology movement has caused some absolutely terrible people to try and silence me." and the page removal is described as an "example of anti-GMO and anti-vaccine censorship." [6] Neidenbach also co-wrote an article with Alex Berezow, a Senior Fellow at the American Council on Science and Health "Facebook is Censoring Science and Journalism." Neidenbach and Berezow write, "Facebook is now censoring science pages, journalists, and groups seeking social support."[7]

The We Love GMOs and Vaccines page and its founder have been embroiled in many disagreements with organic food activists, Lyme disease patient advocacy groups, journalists, and academics.[8] [9] [10]

Neidenbach transferred control of the We Love GMOs and Vaccines website to Dorit Reiss in 2020.[11] The association of the We Love GMOs and Vaccines founder with Reiss goes back to at least 2015 when she was interviewed by Neidenbach for the "Americans for Science" podcast on the topic of vaccine mandates.[12]


Articles and Resources

Past and Present Page Administrators and Moderators

External Articles

Related SourceWatch Articles

References

  1. ↑ We Love GMOs and Vaccines, Facebook https://www.facebook.com/welovegv
  2. ↑ S. Neidenbach, GMO LOL, July 13, 2015 http://web.archive.org/web/20200906154440/https://www.facebook.com/groups/GMOLOL/permalink/621338168006167
  3. ↑ We Love GMOs and Vaccines, Stephan Neidenbach "The image that brought the queen of anti-vaxxers to her knees.", July 13, 2016. https://archive.is/R14Eh
  4. ↑ Kevin M. Folta, Facebook, "Disgusted With Science Advocates", July 17, 2016. https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1052236838187961&id=712124122199236
  5. ↑ Illumination 2.0, Kevin Folta,"Silencing Unpopular Thought with Swarm Complaints", August 5, 2016. http://web.archive.org/web/20201005190711/https://kfolta.blogspot.com/2016/08/silencing-unpopular-thought-with-swarm.html
  6. ↑ Genetic Literacy Project, Stephan Neidenbach "Facebook bows to anti-science activists, shuts down ‘We Love GMOs and Vaccines’", August 2016. https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2016/08/04/facebook-bows-anti-science-activists-shuts-love-gmos-vaccines/
  7. ↑ National Review, Alex B. Berezow and Stephan Neidenbach, "Facebook is Censoring Science and Journalism", August 31, 2016. https://www.nationalreview.com/2016/08/facebook-censors-science-journalism-removes-pro-gmo-page/
  8. ↑ The Disinformation Chronicle, Substack, "Launched by Monsanto-Loving Middle School Teacher Stephan Neidenbach, Hate and Disinformation Thrive at “We Love GMOs and Vaccines”", September 21, 2021, https://disinformationchronicle.substack.com/p/launched-by-monsanto-loving-middle
  9. ↑ Sick of it All, Censorship or Consequences, August 2016. http://endocriminal.blogspot.com/2016/08/censorship-or-consequences.html
  10. ↑ December 6, 2015, GM Watch, "We love GMOs and vendetta" https://www.gmwatch.org/en/news/latest-news/16581-we-love-gmos-and-vendetta-2
  11. ↑ The Disinformation Chronicle, Substack, "Launched by Monsanto-Loving Middle School Teacher Stephan Neidenbach, Hate and Disinformation Thrive at “We Love GMOs and Vaccines”", September 21, 2021, https://disinformationchronicle.substack.com/p/launched-by-monsanto-loving-middle
  12. ↑ November 22, 2015, Americans for Science, Episode 2, "Vaccine Mandates" https://soundcloud.com/americansforscience/episode-2-vaccine-mandates
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