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'''Rebecca Goldin''' was the director of research at both [[Statistical Assessment Service]] (STATS) and the [[Genetic Literacy Project]] and Associate Professor of Mathematical Sciences at [[George Mason University]], who is now affliated with [[Sense About Science USA]].<ref name="Goldin">[http://math.gmu.edu/~rgoldin/ Rebecca Goldin "Rebecca Goldin"], George Mason University, August 29, 2008.</ref> She joined STATS in September 2004.<ref>Statistical Assessment Service, [http://www.stats.org/about_staff.htm "Staff"], Statistical Assessment Service website, accessed August 2008.</ref> Reporters with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that [[Statistical Assessment Service]] was a stealth defender of the chemical industry that did not disclose funders and was associated with [[Center for Media and Public Affairs]] (CMPA) which had contracted with tobacco companies.<ref>Meg Kissinger and Susanne Rust, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, August 22, 2009 http://archive.jsonline.com/watchdog/watchdogreports/54195297.html/</ref> The [[Genetic Literacy Project]] has been noted for its attacks on reporters and for funding hosting conferences secretly funded by industry to promote GMO agriculture and the safety of glyphosate.<ref>Paul Thacker, The Progressive, July 21, 2017 http://progressive.org/magazine/how-the-biotech-industry-cultivates-positive-media/</ref> In an investigation of [[Sense About Science USA]], Liza Gross with The Intercept wrote, "Sense About Science does not always disclose when its sources on controversial matters are scientists with ties to the industries under examination."<ref>Liza Gross, SEEDING DOUBT How Self-Appointed Guardians of “Sound Science” Tip the Scales Toward Industry, The Intercept, November 15, 2016 https://theintercept.com/2016/11/15/how-self-appointed-guardians-of-sound-science-tip-the-scales-toward-industry/</ref> Gross continued, "And the group is known to take positions that buck scientific consensus or dismiss emerging evidence of harm. When journalists rightly ask who sponsors research into the risks of, say, asbestos, or synthetic chemicals, they’d be well advised to question the evidence Sense About Science presents in these debates as well."<ref>Liza Gross, SEEDING DOUBT How Self-Appointed Guardians of “Sound Science” Tip the Scales Toward Industry, The Intercept, November 15, 2016 https://theintercept.com/2016/11/15/how-self-appointed-guardians-of-sound-science-tip-the-scales-toward-industry/</ref> ==Work for the Statistical Assessment Service== Goldin edited The [[Statistical Assessment Service]] webpage devoted to undermining the science linking sodas with obesity while attacking the benefits of taxing soda.<ref>STATS website, accessed through WayBack Machine, https://web.archive.org/web/20130823072940/http://www.stats.org/sodaindex.html</ref> Research from UCLA has found a direct link between soda and obesity.<ref>University of California, Bubbling over: New research shows direct link between soda and obesity, September 17, 2009 http://healthpolicy.ucla.edu/newsroom/press-releases/pages/details.aspx?NewsID=30</ref> NPR has reported that the World Health Organization urged countries to tax sodas. Dr. Douglas Bettcher, director of the WHO's Department for the Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases, says that "consumption of free sugars, including products like sugary drinks, is a major factor in the global increase of people suffering from obesity and diabetes." Blecher stated, "If governments tax products like sugary drinks, they can reduce suffering and save lives. They can also cut healthcare costs and increase revenues to invest in health services."<ref>Allison Aubrey, Tax Soda To Fight Obesity, WHO Urges Nations Around The Globe, October 11, 2016 https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/10/11/497525337/tax-soda-to-fight-obesity-who-urges-nations-around-the-globe</ref> Researchers at UCLA later confirmed the importance of a soda tax, writing, "Educating people to drink fewer sugar-sweetened beverages only works to a point. After that, taxation on an unhealthy product — along with putting those taxes toward public health programs — would help far more.”<ref>Ryan Hatoum, Do soda taxes help curb obesity?, UCLA, October 26, 2016 https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/do-soda-taxes-help-curb-obesity</ref> Writing for the [[Statistical Assessment Service]] Goldin critiqued a story by ProPublica’s Charles Ornstein on opoids. The story also appeared in the Washington Post.<ref>Rebecca Goldin, STATS accessed by WayBack Machine, ProPublica fumbles painkiller story; Seattle Times scores touchdown, January 31, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20140702203653/http://www.stats.org/stories/2012/attack_painkillers_misusing_statistics_jan31_12.html</ref> Goldin wrote, “the non-profit investigative journalism outfit ProPublica decided to lambast prescription opioid use and administration with a shocking but misleading statistic. ‘The news about narcotic painkillers is increasingly dire,’ said ProPublica. ‘Overdoses now kill nearly 15,000 people a year — more than heroin and cocaine combined.’” Goldin also criticized CDC’s director, Dr. Thomas Frieden for stating that America is “awash” in opioids.<ref>Rebecca Goldin, STATS accessed by WayBack Machine, ProPublica fumbles painkiller story; Seattle Times scores touchdown, January 31, 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20140702203653/http://www.stats.org/stories/2012/attack_painkillers_misusing_statistics_jan31_12.html</ref> Multiple media outlets later reported how payments to drug makers helped to fuel the opioid crisis.<ref>Maggie Fox, NBC News, Many Doctors Get Goodies from Opioid Makers August 10, 2017 https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/americas-heroin-epidemic/many-doctors-get-goodies-opioid-makers-n791281</ref><ref>Katie Zezima, The Washington Post, Study: Doctors received more than $46 million from drug companies marketing opioids August 9, 2017 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/08/09/study-doctors-received-more-than-46-million-from-drug-companies-marketing-opioids/?utm_term=.761726761906</ref> Purdue Pharma, the maker of Oxycontin, later announced it would stop marketing opioids to doctors.<ref>German Lopez, Vox, The maker of OxyContin will finally stop marketing the addictive opioid to doctors February 12, 2018 https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/2/12/16998122/opioid-crisis-oxycontin-purdue-advertising</ref> ==Research Director for the Genetic Literacy Project== At an archived page of the [[Genetic Literacy Project]]<ref>Genetic Literacy Project, Team and Advisors, accessed through Wayback Machine https://web.archive.org/web/20120903084332/http://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/our-team/</ref> and on several pages where she contributed, Goldin is cited as the Research Director for the [[Genetic Literacy Project]] and Director of Research for the [[Statistical Assessment Service]].<ref> Rebecca Goldin, Genetic Literacy Project, Bacterial genetics helps defeat antibiotic-resistant "super-bugs" February 4, 2013 https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2013/02/04/bacterial-genetics-helps-defeat-antibiotic-resistant-super-bugs-2-2/</ref><ref>Rebecca Goldin, Genetic Literacy Project, Privacy and our genes: Is deCode’s DNA project ‘Big Brother’ or the gateway to a healthier future?, June 24, 2013 https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2013/06/24/privacy-and-our-genes-is-decodes-dna-project-big-brother-or-the-gateway-to-a-healthier-future/</ref> The [[Genetic Literacy Project]] is operated by [[Jon Entine]] to promote GMOs. Bloomberg and The Progressive have reported that lawyers suing Monsanto state in court documents that companies funnel money to the [[Genetic Literacy Project]] in order to "shame scientists and highlight information helpful to Monsanto and other chemical producers.” <ref>Peter Waldman, Bloomberg Businessweek, Does the World’s Top Weed Killer Cause Cancer? Trump’s EPA Will Decide, July 13, 2017 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-07-13/does-the-world-s-top-weed-killer-cause-cancer-trump-s-epa-will-decide</ref><ref>Paul Thacker, The Progressive, July 21, 2017 http://progressive.org/magazine/how-the-biotech-industry-cultivates-positive-media/</ref> ==Other Information==