Isn't this also related to how the vaccines-cause-autism conversation started? The study involved only had a handful of subjects (a few of which were very unqualified), and then a big important journal (The Lancet IIRC) picked it up for the novelty.
The article mentions attention economy as in media, TikTok, etc playing a role before "community assessment." But it's not like scientists don't also gravitate towards the new shiny thing in their own ways.
Yeah. Andrew Wakefield was stripped of his medical license in 2010 for publishing fraudulent research and it was later discovered that he was paid to discredit the MMR vaccine.[0]
And yet, ~10% of Americas still believe the study. [1]
In the linked study, 10% said they believed vaccines caused autism, and while they were not asked whether they accepted Wakefield’s claims, presumably just about all who did were included within that group. 45% said they were unsure, leaving open the important question of which way they would go when faced with a choice.
In the linked study, 10% said they believed vaccines caused autism, and while they were not asked if they accepted Wakefield’s claims, presumably just about all who do were in that group. 45% said they were unsure whether vaccines caused autism, leaving open the important question of which way they would go when faced with a choice.
The article mentions attention economy as in media, TikTok, etc playing a role before "community assessment." But it's not like scientists don't also gravitate towards the new shiny thing in their own ways.