Say What? The Most Popular Health Conspiracies
A look at some myths that impact African-Americans.
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Don’t Believe the Hype! - Almost 50 percent of Americans believe in one health-related conspiracy theory and 18 percent believe in three of them, says a new study. Are you one of these people? Read more about some of the most popular health conspiracies and how falling for the okey-dokey can hurt us. —(@kelleent) Kellee Terrell
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AIDS Was Made by the Government - It’s not a secret that Blacks bear the brunt of the AIDS epidemic in the U.S., but some of us continue to believe that this is because the CIA engineered HIV/AIDS and purposely infected “undesirable” people including Blacks, gay men and other people of color. Read what really fuels AIDS in our community here.(Photo: Lin Yiguang XINHUA /LANDOV)
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Vaccines Cause Autism - Despite mounds of evidence showing that vaccines do not cause autism or other psychological issues, celebs such as Jenny McCarthy and some parents have refused to vaccinate their children. (Photo: National Institutes of Health, Maggie Bartlett/AP Photo)
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Abortion Is Mass Genocide of Black Folks - The pro-life movement uses the fact that Black women have the highest abortion rates to fuel their vendetta against Planned Parenthood by claiming they are practicing population control. In fact, these high numbers reflect the need for better access to reproductive health care. (Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
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Big Pharm and the FDA Hide Cures From Us - It’s not a secret that the money is in the medicine. Perhaps this is why almost 40 percent of Americans believe that Big Pharm has paid the FDA to hide cures for diseases such as cancer and AIDS from sick Americans to ensure billions in profits each year for selling their medications. (Photo: Johns Hopkins Medicine/AP Photo)
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Cellphones Cause Cancer, the Govt' Lies to Us About It - Another theory blamed on capitalism: A small amount of folks believe that even though the science behind it is inconclusive and limited, cellphones cause cancer and the government is downplaying it. Why? So the cellphone provider industry can continue to make billions from Americans. (Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
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Fluoride in Water Is Dangerous - Added to our water since the 1940s to prevent kids' cavities, it’s still debated whether or not fluoride is good for us. Some believe that fluoride is just a cover up for companies to dump toxins into our water supply. (Photo: Brian Hagiwara/Getty Images)
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Genetically Modified Foods Are Meant to Control Population - This one is complex, because there have been studies that suggest that consuming genetically modified organisms may cause health problems in animals. But are GMOs killing people or are they providing more nutrition for a growing world without enough food to sustain itself? Here are ways to avoid GMOs if you must. (Photo: Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
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Why Do We Believe the Worst? - Believing in conspiracy theories isn’t just a health thing — similar surveys about politics yielded similar results because with companies and power comes greed and corruption. But for African-Americans, we have a tumultuous past with the medical community that allows for these beliefs to exist. (Think Tuskegee experiments.) (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)