WorldNetDaily today responded to reports that the Somali-American population in Minnesota has witnessed an outbreak of measles after anti-vaccine activists warned community members, which once had a higher vaccination rate than the state’s population at large, that vaccines are connected to autism.
With the headline, “Midwest Muslim Measles Outbreak Nearly Doubles,” WND connected parents’ refusal to vaccinate their children to Islam, rather than the efforts of the anti-vaccine campaigners who recently pounced on the community and exploited fears about autism.
While WND mocked “Muslim Measles,” the right-wing outlet has actively promoted anti-vaccine conspiracy theories.
Just last month, one WND writer insisted that “pro-vaccine advocates do not hold the high scientific ground,” denied ties between outbreaks of diseases like measles to unvaccinated children, and endorsed “natural immunity based upon zinc” over vaccines.
WND last year ran an article, “Stunner! Whistleblower Claims Feds Hiding Vaccine-Autism Link,” which quoted WND columnist Lee Hieb, an author of numerous anti-vaccine posts, saying that the vaccine against measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) is dangerous. Another WND article announced that “Measles Vaccines Kill More Than Measles,” which is a nonsensical comparison given that the vaccine has been so successful in largely eradicating cases of measles—of course, people who get the vaccine aren’t dying of measles.
Rather than trump offensive rhetoric about “Muslim Measles,” maybe WND can reflect on their own anti-vaccine “reporting.”
