I have been carrying this document around for a long while.
It presents a cogent explanation for the sarcasm,insults, and
bullying,which occurs on this newsgroup from time; something
in which certain unsavoury characters are expert and as a
consequence suppress free discussion.
It argues there is a nefarious influence exerted by wealthy
pharmaceutical corporations operating through public relations
firms whose posters monitor newsgroup activities in order
to protect their own corporate interests.It describes how
they operate,the techniques they use,and how they can
be recognised.
In publishing it PeterB does us a great service.
My reasons for presenting it now are threefold:
firstly it is appropriate in the current climate of opinion
secondly, we are all entitled to know
and thirdly time marches on as they say so I'll pass
the baton to anyone who like me think we should all be made
aware of it from time to time.
Please read it and judge for yourself.
[quote]
WARNING: Industry is Blogging These NewsGroups to Impact the Public
Discourse on Matters of Public Health
To : All participants and readers of sci.med, misc.health.alternative,
uk.people.health, talk.politics.medicine
Please be aware that many comments and responses posted to this forum
are not those of casual posters interested in an honest exchange. A
number of individuals with ties to industry are attempting to shape
public thinking about the risks of mainstream medicine while attacking
the benefits and validity of natural medicine. I refer to these
individuals broadly as "Pharma-bloggers" (see footnote). For obvious
reasons, pharma-bloggers on usenet don't promote a specific company or
product, as might be the case with standard "blogging" on a weblog, but
there is a common thread between industry blogging in a web blog and
industry participation in a newsgroup: both are done under the pretense
that the poster is not professionally affiliated. Most of these people
are likely to be associated with a PR project whose "blogging" efforts
are underwritten anonymously by the media or marketing groups of
industry. They are not difficult to identify due to specific patterns
in their posting. Please familiarize yourself with these tactics so
you can identify them.
See:
http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/2003Q1/monger.html
See:
http://emord.com/stories/cherish.htm
What to look for while participating in usenet newsgroups:
1. Pharma Bloggers on usenet use intimidation, mockery, and insults to
silence those who express belief or interest in natural medicine. They
actively discourage a scientific discussion and disrupt ongoing
discussions that explore alternative treatments in healthcare.
2. Pharma Bloggers on usenet attack those who question the
effectiveness of mainstream medicine, asserting that disease-management
"healthcare" is the only viable form of treatment. Their comments are
frequently embedded in pseudo-scientific jargon, but without supporting
scientific documentation.
3. Pharma Bloggers on usenet post the majority of their responses
simply to bury the comments of others; they also strive obsessively to
have the last word.
4. Pharma Bloggers on usenet are much faster at posting than casual
participants; they almost always respond first to a new thread,
question, or observation.
5. Pharma Bloggers on usenet use a "pile on" tactic to create an
aura of the "consensus view" in an effort to isolate posters who
disagree with them. You will experience this if you express a belief
in natural medicine or holistic healing. You will also see this tactic
used more often than any other.
6. Pharma Bloggers on usenet refute numerous quality studies published
in major medical journals showing the benefits of natural medicine
applied in naturopathic healthcare, including nutrient supplementation,
exercise, stress reduction, biofeedback, accupuncture, accupressure,
reflexology, and other approaches. You can find the science supporting
a variety of natural medicine methods at
http://www.newstarget.com.
7. Pharma Bloggers on usenet frequently refer readers to
"quack-busting" websites designed to attack natural medicine approaches
and their proponents. Under the guise of "consumer protection," the
extreme bias of these promoters belies their true motives and reveals
their ties to industry.
8. Pharma Bloggers on usenet rely on junk science references to support
their attacks on natural healing methods. They decline to provide
meaningful scientific references in support of their defense of most
conventional treatments. Since most conventional medicines are either
marginally effective, unproven, or dangerous, it is not suprising that
purely anecdotal or observational studies (usually sponsored by the
drug makers) are the only "science" available to them.
9. Pharma Bloggers on usenet assert that conventional medicine is
"evidence based," however the lack of corroborating science disproves
that claim. Chemotherapy drugs, for instance, are unproven in the
majority of cancers, yet FDA permits these drugs to remain in use as
"experimental trial" medications, as has been the case for more
than thirty years. For most cancer patients, there is no proven
benefit in the use of these expensive and toxic chemicals.
10. Pharma Bloggers on usenet ignore iatrogenic studies that show the
dangerous side effects of prescription drugs (ie., at least 100,000
deaths annually), as well as a 20% recall for all previously approved
drugs. They also ignore hundreds of studies showing a disease
relationship to use of such drugs and other unsafe medical treatments.
Tip: If you find yourself engaging a poster whose defense of mainstream
medicine is unusually dramatic in tone, or inexplicably vicious toward
others, and if that response is an attempt to attack natural medicine,
you can be sure you have stumbled upon a PR grunt whose mission is
preventing a critical mass of consumer awareness about disinformation
regarding matters of public health. Unfortunately, there are more of
these individuals posting to usenet on a daily basis than almost anyone
else, which is why I am posting this alert. If you find it odd that so
few people on health-related usenet newsgroups are expressing an
interest in natural medicine, it isn't because they aren't there, it's
because they have been intimidated into silence. The pharma-bloggers
have over-run the various newsgroups with their industrial brand of
dogma, mockery, and ridicule. Many casual posters are simply
frightened away, which is the objective of these PR-sponsored media
grunts.
* Comment on objections about use of the word "blogging" in this
newsgroup
>From Wikipedia:
"An internet forum is not a blog (technically speaking), but a blog can
function as an internet forum. Internet forums typically allow any user
to post (into the discussion). Blogs typically limit posting to the
blogger or to the blogger and approved others. The distinction between
blogs and forums is sometimes gray. Sites such as Slashdot, Indymedia
and Daily Kos combine elements of the two...many bloggers differentiate
themselves from the mainstream media, while others are members of that
media working through a different channel. Some institutions see
blogging as a means of "getting around the filter" and pushing messages
directly to the public. Some critics worry that bloggers respect
neither intellectual property nor the role of the mass media in
presenting society with credible news."
[snip]
PeterB
[END QUOTE]
Old Bill.
PeterB's WARNING. 
Linear Mode
