NGOs win big by misinforming about vaccines

(Washington) An anti-vaccine group founded by US presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. made millions of dollars by sharing false information during the coronavirus crisis, an analysis of public tax records by the website revealed. ProPublica investigation.

Children’s Health Defense (CHD) raised about $46 million between 2020 and 2022 – nearly ten times its revenue from the three years before the pandemic.

CHD and four other organizations have collectively raised more than $100 million in two years.

Experts believe that these organizations have harmed public health by questioning the effectiveness of vaccination. The money raised would, according to them, have been used to strengthen their political influence in the legal field and to oppose the various health measures implemented in the United States.

Little information regarding the origin of these donations is known and the CHD did not respond to AFP’s questions.

But this report reveals “how much misinformation against vaccination and around COVID-19 has paid off,” explains David Gorski, professor at the Wayne State University School of Medicine in Michigan.

“It would be one thing if these groups did nothing but sell quackery, but they have become politically influential,” he said.

Widespread reluctance

CHD, with $23.5 million raised in 2022 alone, has become one of the leading “alternative and natural medicine” sites in the world, according to digital analytics site Similarweb.

The increase in the group’s turnover was also accompanied by an increase in the salaries of its managers.

Mr. Kennedy, known for years in the United States for spreading anti-vaccination conspiracy theories, pocketed around $510,000 as the organization’s boss in 2022 – more than double his pre-pandemic salary, the files revealed.

At 70, Mr Kennedy – nephew of assassinated US President “JFK” – has temporarily stepped away from his role with the group to focus on his presidential bid.

Under his leadership, the NGO falsely claimed that COVID-19 vaccines cause high rates of infant mortality and infertility. These theories, repeatedly refuted by AFP, however, cause widespread reluctance to vaccinate among a segment of the population and allow diseases like measles to resurface.

Another anti-vaccine group, Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN), saw its revenue skyrocket during the pandemic, from $1.4 million in 2017 to $13.4 million in 2022, the survey found .

The founder of ICAN, Del Bigtree – recruited by Mr. Kennedy to ensure communications for his presidential campaign – had also strongly criticized the measures taken during confinement.

ICAN did not respond to AFP’s questions.

“Political agenda”

Money paid to nonprofits often protects the anonymity of their donors through an intermediary, making it difficult to identify their source, experts say.

But Phil Hackney, professor of law and former official of the US Federal Tax Service (IRS), explains that these organizations could lose their status, because an NGO must “provide a factual basis” for its mission.

“These groups go against our tax code and are truly harmful,” he told AFP.

An NGO cannot legally finance a political campaign, but the funds raised by these groups have nevertheless made it possible to launch lawsuits against medical boards in several American states.

In January, for example, the CHD filed a lawsuit against the Medical Board of California to prevent it from punishing doctors accused of giving false information about the coronavirus to their patients.

According to University of California, San Francisco law professor Dorit Reiss, these charitable groups, including CHD, are among the leaders in legislative efforts to undo measures taken by health authorities during COVID-19.

Reiss has tracked more than 25 legal actions taken by CHD since 2019. Even though most have not been successful, she explains, these groups continue to promote them on their platforms.

“These activities have a blatant political agenda,” she concluded.