Current Events > Skeptoid lists the top 10 dumbest celebrities who promote pseudoscience

Topic List	Page List: 1
The Admiral 10/07/17 4:29:57 PM #1:	Check link for the audio podcast version. https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4588 #10 - Shaq and the NBA Flat Earthers Former player Shaquille O'Neal and current NBA basketball players Kyrie Irving, Wilson Chandler, and Draymond Green have all expressed their belief that the Earth is flat, but I put them all the way down at #10 because it's not clear that all four literally believe this. They may just be trolling. But whether they are or not, they do genuinely influence a huge number of young people, including some demographics where education is not necessarily a life priority. #9 - Michael Phelps I include him as a representative of the many athletes and celebrities who loudly and proudly promote cupping, the overtly pseudoscientific technique of suctioning great round hickeys into the skin by rupturing capillaries. A lot of trainers sell this because it costs nothing to administer, requires no training, and they can charge whatever they want for it; and since it's unregulated, they make a vast array of claims for whatever workout benefits they say it confers. #8 - David Beckham For more than a decade, the world's most visible soccer player has been extolling the virtues of homeopathy, both for general wellness and for the treatment of injury. He's not alone: Sir Paul McCartney, Usain Bolt, Jennifer Aniston, Cher, Cindy Crawford, and Bill and Hillary Clinton proudly talk about their use of homeopathy the thoroughly debunked and implausible treatment of disease using nothing other than dextrose pills claimed to channel the spiritual essence of some disease agent. #7 - Pete Evans Australia's top celebrity chef was a recent recipient of the Australian Skeptics' annual Bent Spoon award for pseudoscience. There isn't much he claims his recipes can't do, including "shrink tumours, reduce diabetes, cure autism, stop asthma and reverse chronic fatigue". Promoting the pseudoscientific Paleo Diet is about the tamest thing Evans does from his huge television pulpit. He advocates against both fluoridation and vaccines, claiming both important public health measures are poisonous. Notably, he has also advised people never to use sunscreen because he thinks it's harmful in the country with the world's highest rates of skin cancer. #6 - Tom Brady At a time when there is renewed focus on the brain injuries suffered by a frightening number of professional football players, it's essential to cast our skeptical eye on one of their own. Tom Brady, one of the most successful quarterbacks to play the game, is co-founder of TB12, an online company that sells every type of fitness supplement and holistic training regimen you can imagine, even the thoroughly-debunked brain training games. Notably, TB12 grew from Brady's association with Alex Guerrero who sold a scam drink called NeuroSafe claimed to protect against head trauma. Brady called it a "seatbelt for your brain". After some Federal Trade Commission enforcement actions, NeuroSafe is no longer sold, but the two partners are still united in their separation of money from hopeful athletes using pretty much the full dictionary of pseudoscientific babble. --- - The Admiral <cite>The Admiral posted [p:887992920] in Skeptoid l... [t:75854577]...</cite> <quote>Check link for the audio podcast version. https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4588 #10 - Shaq and the NBA Flat Earthers Former player Shaquille O'Neal and current NBA basketball players Kyrie Irving, Wilson Chandler, and Draymond Green have all expressed their belief that the Earth is flat, but I put them all the way down at #10 because it's not clear that all four literally believe this. They may just be trolling. But whether they are or not, they do genuinely influence a huge number of young people, including some demographics where education is not necessarily a life priority. #9 - Michael Phelps I include him as a representative of the many athletes and celebrities who loudly and proudly promote cupping, the overtly pseudoscientific technique of suctioning great round hickeys into the skin by rupturing capillaries. A lot of trainers sell this because it costs nothing to administer, requires no training, and they can charge whatever they want for it; and since it's unregulated, they make a vast array of claims for whatever workout benefits they say it confers. #8 - David Beckham For more than a decade, the world's most visible soccer player has been extolling the virtues of homeopathy, both for general wellness and for the treatment of injury. He's not alone: Sir Paul McCartney, Usain Bolt, Jennifer Aniston, Cher, Cindy Crawford, and Bill and Hillary Clinton proudly talk about their use of homeopathy the thoroughly debunked and implausible treatment of disease using nothing other than dextrose pills claimed to channel the spiritual essence of some disease agent. #7 - Pete Evans Australia's top celebrity chef was a recent recipient of the Australian Skeptics' annual Bent Spoon award for pseudoscience. There isn't much he claims his recipes can't do, including "shrink tumours, reduce diabetes, cure autism, stop asthma and reverse chronic fatigue". Promoting the pseudoscientific Paleo Diet is about the tamest thing Evans does from his huge television pulpit. He advocates against both fluoridation and vaccines, claiming both important public health measures are poisonous. Notably, he has also advised people never to use sunscreen because he thinks it's harmful in the country with the world's highest rates of skin cancer. #6 - Tom Brady At a time when there is renewed focus on the brain injuries suffered by a frightening number of professional football players, it's essential to cast our skeptical eye on one of their own. Tom Brady, one of the most successful quarterbacks to play the game, is co-founder of TB12, an online company that sells every type of fitness supplement and holistic training regimen you can imagine, even the thoroughly-debunked brain training games. Notably, TB12 grew from Brady's association with Alex Guerrero who sold a scam drink called NeuroSafe claimed to protect against head trauma. Brady called it a "seatbelt for your brain". After some Federal Trade Commission enforcement actions, NeuroSafe is no longer sold, but the two partners are still united in their separation of money from hopeful athletes using pretty much the full dictionary of pseudoscientific babble.</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
The Admiral 10/07/17 4:30:05 PM #2:	#5 - Neil Young Love his music, but not his crusade against lifesaving biotechnologies. Neil Young is emblematic of celebrities who selected that box of beliefs off the shelf at Whole Foods we talked about earlier. His music album The Monsanto Years attacks not just GMO crops but also makes absurd claims like pesticides cause autism. A lot of scientifically illiterate celebrities have joined the anti-GMO bandwagon alongside Neil Young, such as Mark Ruffalo, Chuck Norris, Jennifer Garner, Roseanne Barr, Dave Matthews, Bill Maher, Jack Johnson, Jim Carrey, and Sarah Michelle Gellar. There's even the The Hollywood Food Guild, an anti-biotech lobbying group promoted by Woody Harrelson, Susan Sarandon, Morgan Freeman, and advisory board member Moby. #4 - Scott Baio The actor has become one of the most vocal advocates of police state conspiracy theories, particularly the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre which he claims was a hoax staged by government crisis actors. He's even gone so far as to claim that the mother of Heather Heyer, the protester killed by white supremacists at the 2017 Charlottesville riots, is played by the same actor as the mother of Vicki Soto, a teacher killed at Sandy Hook. It's been suggested that Baio's disconnection from reality could be profound enough to be diagnosable. #3 - Robert de Niro The actor has turned much of his attention these days to anti-vaccination activism, repeatedly plugging the movie Vaxxed. De Niro did a lot to put Vaxxed in the spotlight when he added it to his Tribeca Film Festival, then withdrew it under immense protest. He has partnered with career anti-pharmaceutical activist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to offer a $100,000 prize for anyone who can show them a published paper showing that thimerosal in vaccines is safe. #2 - Mayim Bialik The actress is frequently lauded for her PhD in neuroscience, for her role on the TV show Big Bang Theory with its huge geek following, and for being a science ambassador and spokesperson everywhere you turn. But turn the coin over, and it turns out she is the ambassador and spokesperson for any number of flagrant anti-science groups such as the Holistic Moms Network, as well as personally harboring pretty much the full suite of typical Hollywood pseudoscience beliefs. It has been argued that while Bialik does a lot to encourage young girls to get into the sciences, her ideas about what science is are so offbeat (and in some cases harmful) that she's more likely to do harm than good. Bialik is a tireless advocate for homeopathy, home childbirth, the Waldorf method of homeschooling, and eating your own placenta. But she is most vocal about her opposition to vaccination, on the principle that it is unnatural. The views she expresses are typical of the "empowered mommy" fallacy: that being a mother gives her special insight into health questions that are superior to what the the history of medical research has found. #1 - Gwyneth Paltrow Her investor-funded company Goop sells a bewildering array of nonsense products claimed to produce magical health benefits: crystal therapy, grounding, body stickers, aromatherapies, supplements, all sold with specific health claims. She most infamously made the headlines for her egg-shaped jade stones meant to be inserted into the vagina where they can likely cause serious infection. At this writing, Goop is facing more than 50 charges for deceptive advertising for illegally claiming that their worthless products can treat, cure, or prevent specific ailments. --- - The Admiral <cite>The Admiral posted [p:887992928] in Skeptoid l... [t:75854577]...</cite> <quote>#5 - Neil Young Love his music, but not his crusade against lifesaving biotechnologies. Neil Young is emblematic of celebrities who selected that box of beliefs off the shelf at Whole Foods we talked about earlier. His music album The Monsanto Years attacks not just GMO crops but also makes absurd claims like pesticides cause autism. A lot of scientifically illiterate celebrities have joined the anti-GMO bandwagon alongside Neil Young, such as Mark Ruffalo, Chuck Norris, Jennifer Garner, Roseanne Barr, Dave Matthews, Bill Maher, Jack Johnson, Jim Carrey, and Sarah Michelle Gellar. There's even the The Hollywood Food Guild, an anti-biotech lobbying group promoted by Woody Harrelson, Susan Sarandon, Morgan Freeman, and advisory board member Moby. #4 - Scott Baio The actor has become one of the most vocal advocates of police state conspiracy theories, particularly the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre which he claims was a hoax staged by government crisis actors. He's even gone so far as to claim that the mother of Heather Heyer, the protester killed by white supremacists at the 2017 Charlottesville riots, is played by the same actor as the mother of Vicki Soto, a teacher killed at Sandy Hook. It's been suggested that Baio's disconnection from reality could be profound enough to be diagnosable. #3 - Robert de Niro The actor has turned much of his attention these days to anti-vaccination activism, repeatedly plugging the movie Vaxxed. De Niro did a lot to put Vaxxed in the spotlight when he added it to his Tribeca Film Festival, then withdrew it under immense protest. He has partnered with career anti-pharmaceutical activist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to offer a $100,000 prize for anyone who can show them a published paper showing that thimerosal in vaccines is safe. #2 - Mayim Bialik The actress is frequently lauded for her PhD in neuroscience, for her role on the TV show Big Bang Theory with its huge geek following, and for being a science ambassador and spokesperson everywhere you turn. But turn the coin over, and it turns out she is the ambassador and spokesperson for any number of flagrant anti-science groups such as the Holistic Moms Network, as well as personally harboring pretty much the full suite of typical Hollywood pseudoscience beliefs. It has been argued that while Bialik does a lot to encourage young girls to get into the sciences, her ideas about what science is are so offbeat (and in some cases harmful) that she's more likely to do harm than good. Bialik is a tireless advocate for homeopathy, home childbirth, the Waldorf method of homeschooling, and eating your own placenta. But she is most vocal about her opposition to vaccination, on the principle that it is unnatural. The views she expresses are typical of the "empowered mommy" fallacy: that being a mother gives her special insight into health questions that are superior to what the the history of medical research has found. #1 - Gwyneth Paltrow Her investor-funded company Goop sells a bewildering array of nonsense products claimed to produce magical health benefits: crystal therapy, grounding, body stickers, aromatherapies, supplements, all sold with specific health claims. She most infamously made the headlines for her egg-shaped jade stones meant to be inserted into the vagina where they can likely cause serious infection. At this writing, Goop is facing more than 50 charges for deceptive advertising for illegally claiming that their worthless products can treat, cure, or prevent specific ailments.</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
NadYobWoc 10/07/17 4:31:58 PM #3:	Solid list --- Cowboy Dan's a major player in the cowboy scene <cite>NadYobWoc posted [p:887993019] in Skeptoid l... [t:75854577]...</cite> <quote>Solid list</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
Talks 10/07/17 4:32:27 PM #4:	Ah, is the skeptoid guy out of federal prison now? --- http://i.imgur.com/gBllw.jpg <cite>Talks posted [p:887993040] in Skeptoid l... [t:75854577]...</cite> <quote>Ah, is the skeptoid guy out of federal prison now?</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
Tappor 10/07/17 4:33:05 PM #5:	Trusting a company named Goop --- Sincerely, a concerned citizen. <cite>Tappor posted [p:887993075] in Skeptoid l... [t:75854577]...</cite> <quote>Trusting a company named Goop</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
mortimerjames 10/07/17 4:37:33 PM #6:	Tom Cruise and the scientologist? --- Tell me the story about how people used to believe in the Bible - Future kid to their grandparents <cite>mortimerjames posted [p:887993272] in Skeptoid l... [t:75854577]...</cite> <quote>Tom Cruise and the scientologist?</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
The Admiral 10/08/17 2:12:50 PM #7:	Bump --- - The Admiral <cite>The Admiral posted [p:888042499] in Skeptoid l... [t:75854577]...</cite> <quote>Bump</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
Gafemage 10/08/17 2:19:37 PM #8:	Interesting... --- http://imgur.com/1EOFcjn http://imgur.com/epjd8zk <cite>Gafemage posted [p:888042870] in Skeptoid l... [t:75854577]...</cite> <quote>Interesting...</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
Antifar 10/08/17 2:21:14 PM #9:	The Admiral posted... Former player Shaquille O'Neal and current NBA basketball players Kyrie Irving, Wilson Chandler, and Draymond Green have all expressed their belief that the Earth is flat, but I put them all the way down at #10 because it's not clear that all four literally believe this. They may just be trolling. But whether they are or not, they do genuinely influence a huge number of young people, including some demographics where education is not necessarily a life priority. --- kin to all that throbs <cite>Antifar posted [p:888042966] in Skeptoid l... [t:75854577]...</cite> <quote><cite>The Admiral posted...</cite> <quote>Former player Shaquille O'Neal and current NBA basketball players Kyrie Irving, Wilson Chandler, and Draymond Green have all expressed their belief that the Earth is flat, but I put them all the way down at #10 because it's not clear that all four literally believe this. They may just be trolling. But whether they are or not, they do genuinely influence a huge number of young people, including some demographics where education is not necessarily a life priority. </quote> </quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
BignutzisBack 10/08/17 2:21:23 PM #10:	I'm not really sure about the whole cupping thing, but the most decorated Olympion in history endorsing it makes me wonder if there really is something to it tbh --- http://i.imgur.com/plA0Vg9.gif http://i.minus.com/iluvk8aR4mzC8.gif <cite>BignutzisBack posted [p:888042970] in Skeptoid l... [t:75854577]...</cite> <quote>I'm not really sure about the whole cupping thing, but the most decorated Olympion in history endorsing it makes me wonder if there really is something to it tbh</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
Link HT 10/08/17 2:24:40 PM #11:	BignutzisBack posted... I'm not really sure about the whole cupping thing, but the most decorated Olympion in history endorsing it makes me wonder if there really is something to it tbh That's a classic appeal to authority argument and holds no water. There's something to it if it can be proven, it's as simple as that. You're basically saying that there "might be something to" whatever nonsense this guy practices just because he swims fast. --- http://i.imgur.com/Tx1FX.jpg <cite>Link HT posted [p:888043148] in Skeptoid l... [t:75854577]...</cite> <quote><cite>BignutzisBack posted...</cite> <quote>I'm not really sure about the whole cupping thing, but the most decorated Olympion in history endorsing it makes me wonder if there really is something to it tbh</quote> That's a classic appeal to authority argument and holds no water. There's something to it if it can be proven, it's as simple as that. You're basically saying that there "might be something to" whatever nonsense this guy practices just because he swims fast.</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
PoopPotato 10/08/17 2:25:20 PM #12:	I feel like the flat earthers are just trolling at this point --- http://i.minus.com/i5EWBMXTN4ERv.gif <cite>PoopPotato posted [p:888043183] in Skeptoid l... [t:75854577]...</cite> <quote>I feel like the flat earthers are just trolling at this point</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
boxington 10/08/17 2:26:21 PM #13:	I wanna believe that the flat earth thing is an elaborate troll, but it's hard to tell these days --- b-bb-box <cite>boxington posted [p:888043231] in Skeptoid l... [t:75854577]...</cite> <quote>I wanna believe that the flat earth thing is an elaborate troll, but it's hard to tell these days</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
The Admiral 10/08/17 2:26:31 PM #14:	PoopPotato posted... I feel like the flat earthers are just trolling at this point Yeah, sounds like Shaq was trolling: https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/shaq-was-apparently-trolling-everyone-when-he-made-his-flat-earth-comments/ --- - The Admiral <cite>The Admiral posted [p:888043246] in Skeptoid l... [t:75854577]...</cite> <quote><cite>PoopPotato posted...</cite> <quote>I feel like the flat earthers are just trolling at this point</quote> Yeah, sounds like Shaq was trolling: https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/shaq-was-apparently-trolling-everyone-when-he-made-his-flat-earth-comments/</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
BignutzisBack 10/08/17 2:28:02 PM #15:	Link HT posted... BignutzisBack posted... I'm not really sure about the whole cupping thing, but the most decorated Olympion in history endorsing it makes me wonder if there really is something to it tbh That's a classic appeal to authority argument and holds no water. There's something to it if it can be proven, it's as simple as that. You're basically saying that there "might be something to" whatever nonsense this guy practices just because he swims fast. yes I am saying "there might be something", and TIL that Michael Phelps is the authority on cupping lol --- http://i.imgur.com/plA0Vg9.gif http://i.minus.com/iluvk8aR4mzC8.gif <cite>BignutzisBack posted [p:888043338] in Skeptoid l... [t:75854577]...</cite> <quote><cite>Link HT posted...</cite> <quote><cite>BignutzisBack posted...</cite> <quote>I'm not really sure about the whole cupping thing, but the most decorated Olympion in history endorsing it makes me wonder if there really is something to it tbh</quote> That's a classic appeal to authority argument and holds no water. There's something to it if it can be proven, it's as simple as that. You're basically saying that there "might be something to" whatever nonsense this guy practices just because he swims fast.</quote> yes I am saying "there might be something", and TIL that Michael Phelps is the authority on cupping lol</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
Gheb 10/08/17 2:32:33 PM #16:	PoopPotato posted... I feel like the flat earthers are just trolling at this point They have to be. --- S** I have to stop doing that," Gheb said, as he lay back down and died again.* - Forgotten Love Chiefs are going to win the Super Bowl <cite>Gheb posted [p:888043625] in Skeptoid l... [t:75854577]...</cite> <quote><cite>PoopPotato posted...</cite> <quote>I feel like the flat earthers are just trolling at this point</quote> They have to be.</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
Link HT 10/08/17 2:49:38 PM #17:	BignutzisBack posted... yes I am saying "there might be something", and TIL that Michael Phelps is the authority on cupping lol you're not a smart man bignutz =( --- http://i.imgur.com/Tx1FX.jpg <cite>Link HT posted [p:888044690] in Skeptoid l... [t:75854577]...</cite> <quote><cite>BignutzisBack posted...</cite> <quote>yes I am saying "there might be something", and TIL that Michael Phelps is the authority on cupping lol</quote> you're not a smart man bignutz =(</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
BignutzisBack 10/08/17 3:42:37 PM #18:	Link HT posted... BignutzisBack posted... yes I am saying "there might be something", and TIL that Michael Phelps is the authority on cupping lol you're not a smart man bignutz =( I'm not the one who's claiming Michael Phelps is the authority on an unregulated field =( @Link_HT --- http://i.imgur.com/plA0Vg9.gif http://i.minus.com/iluvk8aR4mzC8.gif <cite>BignutzisBack posted [p:888048009] in Skeptoid l... [t:75854577]...</cite> <quote><cite>Link HT posted...</cite> <quote><cite>BignutzisBack posted...</cite> <quote>yes I am saying "there might be something", and TIL that Michael Phelps is the authority on cupping lol</quote> you're not a smart man bignutz =(</quote> I'm not the one who's claiming Michael Phelps is the authority on an unregulated field =( @Link_HT</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
Topic List	Page List: 1

Current Events > Skeptoid lists the top 10 dumbest celebrities who promote pseudoscience (+) Yeah! (+)

Current Events > Skeptoid lists the top 10 dumbest celebrities who promote pseudoscience