Welcome to the Quackometer
WHAT IS THE QUACKOMETER ALL ABOUT?
The quackometer is a project based around the automation of debunking quack medicine on the web. The web is full of pages supporting dubious medical claims and inflated capabilities for cures. The freedom that the web gives us to express our views, entertain and do business also gives quacks a way to make a living by promoting nonsense treatments to unsuspecting people.
Spotting these web sites appears to be easy when you know what to look out for. If it is that easy, can the process be automated? The quackometer project intends to find out.
RECENT QUACKOMETER BLOG ENTRIES...
IPAN – Questionable Treatments for ‘PreAutistic’ Children
Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:23:41 +0000
According to the Sun and Daily Mail today, celebrity Melanie Sykes has won £50,000 on the TV game show The Cube and will be donating the money to the charity International Pre-Autistic Network (IPAN).
In doing so, the reports say she revealed that that her own son was autistic. She wants to raise awareness of autism [...]
Related posts:
- Life’s 4 Living: Audiokinetron and Lumatron Nonsense A bit of a ding dong has started up over at HolfordWatch after they questioned some of the activities of a charity called Life’s 4 Living. There is now a...
- Broccoli for Brains Last Friday, saw Trevor McDonut’s ‘Tonight with’ programme showcase Patrick Holford’s ‘Food for the Brain’ charity and its involvement with a school. The school apparently saw lots of improvements with...
- Chinese Whispers – MMR and the Press Just a few days before Andrew Wakefield appears before the GMC disciplinary body on charges of misconduct, a front page article in the Observer makes fresh claims of links between...
Burzynski Supporting Charity Loses Funding
Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:29:59 +0000
Discussing the problems posed by unconventional clinics, such as the Burzynski Clinic in Texas, has been a frustrating business. Leaving aside the direct threats from the clinic, it appears that such ventures attract followers with a religious zeal about what they do. It also is clear that the media cannot discuss the issue without framing [...]
Related posts:
- Burzynski in Court: Patient treated like a ‘Cash Machine’ Dr Stanislaw Burzynski has some problems. His forthcoming hearing with the Texas Medical Board has been widely publicised. It would now appear that he has more immediate concerns. According to...
- The False Hope of the Burzynski Clinic Yesterday’s Observer contained a full page, heart breaking story of a 4-year old girl, Billie Bainbridge, who has a inoperable and rare form of brain cancer, Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine...
- The Burzynski Clinic Threatens 17 Year Old Blogger I have been hinting that Burzynski has been threatening other prominent UK bloggers. Well, that blogger has now gone public. Rhys Morgan Rhys Morgan is a 17 year old schoolboy...
Burzynski in Court: Patient treated like a ‘Cash Machine’
Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:53:37 +0000
Dr Stanislaw Burzynski has some problems. His forthcoming hearing with the Texas Medical Board has been widely publicised. It would now appear that he has more immediate concerns.
According to the Courthouse News Service, an elderly cancer patient is suing Burzynski for allegedly ”bilking her of nearly $100,000″.
The charges are horrific and may well finish off Burzynski. Amongst those reported [...]
Related posts:
- Dr Hilary Jones Promotes Questionable Burzynski Clinic on TV There is a stark and inexplicable difference in how the mainstream media and bloggers have been covering the Texas based cancer clinic of Dr Stanislaw Burzynski. There has been an...
- The Burzynski Clinic Threatens 17 Year Old Blogger I have been hinting that Burzynski has been threatening other prominent UK bloggers. Well, that blogger has now gone public. Rhys Morgan Rhys Morgan is a 17 year old schoolboy...
- The False Hope of the Burzynski Clinic Yesterday’s Observer contained a full page, heart breaking story of a 4-year old girl, Billie Bainbridge, who has a inoperable and rare form of brain cancer, Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine...
Which? Uncovers Dangerous Advice from Nutritionists.
Mon, 16 Jan 2012 00:01:21 +0000
Having just had a baby girl and moving house, I thought I would subscribe to Which? magazine as I knew I needed to make a few critical spends over the coming months. Which? is a consumer rights organisation that publishes reports and reviews into consumer issues.
Online reviews of products and services can often be misleading [...]
Related posts:
- Nutritional Therapists Fail to Join Ofquack The Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council, Ofquack, is having an appalling start to its life. Needing 10,000 people to join its register in the first year to break even, it...
- Alleged Victim of Oxford Nutritionist ‘Detox Diet’ wins £810,000 Barbara Nash is a nutritionist based near Oxford. Dawn Page was overweight and sought the advice of Nash. It is alleged she was put on a ‘detox diet’ which included...
- Andy Burman Resigns From Ofquack Andy Burman, Chief Executive of the British Dietetic Association, appears to have resigned his post from the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (Ofquack). This news follows my recent criticism...
Why is Homeopathy Successful?
Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:35:44 +0000
Just before Christmas, Lia Burkeman and Stephanie Kramer, wrote an article for Urban Times that asked the question, “Homeopathy: Can it be a Success Story?”
To start, I would like to agree with the pair that indeed homeopathy is very successful. As a set of ideas, they have been around for about 200 years. Many thousands of [...]
Related posts:
- "Nothing Acts as Well as FairDeal Homeopathy" It looks like the campaign to clean up homeopathy is having effects! A new supplier of homeopathic remedies appears to have entered the market with the promise that “we won’t...
- Will Homeopathy and iTunes Cure AIDS? Peter Chappell (10 Canards) is a founder member of the Society of Homeopaths, he is a Fellow of the Society and has written several influential books on homeopathy. He describes...
- Quack Word #39: ‘Superfood’ Regular listeners to BBC Radio 4’s Womans‘ Hour will have recently heard nutritionist Suzi Grant extolling the virtues of so-called superfoods. Quackery, I say. But what on earth can be...
Your Perfect Homeopathy Kit for Christmas
Dr Hilary Jones Promotes Questionable Burzynski Clinic on TV
The Observer Responds – Complicity in Misinformation
Burzynski Clinic Issues a Statement
