This piece attacks & attempts to undermine a female doctor who speaks (truthfully) about how snake oil companies like Goop use pseudoscientific gobbledegook to prey on womens’ insecurities, all in the name of...feminism.

It’s bad, and baffling. Sigh. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/doctors-are-not-gods/

The framing is also an obvious strawman: ofc doctors are not gods. Few are trying to be and the proposition that @DrJenGunter has some sort of god complex bc she dares to assert her authority in public spaces is about as anti-feminist as it gets.

Also, apparently the article cites some pretty weaksauce research in its attempt to prove Dr. Gunter is not all knowing. https://twitter.com/jamesheathers/status/1200448966271348738?s=21 https://twitter.com/jamesheathers/status/1200448966271348738

Btw, this whole “take your body into your own hands, don’t listen to the experts” mantra is also exactly how people get sucked into anti-vaxxerism

Just saying not all alternative medicine wisdom is harmless woo

I am apparently very late to seeing this article and Being Mad about it so apologies if I’ve made you mad again

Addendum bc I can’t stop thinking about this: op-eds really need to be held to the same level of editorial scrutiny & journalistic integrity as other articles!!

What does that entail? I’m a former editor so I’m glad you asked!

For starters:
1. acknowledging any possible conflicts of interest up front
2. *not* misrepresenting the nature of yr story to sources
3. contacting the subject of your article FOR COMMENT before you publish

For a science-focused publication not citing anti-vaxxers or shoddy research in predatory journals to support yr argument is generally advised as well