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Advocates of a toxic bleach fake 'miracle cure' are telling desperate people it can cure the coronavirus in thriving groups on Telegram https://www.businessinsider.com/mms-bleach-advocates-telegram-photos-child-injuries-2020-4?utmSource=twitter&utmContent=referral&utmTerm=topbar&referrer=twitter via @businessinsider
Advocates of a toxic bleach fake 'miracle cure' are telling desperate people it can cure the coronavirus in thriving groups on Telegram https://www.businessinsider.com/mms-bleach-advocates-telegram-photos-child-injuries-2020-4?utmSource=twitter&utmContent=referral&utmTerm=topbar&referrer=twitter via @businessinsider
On the encrypted app Telegram, members of a fringe medical movement are promoting a toxic bleach as a miracle cure in closed and public groups.
Their operation, active before the novel coronavirus swept the world, has taken on new urgency as more and more people seek protection from the pandemic.
Promoters of the bleach, which some call Miracle Mineral Solution, flourished on Telegram after being ousted from platforms like YouTube and Facepoop.
As the novel coronavirus started to spread around the world, the administrators of a fringe medical group on the encrypted app Telegram claimed to be in possession of a cure that was being suppressed by mainstream science.
The substance is chlorine dioxide — which they called CD, and is also known as MMS, or Miracle Mineral Solution.
The group, however, offers no proof that it works.
The group, however, offers no proof that it works.
Chlorine dioxide is a type of toxic bleach, used to clean surfaces. The US Food and Drug Administration warns that it can cause nausea, severe vomiting, diarrhea, and liver failure.
Dr. Sara Siddiqui, a pediatrician at NYU Langone Huntington Medical Group, told Business Insider that while tiny amounts of chlorine dioxide were present in tap water, the solution being advocated in the group hugely exceeded those safe limits.
"Improper ingestion of unregulated and non-dilute forms of bleach solution can cause extreme damage to cells in children and adults," she said.
In recent years it has become the focus of a large online alternative medical movement. Its adherents, without any scientific support and on the basis of largely anecdotal evidence, claim it cures a raft of otherwise incurable illnesses and conditions.
With the coronavirus now a pandemic, some are touting the substance as being preventive, and even a cure, for COVID-19
The promotion of MMS stems from the GENESIS II CHURCH, an organization founded in California in the mid-1990s by JIM HUMBLE, who claimed to have discovered that MMS could cure diseases when ingested in small doses over long periods.
Look up ties to Trump
Look up ties to Trump
The exact chemical definition of MMS is not fixed — sometimes the advocates say it is chlorine dioxide itself, and sometimes they say MMS is sodium chlorite, which produces chlorine dioxide when mixed with acid.
The internet gave advocates of MMS a platform on which to spread their claims about the substance globally.
An extensive network of advocates emerged, posting videos promoting the substance on YouTube and forming groups to discuss and sell it on Facebook.
An extensive network of advocates emerged, posting videos promoting the substance on YouTube and forming groups to discuss and sell it on Facebook.
As the movement has spread, medical authorities in countries across the world have been forced to issue increasingly urgent warnings against its use.
The FDA in the US renewed its warning last year, after a rise in reported injuries caused by the substance.
The FDA in the US renewed its warning last year, after a rise in reported injuries caused by the substance.
Siddiqui likened the effects of consuming chlorine dioxide to the effects of exposure to chlorine gas, a chemical weapon used in the World War I.
When consumed, she said, it causes irritation in the digestive tract "and can also cause burns and irritation in the esophagus, which is not meant to tolerate bleach solutions."
Following the warnings — and bans in countries including Ireland and Canada — platforms including Facebook and YouTube have prohibited the promotion of MMS.
But on the encrypted and largely unregulated Telegram app, people are able to freely promote the substance, according to information and screenshots obtained by Business Insider.
It's on apps like Telegram, where members speak in private groups with people they trust, that misinformation on the virus is spreading, experts say.
Telegram did not respond to several requests for comment.
Telegram did not respond to several requests for comment.
Telegram has long been favored by terrorists, extremists and criminals. Its CEO has resisted clamping down on dangerous material, citing freedom of speech.
Fiona O'Leary is an activist who has for years campaigned for the rights of people with autism, and against the promotion of MMS. The substance is sometimes advocated as a "cure" for autism, which is a permanent neurological condition.
She gained access to several of the pro-MMS groups operating on Telegram. O'Leary shared disturbing pictures and messages with Business Insider showing how MMS' advocates were attempting to take advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to sell the substance.
One of the groups is operated by Kerri Rivera, a longtime disciple of Genesis II. It is a private group, entry to which must be approved by Rivera or a group administrator.
O'Leary said Rivera had "been banished from Facebook and YouTube thanks to media outlets like Business Insider."
"However," she continued, "Kerri has set up shop on the Telegram platform. She operates several groups there — I've reported them many times, but Telegram does nothing.
"Kerri Rivera is also telling people that MMS can treat COVID-19. This is so dangerous, and people could die”
"Kerri Rivera is also telling people that MMS can treat COVID-19. This is so dangerous, and people could die”
An FDA spokesman, Jeremy Kahn, told Business Insider in a statement: "MMS and similar products have not been approved by the FDA to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease."
The US Environmental Protection Agency has set the safe levels for chlorine dioxide in drinking water at 0.8 milligrams per liter. Rivera's recommendations are thousands of times greater.
The exchange earlier in this article, in which a woman asked whether MMS could stop the coronavirus, was taken from Rivera's group.
In a video published in that group, Rivera claims a coronavirus infection can be prevented and cured with chlorine dioxide.
In a video published in that group, Rivera claims a coronavirus infection can be prevented and cured with chlorine dioxide.
She says it can be drunk from a bottle, sprayed into the mouth and nose throughout the day, or even loaded into a humidifier device and inhaled via droplets in the air.
"And if we do get sick, we can go into hyper mode and we can be doing everything," she said — by which she means people should take the bleach all three ways at once.
Siddiqui said people should be wary of any proposed treatment for the coronavirus that has not been through clinical trials and been deemed safe and effective by the FDA.
She especially warned against consuming chlorine dioxide. "Ingestion of any such bleach solutions in an unregulated amount would be detrimental and dangerous — especially for children and pregnant women," she said.
But it's not just COVID-19 that Rivera claims can be cured using bleach.
Rivera has for years — and with no supporting scientific evidence — pushed chlorine dioxide bleach as a treatment for autism in children, as well as a range of illnesses.
Rivera has for years — and with no supporting scientific evidence — pushed chlorine dioxide bleach as a treatment for autism in children, as well as a range of illnesses.
Some of the most shocking messages in her group are from parents, who share images of the injuries MMS appears to have caused their children, desperately seeking answers about what is happening.
Some of the images appear to show long strands of intestinal lining the children have excreted, which parents are concerned is the damage from the bleach in their digestive systems.
Business Insider has decided not to republish them.
Business Insider has decided not to republish them.
Others show rashes, as seen below.
In this exchange, a parent is told the rashes on the child's body are being caused by "detoxification" from taking MMS too quickly.
JFC
In this exchange a woman complains her son is becoming aggressive. Rivera's recommendation in response is "triple dose" and "enemas."
In this exchange a woman complains her son is becoming aggressive. Rivera's recommendation in response is "triple dose" and "enemas."
In another exchange, a parent complains their child has a fever and a cold after beginning her course of MMS.
The answer is chilling — encouraging the parents to radically increase the doses of the substance that may be making the child sick.
The answer is chilling — encouraging the parents to radically increase the doses of the substance that may be making the child sick.
Siddiqui described how ingesting a chlorine-dioxide solution or being given enemas with it would damage a child's body.
Rivera may be one of the highest-profile proponents of MMS operating on Telegram — but she is not the only one. BI has identified other groups promoting the substance on the platform, some public, or require no permission to access.
The largest is based in Brazil w 1,000 members
The largest is based in Brazil w 1,000 members
O'Leary has recorded in her blog how members of that group advocate using the substance to treat illnesses including malaria, wounds, infections, injuries to animals.
It is apparently run by a Brazilian, Leo Araujo, who shared pictures of himself with children promoting MMS.
It is apparently run by a Brazilian, Leo Araujo, who shared pictures of himself with children promoting MMS.
In response to a list of questions about his activities, Araujo told Business Insider in a Facebook message: "In the 24 years since it was discovered, no one has died from using MMS. However, many people around the world have benefited from the immunological effects .."
False
False
There have in fact been at least two deaths in the US linked to the consumption of MMS, according to a review of FDA documents conducted by Business Insider last year.
As the coronavirus has spread across the world, misinformation and fake cures have proliferated. CNN reported in March that private groups on WhatsApp were a key source of the spread of coronavirus misinformation. Telegram is another.
"Person-to-person messaging apps rely on personal connections to spread information, and also potentially misinformation," said Tom Buchanan, a professor of psychology at the University of Westminster in London who has studied the spread of misinformation on social media.
"Another issue with ..apps like Telegram or WhatsApp is that because they are by their nature private, it's very difficult to see what material is being spread, or for fact-checkers to debunk it in the same way as they can on platforms such as Facebook or Twitter."
Telegram is easy to find and download on Google Play and Apple, the two biggest platforms for apps.
It was founded by Pavel Durov, a Russian entrepreneur who has said he created it in response to political oppression in his homeland and has defended the app's encryption and refusal to police its content on the grounds of free speech. https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2018/04/17/telegram-founder-pledges-millions-fight-russian-political-censorship-a61197
Its laissez-faire policies and super-encryption have attracted ISIS terrorists,
far-right extremists
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/hope-not-hate-telegram-nazis
and drug dealers.
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/telegram-app-drugs-sell-channels-bots-crime-graffiti-dropgangs-dark-web-a8814671.html
far-right extremists
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/hope-not-hate-telegram-nazis
and drug dealers.
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/telegram-app-drugs-sell-channels-bots-crime-graffiti-dropgangs-dark-web-a8814671.html
Both Google and Apple have policies in place banning apps that are harmful and have removed several in the past year
Apple has briefly suspended Telegram in the past.
Telegram itself, after much criticism, took action to remove groups being used by ISIS to coordinate attacks.
Apple has briefly suspended Telegram in the past.
Telegram itself, after much criticism, took action to remove groups being used by ISIS to coordinate attacks.
And Apple has also in the past reportedly prevented users who downloaded Telegram using its platform from accessing certain channels.
Neither Apple nor Google responded to requests for comment.
Telegram did not respond to several requests for comment on anything.
Neither Apple nor Google responded to requests for comment.
Telegram did not respond to several requests for comment on anything.
Two wks ago: https://www.coindesk.com/telegram-hopes-it-can-still-sell-tokens-to-non-us-investors-after-court-ruling
So now I’m curious if Trump knows someone or if someone selling a fake cure using UV light has his ear.
Ahem: https://twitter.com/thomass4217/status/1253525838542319618?s=21 https://twitter.com/ThomasS4217/status/1253525838542319618
Aug 2019
FDA warns consumers about the dangerous & potentially life threatening side effects of Miracle Mineral Solution
MMS when mixed, develops into a dangerous bleach which has caused serious and potentially life-threatening side effects. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-warns-consumers-about-dangerous-and-potentially-life-threatening-side-effects-miracle-mineral
FDA warns consumers about the dangerous & potentially life threatening side effects of Miracle Mineral Solution
MMS when mixed, develops into a dangerous bleach which has caused serious and potentially life-threatening side effects. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-warns-consumers-about-dangerous-and-potentially-life-threatening-side-effects-miracle-mineral
By some estimates, MMS consumption has poisoned over 2,000 people in the United States since 2014, with 50 “life-threatening” reactions involving blood cell damage and organ failure, and eight deaths — including the wife of Doug Nash, the mayor of San Juan Capistrano, California.
Despite all of this, IAMtv, a conservative online channel fronted by Keyes, is now promoting the use of MMS, and Keyes himself is appearing in broadcasts promoting its use, including some which feature bottles branded by the Genesis II Church on his desk.
In one broadcast in October, Sisson and Keyes talked about MMS as an intervention against the pharmaceutical industry by God.
May 2019 by @BrandyZadrozny
Parents are poisoning their children with bleach to 'cure' autism. These moms are trying to stop it.
Private Facebook groups urge parents to poison autistic kids with chlorine dioxide to “cure” them. https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/moms-go-undercover-fight-fake-autism-cures-private-facebook-groups-n1007871
Parents are poisoning their children with bleach to 'cure' autism. These moms are trying to stop it.
Private Facebook groups urge parents to poison autistic kids with chlorine dioxide to “cure” them. https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/moms-go-undercover-fight-fake-autism-cures-private-facebook-groups-n1007871
“It really weighs on you, but kids are being abused,” Eaton said. “You see it. You have the choice of doing something about it or letting it go. And I’m not the kind of person who can see something like that and just forget about it.”
“My son is constantly making a gasping sound,” posted one Kansas mother who claimed to treat her adult son with chlorine dioxide
“He won’t open his mouth,” a Canadian mom wrote of her 2-year-old’s unwillingness to drink the chlorine dioxide.
“He screams. Spits. Flips over.”
“He won’t open his mouth,” a Canadian mom wrote of her 2-year-old’s unwillingness to drink the chlorine dioxide.
“He screams. Spits. Flips over.”
The groups are filled with parents who say they have tried treating their children with chlorine dioxide.
“Have not been able to get 5 year old to cooperate with enemas,” a Massachusetts mother complained
“Have not been able to get 5 year old to cooperate with enemas,” a Massachusetts mother complained
One Georgia mother posted a photo of a long thread of what looks like mucus that she said dislodged after giving her autistic son a chlorine dioxide emema. In the caption, she wrote, “It broke in half when Jojo trying to escape.”
The worst part is the comments, which suggest that the children’s adverse reactions are just proof that the chlorine dioxide is working, Eaton and Seigler said.
Chlorine dioxide — a hazardous mix of sodium chlorite and an acid activator such as citric acid — was first promoted as a miracle cure two decades ago by Jim Humble, a former Scientologist and gold prospector.
Humble, 86, claimed he’d used the chemical compound to heal malaria
It worked so well, Humble says in his book/website, that he named himself the archbishop of a new religion devoted to chlorine dioxide, branded it the Miracle Mineral Solution, and promoted it as a cure
It worked so well, Humble says in his book/website, that he named himself the archbishop of a new religion devoted to chlorine dioxide, branded it the Miracle Mineral Solution, and promoted it as a cure
Doctors warn chlorine dioxide could do irreparable harm to a child’s body, by damaging tissues in the digestive system and wreaking havoc on red blood cells.
“It can lead to kidney damage and kidney failure,” said Dr. Daniel Brooks, medical director at Banner University Medical Center’s Poison and Drug Information Center and Outpatient Toxicology Clinic in Phoenix. He called its use to treat autism “ludicrous.”
In the last 5y, poison control has managed 16,521 cases nationwide dealing with chlorine dioxide
Approximately 2,500 of those cases involved children under 12
Approximately 2,500 of those cases involved children under 12
The data showed serious side effects from chlorine dioxide poisoning in 2,123 cases since 2014.
Fifty of those cases were considered life-threatening, and eight people died.
Fifty of those cases were considered life-threatening, and eight people died.
A review of a separate database, the Food and Drug Administration’s Adverse Event Reporting System, found eight cases of serious injuries from chlorine dioxide since 2004.
The cases included a 6-year-old autistic girl hospitalized with liver failure in 2017.
The cases included a 6-year-old autistic girl hospitalized with liver failure in 2017.
2018, Jose Serrano called the Indianapolis police department to complain for the second time in weeks that his wife was making their 2-year-old daughter drink a chlorine dioxide solution in an attempt to cure her autism.
Serrano, 29, who was separated from his wife at the time, told NBC News that she had been secretly dosing their daughter in the bathroom to hide it from him and the rest of her family, who all disapproved.
She learned about the concoction in a Facebook group, according to the police report.
"She wasn't listening to anybody,” Serrano said.
"She wasn't listening to anybody,” Serrano said.
