August 9, 2019, I was contacted by Washington Post reporter Lena H. Sun. She requested an interview, which I had to decline due to travel and speaking engagements. Instead, I asked her to send me the questions, so I could respond in writing.
Considering the biased and clearly industry-favorable reporting done by Sun and The Washington Post on previous occasions, I would not be surprised if my answers are twisted or misinterpreted to support an industry narrative, so I’ve decided to publish all of The Washington Post’s questions to me, along with my complete answers. I expect The Washington Post article to be published later this week.
The Washington Post reporters are really concerned with how much money I make selling vitamins, which is pretty funny considering their owner has admitted to selling and profiting off of
FAKE supplements! What are the chances we will see those revealing details in their sleuthing?
In my response, I also confronted Sun about The Washington Post’s concerted efforts to “dig up dirt” on me and my company, as well as her failure to publish a correction to a vaccine story in which she made a provably false claim. Below, you will find correspondence to Sun in its entirety.
As noted in an August 6, 2019, HuffPost article1 by Paul Thacker, media reporters and columnists are routinely enlisted, groomed and secretly used to disseminate industry propaganda, and Sun’s reporting bears many of the hallmarks and talking points of the vaccine industry. Her questions to me have them as well.
In his article,2 Thacker highlights another Washington Post columnist, Tamar Haspel, whose blogs and articles consistently favor the GMO industry and chemical agriculture. Haspel has also become a voice for GMO Answers (an industry front group created by Monsanto’s PR firm, Ketchum). Not surprisingly, there’s now evidence suggesting Haspel works rather closely with Monsanto and Ketchum. According to Thacker:
“For many who have been suspicious of Haspel’s relationship with agrichemical giants, the documents are further evidence that she’s too close to the industry she writes about and that her prominent column at The Washington Post provides a perch to spread misleading information about agriculture and the food we eat.”
The war on health freedom is heating up
I’ve been publishing articles about the dangers of
social engineering and data collection by the largest monopolies for several years. Facebook, Google and Amazon are engaged in a dangerous attempt to control the masses through massive data collection, surveillance and censorship.
These technology tyrants are working overtime to prevent access to information that contradicts their world view and ultimate goal, driven by greed, conquest and insatiable lust for control.
While the justifications given for the current
censorship on holistic health in general and vaccine safety in particular is that of “public safety,” one must question the rationale behind
blocking first-hand testimony of vaccine damage, and bullying and maligning of victims of medical harm rather than supporting them and investigating the causes that allow for harms to occur on such vast scales.
Between the current online censorship and the exponential advancement of artificial intelligence, our ability to think independently is under immediate threat. Social engineering tactics are employed from every angle — the manipulation and control of a significant portion of the global population is occurring right before our very eyes.
There is a reason that data has become the world’s most valuable resource, exceeding the value of oil.3 As reported by The Economist in 2017,4 Amazon captures 50 cents of every dollar Americans spend online, while
Google and Facebook between them “accounted for almost all the revenue growth in digital advertising in America” in 2016.
Facebook alone makes billions by tracking every click, image, word and GPS location of its users and then selling that information to anyone willing to pay. Google, meanwhile, has infiltrated virtually every nook and cranny of our lives.
By taking over schools, it now has the means to start its extensive data harvesting right from childhood, building the most extensive personality profiles of a generation ever conceived.
And, while current censorship and social engineering efforts are focused primarily on eliminating voices that are critical of vaccines, it would be foolish and naïve in the extreme to believe it will end there.
Ultimately, the end goal is total control — they will tell you what you need, be it a vaccine, a medication, a toxic food or any other goods or services, and you are to comply, handing over your mind, body and cash, no questions asked.
Surveillance and social manipulation through censorship and “curated content” are all required for such a nonviolent yet hostile takeover to work, and all of them are currently in play, right before our eyes, behind our backs.
Big Brother joins big tech in ‘Surveillance Valley’
As reported by NBC News5 August 8, 2019, Amazon is now “developing high-tech surveillance tools” for the U.S. police force, saying it “has a duty to help police, defense and intelligence agencies.”
While there are benefits, there are also hidden drawbacks and side effects of such partnerships, the most obvious one being the expansion of government’s ability to surveil Americans without just cause.
Amazon founder and CEO Jeffrey Bezos also bought The Washington Post in 2013.6 Now, what could the owner of a massive monopoly, who has no newspaper experience, want with a newspaper?
Considering the power of collecting data and controlling information at the scale that this surveillance allows, logic will tell you that when you combine mass data collection capabilities with a massive media empire, you develop the synergistic ability to protect and further your goal — whatever it might be, from moment to moment.
Google and Facebook follow the same model — they collect data, control information and use artificial intelligence for social engineering purposes. I’ve been the target of hit pieces pushing industry propaganda for a long time, and I’ve been talking about the dangers of these technology tyrants for years.
We are now looking at the “endgame” for the continued existence of freedom of speech, freedom of thought, and not only your ability but also your very right to take control of your health. All of these basic human rights of autonomy and self-determination are under attack, and unless we defend them with everything we’ve got, we may well lose them all.
What follows are my responses exactly as I wrote them to Sun’s questions exactly as she wrote them for her Washington Post article, starting with my commentary on her attempts to extract information from former Mercola.com employees.
Confronting Sun about dirt digging and false statements
Before I answer your questions, I have a comment to make: We’ve received disturbing communications from former employees informing us of your attempts to solicit negative opinions and confidential business data from them. If you are interested in seeing the true culture at Mercola.com, the following video was recently produced by some of my employees to celebrate our 22nd anniversary.
Furthermore, in an October 25, 2017, story you
published false information about vaccines and whooping cough, which you stated does not occur in communities with high rates of immunization. We duly sent you a correction. Your response, oddly, was to
delete the false information but, to our knowledge, you did not issue a correction.
If you did publish a correction and we missed it, please advise.
This type of journalistic error being covered up and your repeated questions containing false claims and attacks on others supporting informed consent principles demonstrates a reckless disregard of the truth and adherence to fair journalism standards which include presenting opposing views and different perspectives.
Some of the claims you make about me and my company are not remotely true.
• You claim that I state “my products are better than vaccines.” If such a statement is indeed found on my website, why don’t you provide the link? To allege that I claim “my products are better than vaccines,” is false, and demonstrates a reckless disregard of the truth.
• You claim that I "
tell
people not to get vaccinated and to take Vitamin D instead.” That statement is twice false: I do not tell people not to get vaccinated, and I do not say to take vitamin D instead of getting vaccinated. Making either claim in any article you publish would demonstrate a reckless disregard for the truth.
•You infer that I make big profits by taking on unpopular positions and getting attacked by critics. I donate a significant amount of sales to nonprofit groups — none of it earmarked — to advance individual and public health by encouraging people to take control of their health and defend their freedom to do that.
Consumers have enormous power if they have the knowledge and freedom to wield it, and I urge everyone to make informed choices that improve their health and decrease their need to rely on pharmaceutical products or medical interventions that have real risks and cause tens of thousands of deaths each year, not just in this country but in countries around the world.
The Washington Post Q&A
Question: Tell us your story, how you got into medicine and natural health.
Answer: As a child I dreamed of becoming an astronaut and began my academic studies in an engineering program before changing my major to pre-med. I graduated from Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1982 and became board certified in family medicine in 1985 before starting my own practice. I answer most of these questions in more detail in this short video.
Question: How many products do you sell and how would you categorize them? What are your most popular products? Why are your products better than vaccines, as you say on your web site?
Answer: There are more than 100 different products at shop.mercola.com that include vitamins and supplements, organic fruit and vegetable powders, biodynamic foods, Alaskan seafood, grass fed beef, organic cotton clothing and pet products.
Please provide the reference regarding the claim that "my products are better than vaccines". That is a blatantly false and defamatory statement.
If you are referring to this video recorded by Dr. Joe Prendergast, he explains why he believes Vitamin D is more powerful than any vaccine. I can't find anything that resembles your false accusation.
Question: How has your business evolved? What were you selling in the 90s, mid 2000s, and later? How much do your businesses make? In the natural health space, how big of a player are you?
Answer: I started my website in the late 1990's to share information with my patients and their families. For the first three years of running the site, I supported the cost entirely from my medical practice alone and sold no products.
I eventually realized that did not scale well as the site grew in popularity. The only realistic options were to either charge for a subscription for the information, accept advertising, or sell my own products.
Subscribers wanted free information, and I didn't want to advertise products and businesses that I didn't trust or believe in – so I formulated, tested, and sold my own brand of products to support the website.
I have around 175 employees. It is a fairly small business in comparison to the companies that make up a majority of the nutraceutical space. My business makes less than Jeff Bezos makes while shaving.
Question: Do you still practice medicine/see patients and if not, when did you stop practicing medicine?
Answer: I stopped seeing patients in 2009 so I could concentrate my time on publishing my research. Instead of helping tens of thousands of people in my office, I could help hundreds of millions of people nationally and internationally. My website is now published in 11 languages.
Question: How would you characterize your position on vaccines and how has it evolved, if at all?
Answer: I believe very strongly in the principle of informed consent and am deeply concerned about the enormous amounts of money spent by pharmaceutical companies to lobby federal and state legislatures. The deep conflicts of interest that exist because of public-private business partnerships between drug company giants and federal health agencies has created a revolving door that is progressively eroding consumer safety.
I do not believe in a one-size-fits-all-cradle-to-grave mandated use of liability-free vaccines because it violates individual freedoms and eliminates health care choices. I think medical policies that rely almost exclusively on indiscriminate use of prescription drugs and vaccines by children and adults does not protect individual or public health.
The revolving door between top government health officials and pharmaceutical companies is particularly disturbing. Gottlieb goes to Pfizer, Gerberding goes to Merck – the list goes on and on.
The CDC itself deceives the public by presenting disclaimers that erroneously claim no financial conflicts of interest while receiving millions of dollars from pharmaceutical companies.
The pharmaceutical choices we make must remain free from any legally mandated social penalties. The pharmaceutical and pesticide industries operate essentially in the same way as criminal organizations exploiting people for financial gain. The mass media is quite friendly to industry talking points and very protective of its advertisers and advertising money.
The pharmaceutical companies spend billions of dollars every year advertising through media.
Question: We understand that you reached out to Barbara Loe Fisher around 2007/2008 to work with her. What prompted you to do so? Tax records show you've given around $400,000 a year to the National Vaccine Information Center -- why did you decide to do this and what do you see as the benefit for Mercola.com?
Answer: I personally reached out to NVIC over a decade ago because they produce accurate, referenced information and are completely aligned with my philosophical beliefs.
I can strongly assure you that being an adversary to powerful industries is not a positive for a business like mine being targeted with major discrediting campaigns and the leveraging of regulatory agencies, which is just a small part of the cost required to engage in these battles.
Question: Tax records also show you fund the Organic Consumer Association and others. Can you tell us why you decided to fund these groups. Can you also tell us more about what the Health Liberty Coalition does and why you founded it?
Answer: I support the Organic Consumers Association because of their dedication to improving food & agriculture. Good health requires good food, but we've polluted most of the earth's water and depleted much of the soils. Agriculture consolidation and control is threatening the very existence of farmers, and the fertilizer / pesticide treadmill the current processed food business depends on is toxic and unsustainable.
The pesticide industry is increasingly damaging our health and deceiving people, extending their tentacles into scientific journals and media.
A Washington Post columnist's relationship has recently been uncovered as part of a strategic relationship for the agrichemical business.
Regeneration International is an initiative I support through the OCA.
All of the organizations I support can be found in the footer of my website. They are all dedicated to protecting individual rights, the environment, and improving health by helping eliminate barriers that industry and government have created to achieve optimal health. All contributions are in the form of unrestricted grants. I believe in the mission of these organizations and ask for nothing in return.
Health Liberty was started as a way for non-profits working to empower people with information to network and share knowledge. There is massive social engineering occurring, especially by the technofascists of Silicon Valley – and I believe that everything that can be done should be done to empower individuals to take control of their health.
Question: Has NVIC helped your business? If so, what are the examples?
Answer: As stated previously, for more than a decade I have financially supported the work of the National Vaccine Information Center, a charitable organization founded by parents of vaccine injured children in 1982 to prevent vaccine injuries and deaths through public education. I believe in their mission and their strong defense of civil liberties and human rights, including the human right to exercise informed consent to medical procedures or use of pharmaceutical products like vaccines that have risks. The information they publish is well researched and helps people make educated vaccine decisions, which is what everyone should be doing.
Publicly supporting non-profits like NVIC that are being attacked by the media for criticizing drug companies, government health agencies and medical trade associations for not doing their jobs when it comes to protecting children's health does not help my business, but it is the right thing to do.
Question: You tell people not to get vaccinated and to take Vitamin D instead. But you also sell Vitamin D. How can people trust your motives and your credibility?
Answer: I tell people to become informed and make their own decisions. I personally would never take the influenza vaccine. Getting a flu shot every year can make some people more susceptible to influenza-like illness caused by other respiratory viral infections, as well as increase risks for influenza. In addition, the effectiveness of influenza vaccine has been less than 50% during the past decade.
I get my vitamin D from controlled exposure to the sun, as I tell everyone to do, because a vitamin D supplement is inferior to natural sunshine. However, especially for people who live in northern latitudes, vitamin D supplements can help maintain appropriate vitamin D levels.
Optimizing your vitamin D levels to between 40-60 ng/ml is one of the best ways to improve immune system function. Nearly every year the flu vaccine is promoted for the elderly as a life-saving drug and yet every year it is a failure for those most vulnerable to influenza:
Flu vaccine injury is one of the most widely reported vaccine injuries, including in the federal vaccine injury compensation program that has awarded more than $4 billion to vaccine injured children and adults since 1988. It should be noted that the manufacturers of flu vaccine, like the manufacturers of all vaccines licensed, recommended and mandated in the U.S., do not have any liability in civil court when a child or adult suffers a vaccine reaction that can permanently damage health or even cause death.
You can read more about my position on influenza vaccines here. Who can people trust? It's up to each one of us to decide who to trust and what to do about how we want to stay well. That is the point – people should have the freedom to choose.
Question: How do you respond to critics saying that you're profiting off of bad medical advice?
Answer: It takes decades before what is criticized today becomes standard treatment of care in the future. I've been criticized for my positions on artificial sweeteners, appropriate sunshine exposure, excessive mammograms, glyphosate, ketogenic diets, EMF's, cholesterol, eggs, statins, Vioxx – the list goes on and on. Over time, my positions have been proven correct more often than not.
The practice of medicine must change. Many current medical policies and practices are undergoing scrutiny by both the public and critics inside the medical profession and will eventually be discarded, but the pharmaceutical industry will continue to work to silence the critics through smear campaigns and financial lobbying to convince legislators that nothing should change so they can protect market share.
My intent is to empower individuals to take back their health. I defend freedom and autonomy. I believe that people should be allowed to identify and access simple, inexpensive and safe alternatives to the conventional medical system, which is contributing to the premature death of millions and is causing needless pain and suffering in great part because multinational corporations want to increase their revenues.
It has been my experience and observation that these multinational corporations and oligarchs will do everything in their power to control the people, control the food, the medicine and government programs so they can also control the money.
Question: State and federal regulators have warned you about false and misleading claims on your web site about your products. How do you respond to those charges?
Answer: The warning related to thermography was based on political pressure from the vastly oversold, multibillion dollar mammography industry. I've been talking about this for nearly two decades. This fact has become more widely recognized.
The FTC settlement regarding my views on UVB health benefits was based on criticisms and political pressure from the American Academy of Dermatology and a position taken by a dermatologist Surgeon General, who had developed an action plan targeting UVB advocates. The AAD & Surgeon General are wrong and providing dangerous advice by saying there is no safe level of sun exposure for any skin type.
I believe it is a grave error for the American Academy of Dermatology to recommend that people completely avoid sunshine because UVB is instrumental to producing Vitamin D. There is a large industry that directs everyone of all skin tones to avoid the sun – yet indoor workers end up with the most skin cancers because of this complete misunderstanding of the importance of responsible UVB exposure. Others are beginning to recognize this mistaken advice as well.
Question: We noticed you have moved your foundation and your businesses to Florida. What's the reason for that? We also noticed you've created a new foundation called the Mangrove Pines Farm Foundation -- can you tell us about that and your plans for it?
Answer: I moved the business to Florida because it offered the opportunity for a better lifestyle fit for the company. Avoiding Chicago 's harsh winters has significant advantages for health, and the state of Illinois has serious financial problems that make it a very challenging environment for small and medium-sized businesses.
The Mangrove Pines Farm Foundation is in development and it will become an educational non-profit to teach people how to grow their own food regeneratively, without synthetic fertilizers or pesticides.
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