News Front
Jessica Macfarlane (February 1, 2019)
Anti-fluoride advert ruled 'socially irresponsible'
Where: www.newshub.co.nz
Who: Dan Satherley
When: 3/11/18
Skeptic summary: Good work all those who complained. Fluoride is not a "Neurotoxin" and claims it is spread fear, uncertainty and doubt. Complaints said it was "scaremongering" and "misleading".
The crowd responsible for the poster, Fluoride Free NZ claimed it had a "social responsibility" to advise the general public. Words fail me.
Anti-vaccine billboard complaints taken to ASA complaints board
Where: www.stuff.co.nz
Who: Laine Moger & Shabnam Dastgheib
When: 3/10/18
Skeptic summary: We were very happy with the quick turnaround after complaints were made to the Advertising Standards Authority about a billboard put up on a busy highway near a hospital in Auckland. The next day, the billboard company took it down, and 140 complaints were upheld by the ASA. Thank you to all those who took the time to put in a complaint. This type of disinformation is insidious and must be stopped as soon as possible. Spreading fear and doubt about vaccines has devastating consequences. For example, if a pregnant woman is exposed to the measles virus it can lead to still-birth.
Don't put Gwyneth's Balls in your vagina: How to avoid celebrity quackery and pseudoscience
Where: thespinoff.co.nz
Who: Jess Berenston-Shaw
When: 1/02/2017
Skeptic summary: This is an older article but compiles the sources to the truth so well I've included it here among a list of articles about the rise and rise of Goop despite efforts of skeptics to fight back.
Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop pays out $220k in vaginal egg lawsuit
Where: www.stuff.co.nz
Who: Mike Snider
When: 06/07/18
Skeptic summary: A drop in the bucket, this fine won't dent profits being 0.06% of the estimated $250 million the company is worth, but it is a win for science and rationality.
Gwyneth Paltrow said to be in talks with Netflix to launch wellness show
Where: www.nowtolove.co.nz (via Grazia.co.uk)
Who: Unknown
When: 26/11/18
Skeptic summary: Save us. After basking in the fantastic Netflix show A user's guide to cheating death by skeptic champion Tim Caufield, this is the antithesis. An infomercial for a multi-million dollar pseudoscience machine marketing irresponsible and dangerous products to the unsuspecting public. One product sold to pregnant mothers could be harmful to babies with the huge amount of vitamin A included.
Note, they misspelled Simon Singh's name. He's the founder of The Goodthinking Society who have reported 113 examples of misleading statements by Goop to the advertising regulators in the UK.
Samoan Church leader says domestic violence is God's punishment
Where: www.rnz.co.nz
Who: Unknown
When: 3/12/18
Skeptic summary: This is completely despicable. Domestic violence is not OK, and no matter who is talking if they are saying it is justified in any way shape or form, they are wrong.
Spain plans to ban alternative medicine health centres
Where: www.theguardian.com
Who: Unknown
When: 14/11/18
Skeptic summary: Here is some world news our government should be paying attention to.
New Study finds acupuncture claims overstep the mark
Where: www.scoop.co.nz
Who: SBH Press Release
When: 2/12/17
Skeptic summary: This is old but click on the link referring to the $33.2 million and you'll see a striking trend in increased acupuncture spending year on year. This is getting worse people.
ACC spent $33.2 million on acupuncture claims in financial year 2016/2017 according to The Society for Science Based Healthcare (sbh.nz)
Former Naturopath and Scientist share John Maddox Prize
Where: www.theguardian.com
Who: Hannah Devlin
When: 14/11/18
Skeptic summary: Skeptic hero and naturopath worst enemy, Britt Hermes wins top award from Sense about Science. Well done Britt!
Parliamentary Prayer rally calls for speaker to reinstate references to Jesus
Where: www.stuff.co.nz
Who: Collette Devlin and Thomas Manch
When: 30/10/2018
Skeptic summary: Trevor Mallard removes the words ‘Jesus Christ' from the opening prayer of parliament, and 1000 Christians turn up to stage a protest. Atheists are described as having 'heckled‘.
Weekend Variety Wireless—Hour 2—04/11/2018
Where: www.radiolive.co.nz
Who: Graeme Hill
When: 04/11/2018
Skeptic summary: Mark Honeychurch talks about the anti-protest about the parliament prayer, with Graeme Hill. He described the protest on the day, the 15 or so atheists that turned up with various crazy placards featuring the Flying Spaghetti Monster, Cthulhu, Gozer the Destructor, and Donald Trump. He noted he saw a few of the protestors wearing ‘Make America Great Again' caps—which was interesting, and fitted well with the Trump placards.
Mark talked of his surprise about how the Stuff writer described actions by the atheist group. He talked about Thomas Manch's use of the word 'heckled', and rebutted that by defining the term as interrupting or shutting down someone else when they were trying to speak. Mark pointed out that they did not do this, but instead politely engaged with the protestors. For his own part, the atheists were there for fun and to make a point that in a secular society with many different religions, and those that don't believe in any at all, it is fairer to not include just one deity's name in the prayer.
Ecostore removes ‘nasty' fluoride claims from toothpaste packaging
Where: www.thespinoff.co.nz
Who: John Anthony
When: 19/11/2018
Skeptic summary: Good job C. Atkinson for contacting the Advertising Standards Authority and reporting that the Ecostore website and packaging was demonising Fluoride by calling it ‘nasty'. "By listing this information page under the ingredients section, it is likely to give consumers the impression that toothpastes containing sodium fluoride are unsafe and dangerous for consumers," Atkinson said.