America's Frontline Doctors
Formation | 2019 |
---|---|
Leader | Simone Gold |
Parent organization | Free Speech Foundation |
Website | americasfrontlinedoctors |
This article is part of a series on |
Conservatism in the United States |
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America's Frontline Doctors (AFLDS) is an American right-wing political organization.
AFLDS made its first public appearance during a media event on July 27, 2020, where they advocated for the use of
In 2021, AFLDS shifted to
History
Formation and precursors
Although it is described by its founders as a "grassroots" organization, America's Frontline Doctors has a connection to the Council for National Policy (CNP)—a conservative advocacy and networking group, and the Tea Party Patriots.[7]
In opposition to measures to control the
In May 2020, a conference call by the CNP's lobbying arm was leaked by the
On May 19, 2020, the coalition—A Doctor a Day—published an open letter to President Trump with Simone Gold as lead signatory, which argued that lockdowns themselves were a "mass casualty incident", and that "it is impossible to overstate the short, medium, and long-term harm to people's health with a continued shutdown."[7] During a White House meeting on schools in early-July, Martin publicly called for schools to be reopened in the fall, and told Trump that she had "been in touch with almost a thousand doctors from around the country", and had "helped" Gold with the aforementioned open letter. A clip of her remarks went viral on conservative media outlets, often without any reference to Martin or her affiliations.[7]
In media appearances leading up to July 27, 2020 (including Whiskey Politics and The Charlie Kirk Show), Gold promoted various forms of COVID-19 misinformation, including claims surrounding the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine as a therapeutic, that there was no scientific basis for mandating face masks in public spaces, and that death certificates were being falsified by physicians to artificially increase the number of COVID-19-related deaths.[7]
White Coat Summit and other activities
On July 27, 2020, the Tea Party Patriots hosted and funded a
One of the speakers, Stella Immanuel, said that she herself had treated and cured 350 COVID-19 patients using the aforementioned cocktail, and referred to doctors refusing to use hydroxychloroquine as being like the "good Germans who allow the Nazis to kill the Jews."[4][5][9] They also accused "fake pharma companies" of sponsoring studies that found hydroxychloroquine to be ineffective against COVID-19.[11]
The event was
When asked about the video, Trump referred to the group as being "very respected doctors", and referred to Immanuel as "spectacular". When asked why he trusted Immanuel despite her history of promoting conspiracies (such as alien DNA being used as part of medical treatments),[13] Trump replied, "I thought she was very impressive, in the sense that, from where she came — I don't know what country she comes from — but she said that she's had tremendous success with hundreds of different patients."[14] Following the event, Gold said that she had been fired from her position as an emergency room physician at two hospitals.[15]
After the
Anti-vaccination activity
By January 2021, AFLDS had shifted to
In May 2021, AFLDS filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, seeking a restraining order to prevent the expansion of the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer vaccine to children under 16. The suit cited AFLDS's previous claims surrounding the safety and efficacy of the vaccines, and additionally alleged that the vaccines had a higher risk of harming children than COVID-19 itself.[23][6][24] Scott Jensen, a former member of the Minnesota Senate and Republican candidate for governor of Minnesota, was a plaintiff on the lawsuit.[25][24]
The organization has also targeted African Americans, citing the Tuskegee Syphilis Study as a justification for vaccine hesitancy among the population, and having collaborated with social media influencer Kevin Jenkins and author Angela Stanton-King. In September 2021, AFLDS filed a lawsuit against the New York City government, aiming to overturn its proof of vaccination mandate. The suit argued that the mandate was inherently discriminatory against African Americans due to the "historical context", and thus violated the city's human rights law.[26]
On December 8, 2021, President of the
SpeakWithAnMD
America's Frontline Doctors is affiliated with SpeakWithAnMD, a
Hundreds of customers and donors accused the organization of charging fees for ivermectin prescriptions and consultations but failing to deliver, as well as referring customers to online pharmacies that charged excessive prices for the common anti-parasitic drug, which has also not been approved by the FDA or other regulators as a therapeutic for COVID-19.[19]
In September 2021, based on data leaked from an anonymous breach of Cadence Health and Ravkoo, The Intercept estimated that AFLDS and its partners had made $6.7 million in revenue from these consultations between July 16 and September 12, 2021.[21]
2022 lawsuit
On November 4, 2022, AFLDS filed a lawsuit against Gold, accusing her of
Organization
The group is registered in Arizona as the Free Speech Foundation; Time found that its charitable status in the state had been listed as "pending inactive", and that the group had never made any financial disclosures.[19][21]
See also
- Caduceus as a symbol of medicine
- Misinformation related to vaccination
References
- ^ Arek Sarkissian, How a doctor who questioned vaccine safety became DeSantis’ surgeon general pick, Politico (September 29, 2021): "an ultra-right wing group called America's Frontline Doctors"
- ^ Davey Alba, Virus Misinformation Spikes as Delta Cases Surge, New York Times (August 11, 2021): "America's Frontline Doctors — a right-wing group that spread misinformation about the pandemic in the past."
- ^ Ovetta Wiggins and Meagan Flynn, Rep. Andy Harris, a doctor, says he's prescribed ivermectin as a covid-19 treatment: Washington Post (October 19, 2021): "America's Frontline Doctors, a right-wing group founded in 2020 to speak out against the government's efforts to contain the coronavirus."
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Goodman, Christopher Giles, Shayan Sardarizadeh and Jack (July 28, 2020). "Why a video promoted by Trump was pulled on social media". BBC News. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Mencimer, Stephanie (25 May 2021). "Right-Wing Doctors Are Suing to Block COVID Vaccine for Kids". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on 30 May 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Anatomy of Deceit: Team Trump Deploys Doctors with Dubious Qualifications to Push Fake Cure for Covid-19". Washington Spectator. 2020-09-20. Retrieved 2021-09-02.
- ^ Funke, Daniel (2021-07-29). "Who are the doctors in the viral hydroxychloroquine video?". PolitiFact. Archived from the original on 2020-08-02. Retrieved 2021-09-02.
- ^ a b "Don't fall for this video: Hydroxychloroquine is not a COVID-19 cure". PolitiFact. July 28, 2020. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
- ^ Grenkel, Sheera; Alba, Davey (28 July 2020). "Misleading Virus Video, Pushed by the Trumps, Spreads Online". New York Times. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
- ^ a b c Passantino, Jon; Darcy, Oliver (28 July 2020). "Social media giants remove viral video with false coronavirus claims that Trump retweeted". CNN. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
- ^ O'Sullivan, Donie (28 July 2020). "Twitter temporarily restricts Donald Trump Jr.'s account after he posts video claiming masks are unnecessary". CNN. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
- ^ a b Budryk, Zack (2021-01-22). "Doctor that promoted false hydroxychloroquine claims arrested in connection with Capitol riot". The Hill. Archived from the original on 2021-01-22. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
- ^ Andrews, Travis M.; Paquette, Danielle (July 28, 2020). "Trump retweeted a video with false covid-19 claims. One doctor in it has said demons cause illnesses". Washington Post. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
- ^ ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2021-01-12.
- ^ D'Ambrosio, Amanda (12 January 2021). "Controversial Physician Joined in Storming the Capitol". MedPage Today. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
- ^ Dazio, Stefanie (19 January 2021). "Capitol photos, videos lead to California doctor's arrest". ABC News. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
- ^ Rabinowitz, Hannah (16 June 2022). "Doctor known for spreading Covid misinformation is sentenced to prison for role in US Capitol attack". CNN. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
- ^ a b c d e f Bergengruen, Vera (August 26, 2021). "How 'America's Frontline Doctors' Sold Access to Bogus COVID-19 Treatments—and Left Patients in the Lurch". Time. Archived from the original on 2021-08-27. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
- ^ a b c D'Ambrosio, Amanda (5 January 2021). "'America's Frontline Doctors' Continue to Misinform on COVID". MedPage Today. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
- ^ a b c Lee, Micah (2021-09-28). "Network of Right-Wing Health Care Providers Is Making Millions Off Hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin, Hacked Data Reveals". The Intercept. Retrieved 2021-09-28.
- PMID 26209838.
- ^ a b Monique Curet (July 22, 2021). "No evidence of 45,000 deaths from COVID-19 vaccines". PolitiFact.
- ^ a b Fiore, Kristina (May 26, 2021). "Simone Gold's Group Sues to Stop COVID Shots for Kids". MedPage Today. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
- ^ Stephen Montemayor, GOP candidate for governor Scott Jensen joins court case to halt COVID vaccines for kids, Star Tribune (May 26, 2021).
- ^ Mencimer, Stephanie. "Pro-Trump doctors invoke civil rights in bid to overturn New York's vaccine mandate". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
- ^ Clark, Cheryl. “Disinformation Group Allegedly Staked Out California Med Board President”, “MedPage Today”, December 9, 2021, Retrieved December 10, 2021
- ^ Johnson, Julie (2021-12-08). "'They ambushed me': California medical official says she was stalked by COVID misinformation group". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
- ^ "Justice Dept. scrutinizes White House-connected doctor linked to disputed coronavirus treatment". Washington Post. 2020-04-30. Archived from the original on 2020-05-01. Retrieved 2021-08-26.
- ^ "Clamoring for ivermectin, some turn to a pro-Trump telemedicine website". NBC News. 27 August 2021. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
- ^ Sommer, Will (November 14, 2022). "COVID-Denying Medical Group Implodes Over Founder's Extravagant Spending". The Daily Beast.
- Vice.com.
- ^ Sommer, Will (2022-11-14). "COVID-Denying Medical Group Implodes Over Founder's Extravagant Spending". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2022-11-14.