In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the discredited notion that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread. And among those diseases could be COVID-19.
This group is just the latest example of how the anti-vaxxer community has used platforms like Facebook for more than a decade to prey on vulnerable people by pushing bogus and dangerous pseudoscientific products—especially those targeting children. These same communities have in the past pushed bleach as a cure for autism and during the Covid pandemic promoted ivermectin as a treatment for children. Despite repeated exposés of these groups, they continue to flourish on major social media platforms.
The Facebook group was first set up in September 2022 by a woman named Julia Czelazewicz, who is known online as Detox Mama. Czelazewicz pushes group members toward her website, where she sells Pure Body Extra as well as a number of other products....
For decades the bogus claim that childhood vaccines were linked to autism was promoted widely within the so-called alternative health community. It was given a major boost in 2005 when Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who will be a member of Donald Trump’s transition team if he is elected next month, published an error-ridden article in two mainstream publications. The claims gained even more traction during the Covid lockdowns when conspiracies around vaccines surged once again.
Czelazewicz told WIRED that she has “never made a claim that this product cures autism” and that she has “no control how others choose to express their experience with PBX.” However, when asked if she would state clearly that Pure Body Extra does not have any impact on the symptoms of autism, Czelazewicz did not respond.
She also failed to respond to questions about the negative side effects being reported in the group by parents of children being treated with Pure Body Extra, and did not provide any evidence when asked if the product was suitable for children.
One of the most troubling aspects of the group is the way it seeks to prey on vulnerable parents of autistic children who appear at a loss as to how to treat their children’s behavioral problems.
