@saragorm profile picture
Sara Gorman PhD MPH @saragorm

Public health specialist with focus on misinformation and science denial. Author of Denying to the Grave (OUP, 2021) & Anatomy of Deception (OUP, forthcoming).

Joined March 2012
  • Tweets 4,753
  • Following 1,701
  • Followers 1,097
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I've definitely seen this kind of reproductive health misinformation - the idea that contraception should be "all natural" - in my study on the topic for Critica, my research non-profit. statnews.com/2024/11/05/soci… via @statnews

Social media misinformation is scaring women about birth control

Opinion: Contraception faces daily attacks on platforms like TikTok and YouTube, where influencers highlight the perceived dangers of hormonal birth control.

statnews.com
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There might be some checks on what Trump and RFK, Jr. can do to vaccines, but what I'm most worried about is the further mainstreaming of anti-vaccine sentiment and distrust. statnews.com/2024/11/08/trum… via @statnews

What Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. might do to undermine vaccines — and what they likely can’t

RFK Jr. may push the FDA to gather more data, and could try to fill the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices with vaccine skeptics.

statnews.com
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Part of Trump and RFK Jr.'s strategy here is to prey on the low trust that people already have in the healthcare system. By threatening to dismantle agencies like the FDA, they are implying that those agencies are useless and corrupt. statnews.com/2024/11/06/trum… via @statnews

What letting RFK Jr. 'go wild' might mean for Trump's FDA

RFK Jr. declared recently that the FDA’s “war on public health” was about to end. 

statnews.com
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On the front lines of the important work to find problems (including fraud) in scientific papers. The discussion around how pressure to publish flashy results has led to fraud in some cases has intensified lately. statnews.com/2024/11/04/who-… via @statnews

These 7 watchdogs scour scientific papers for problems — and often find them

Scientific sleuths have been unearthing growing evidence that many studies contain manipulated images and falsified findings

statnews.com
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Compelling essay about the need for family physicians to be trained in providing abortion care. statnews.com/2024/10/22/prim… via @statnews

Primary care physicians should receive abortion training

Opinion: Abortion providers are overwhelmed with patients from states with restrictions. Increasing abortion training for family physicians can help.

statnews.com
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Even members of the GOP are afraid of RFK Jr.'s health plans. statnews.com/2024/10/18/rfk-… via @statnews

RFK Jr. alarms leaders in health, even many in GOP

‘Make America Healthy Again’ is legit, even if RFK isn’t, Trump surrogates insist. Others aren’t so sure.

statnews.com
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On the U.S. response to bird flu: “It is frustrating to me that we cannot do this better because we have the tools to do it better.”statnews.com/2024/10/16/barn… via @statnews

Veteran vaccine developer says U.S. response to bird flu outbreak in cattle is ‘frustrating’

Barney Graham, a former NIH vaccine developer, said U.S. agencies aren't coordinating the response to the bird flu outbreak among cows.

statnews.com
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Helen Branswell being wise and measured about how much we should be worrying about bird flu - and how much we just don't know. statnews.com/2024/10/16/bird… via @statnews

Is it time to freak out about bird flu?

Is it time to freak out about bird flu? The answer is not as straightforward as one might like.

statnews.com
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A roadmap for medical debt relief from North Carolina, using federal funds to offset hospitals' paying off patients' medical debts and, in the process, requiring them to provide programs to prevent and relieve medical debt. kffhealthnews.org/MTkxNzEzOQ via @kffhealthnews

How North Carolina Made Its Hospitals Do Something About Medical Debt - KFF Health News

State officials threatened to withhold public money from hospitals, pioneering a strategy that could become a national model.

kffhealthnews.org
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This report suggests that lack of access to healthcare could be a driver of despair. wapo.st/3ZIjChK

Insurance, income, internet linked to lower suicide rates in new analysis

The CDC report found that counties with the most health insurance had a 26 percent lower suicide rate than counties with the lowest levels of three community factors.

washingtonpost.com
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This is why people don't trust the healthcare system. kffhealthnews.org/MTkwNTQxOQ via @kffhealthnews

In Chronic Pain, This Teenager ‘Could Barely Do Anything.’ Insurer Wouldn’t Cover Surgery. - KFF...

An Alabama teen was told he needed surgery for debilitating hip pain. But his family’s insurer denied coverage for the procedure, which lacked a medical billing code. Expected to pay more than...

kffhealthnews.org
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The way the healthcare system treats women in pain does a lot to erode an already fragile sense of trust. thehill.com/policy/healthcar…

How America’s health care system fails women in pain

For 20 years, doctors told Diana Falzone her pain was normal. “Well, that’s just how it is for some women,” she remembers one saying after she began experiencing unusually heavy and “very, very pai…

thehill.com
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My latest for @DearPandemic - what's going on with mosquitoes?! open.substack.com/pub/thosen…

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This series from ProPublica is chilling. The consequences of abortion bans are real and serious. propublica.org/article/candi…
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Very helpful bird flu update from @DearPandemic open.substack.com/pub/thosen…
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Here's why you shouldn't worry about toxic chemicals in tampons: slate.com/technology/2024/07… via @slate

I’m an Epidemiologist Who Fact-Checks the News. There’s One Kind of Story I’m Constantly Debunking.

The latest is about toxic tampons. It sounds scary, but there's a caveat.

slate.com
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Animal markets (like those in New York) are not set up to avoid outbreaks. This is another way we're not prepared for the next pandemic. nytimes.com/2024/09/09/healt…

Bird Flu Has Already Appeared in New York’s Animal Markets. What’s Next? (Published 2024)

It’s not just rural farms. Urban animal markets are fertile grounds for viral transmission, experts say.

nytimes.com
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Agreed that the U.S. response to the H5N1 outbreak has been "lethargic." statnews.com/2024/09/08/miss… via @statnews

5 burning questions about Missouri’s mysterious H5 bird flu case

Could raw milk — or a cat — help explain how a person who had no contact with animals caught H5 bird flu?

statnews.com
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Could teaching people about algorithms help fight misinformation on social media?niemanlab.org/2024/09/want-t…

Want to fight misinformation? Teach people how algorithms work

In the four countries studied, each with its own unique technological, political, and social environment, understanding of algorithms varied across different sociodemographic groups.

niemanlab.org
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Wondering when to get your shots (COVID, flu, etc.) this fall? It's confusing. statnews.com/2024/09/04/covi… via @statnews

Trying to time your vaccines just right? There are no easy answers, but here are some factors to...

Trying to time your seasonal vaccines just right? There are no easy answers, but here are some factors to consider.

statnews.com
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