Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey recorded what he calls a “great conversation” with a fitness podcaster who has spread the false claim that vaccines cause autism.On Tuesday, self-described “health/longevity/performance consultant” Ben Greenfield tweeted that he’d made an “epic podcast” with Dorsey.In response, Dorsey tweeted, “Great conversation, and appreciate all you do to simplify the mountain of research focused on increasing one’s healthspan! Grateful for you.”
Cover image: Jack Dorsey, co-founder and chief executive officer of Twitter Inc., speaks during an event at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., on Jan. 9, 2019. (Photo: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Greenfield has repeatedly spewed unfounded claims against vaccines on his podcast and his personal website, according to NBC News. Just last month, he tweeted, “Vaccines do indeed cause autism.” He also advised people not to trust the fact-checking website Snopes.
Vaccines do not, in fact, cause autism, multiple studies have found. Meanwhile, measles cases are on the rise across the United States, as more and more parents refuse to vaccinate their kids.Just a few decades ago, measles was believed to be all but eradicated from the country.Vaccines did not come up during Greenfield and Dorsey’s chat, a Twitter spokesperson told Recode, and Dorsey allegedly didn’t know about Greenfield’s anti-vaxxing past. In a tweet, Greenfield said the pair covered “covered advanced stress mitigation tactics, extreme time-saving workouts, DIY cold tubs, hormesis, one-meal-a-day and more.”Other tech giants are now taking steps to mitigate the spread of scientifically unsupported claims about vaccines. YouTube will demonetize channels with anti-vaxxing perspectives, TechCrunch reported. Inaccurate information about vaccines will be down-ranked on Facebook, while Pinterest will no longer return search results for “vaccine,” “vaccinations,” or “anti-vax.”