Salon retracts Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s article on vaccines and autism

[somone]

http://www.salon.com/news/autism/?story=/about/inside_salon/2011/01/16/dangerous_immunity

Correcting our record
We've removed an explosive 2005 report by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about autism and vaccines. Here's why
By Kerry Lauerman

In 2005, Salon published online an exclusive story by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that offered an explosive premise: that the mercury-based thimerosal compound present in vaccines until 2001 was dangerous, and that he was "convinced that the link between thimerosal and the epidemic of childhood neurological disorders is real."

The piece was co-published with Rolling Stone magazine -- they fact-checked it and published it in print; we posted it online. In the days after running "Deadly Immunity," we amended the story with five corrections (which can still be found logged here) that went far in undermining Kennedy's exposé. At the time, we felt that correcting the piece -- and keeping it on the site, in the spirit of transparency -- was the best way to operate. But subsequent critics, including most recently, Seth Mnookin in his book "The Panic Virus," further eroded any faith we had in the story's value. We've grown to believe the best reader service is to delete the piece entirely.

"I regret we didn't move on this more quickly, as evidence continued to emerge debunking the vaccines and autism link," says former Salon editor in chief Joan Walsh, now editor at large. "But continued revelations of the flaws and even fraud tainting the science behind the connection make taking down the story the right thing to do." The story's original URL now links to our autism topics page, which we believe now offers a strong record of clear thinking and skeptical coverage we're proud of -- including the critical pursuit of others who continue to propagate the debunked, and dangerous, autism-vaccine link.

[Codeine]

1. The cranks will never give up the faith, however. nt

[Brickbat]

2. Excellent. It's good to see this.

[pnwmom]

3. Debunking the Wakefield study has not, as Salon seems to think,

discredited all vaccine-autism related research forever. Much is still on-going and is funded by the National Institutes of Health. For more on this, see:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x216362

[xchrom]

4. recommend

[slackmaster]

5. Good for them. K&R.

:kick:

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[NewJeffCT]

9. good point

a logical idea.

Welcome to DU.

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[X_Digger]

11. I'm ambivalent, but I lean more toward your perspective as well. n/t

[SidDithers]

7. Good for Salon...nt

Sid

[blondeatlast]

8. Good. nt

[Odin2005]

10. Good!