Fake Websites, Fake E-Mails- New Tactics in the Fight Against Science

-
Beware.  The underhanded elements of the anti-GM world are now impersonating scientists and companies in the electronic media.

A few weeks ago I received a frantic email from a plant scientist I know needing advice.  I'll give details soon.

In general, he was the organizer for a plant biology conference where transgenic (GMO) plants were part of the discussion.  Activists bought a URL similar to the conference URL, then sent emails using a corresponding email account, using his name in an attempt to defame him.

They wrote fraudulent emails with harmful content.  The idea was to cause harm to his reputation and the conference. Several emails were sent that may impact his career, and certainly they have caused him substantial grief.  Poor guy.  He's a good guy with a great family and wonderful students.  Yet there are those out there that want to hurt him and damage his career.

Today a website showed up on the internet at www.monsantoglobal.com .  This site is a direct mock-up of the Monsanto's template but the content has been changed to reflect incorrect and even malicious information.

Fake websites that look authentic.  Impersonation is the most sincere form of flattery. My guess is that there will be a little lawsuit coming down on this one. The big MON usually ignores the harassment, but this may have crossed the line. 


This is copied right from the page:

MYTH:   Fear exists around what’s popularly known “terminator” seeds, which are developed and commercialized to only be used once a year.  Farmers will not be able to harvest these seeds for future growing seasons and will have to buy them from Monsanto every year.
FACT:  Although it is true that we are developing these seeds, Monsanto needs to protect our products.  As the trailblazers in the development of GMO seeds, Monsanto maintains a legal right to protect and charge for our biotechnology.
MYTH : The creation of pesticide-resistant crops opens the door for new “super” pests that might be resistant to pesticides.
FACT : Monsanto spends over 2 million dollars a day in research in order to maintain itself as leader in the technology in pesticide production. We are devoted to staying a step ahead of nature and providing our consumers with the best quality products for all of their growing needs.

The bottom line is that these are boldfaced lies.  There is no "terminator" seed and Monsanto is not even a "leader in the technology of pesticide production".    Absolute crap.

What this tells me is that when you can't convince people with fake science, they need to impersonate scientists and biotech companies in an attempt to deceive.

So when you get the insane email from Kelvin Folate please consider it with the greatest of skepticism.

Popular posts from this blog

Film Review: The Need to Grow

-
Image
The recurring ads on Facebook pulled at me to watch The Need to Grow , a documentary film about food and farming.  As someone connected with these areas professionally and personally, I thought it would be worth a watch.  Here is a review. First the good things.  The film is nicely shot and well written.  The majority of the work builds on themes such as nutritious diets healthy soils, and efficient energy. Those are the central underlying values of the film, and ones that I wholly endorse.  However, where the film falls apart is in its approaches to achieve those end points.  Two of the "experts" recruited for the film are none other than Jeffrey Smith and Vandana Shiva, two people with little training in science or farming (and no, Vandana Shiva is not a physicist as the film claims).  The narrator is actress Rosario Dawson, who early in the film makes the proclamation, "Agriculture is the most destructive human activity on the planet." It is...
Read more

Food Babe Visits My University

-
Image
It was 6:30 pm in the lab and I was just thinking about the last things I'd need to get done before I could go home.  Typical night.  Usually I'm riding home about 7 pm, but an email popped up asking me if I was going to go watch the Food Babe.  A click on a link would take me to the note on a UF Dean for Students Good Food Revolution Events website.  Vani Hari would be spreading her corrupt message of bogus science and abject food terrorism here at the University of Florida. Oh joy. There's something that dies inside when you are a faculty member that works hard to teach about food, farming and science, and your own university brings in a crackpot to unravel all of the information you have brought to students. She might have started from honest roots.  Her story says she was duped by an organic yogurt stand (join the club) into buying taro toppings that were filled with artificial, non-organic colors.  She realized that she could use social m...
Read more

Shame on Pediatrics. Rejecting Scientist's Comments

-
 A lot has been said about the journal Pediatrics December 2023 Clinical Report on "Using GMOs on Children". The poor scholarship and citation bias are alarming, and the bias against safe technology is clear.  When I wrote to editor-in-chief Dr. Lewis First, he indicated that I was invited to submit a response to the article that would be posted below the article on its website. I submitted my response, and it was not published on the site. My guess is that it illuminated the bankruptcies of the article in a manner that ran counter to the authors', editor's and journal's narrative.  So I'll publish my comment here.  Dear Pediatrics Readership,  The article by Abrams et al. represents a stunning example of how misinformation spreads- even through a credible conduit. Pediatrics is a respected journal, so when a paper implies a technology is dangerous, physicians and the general public take note. That’s good. But if the message runs counter to the scientific con...
Read more