"Shameless Exploitation of Children for Shock Value In the Furtherance of Misinformation” Award

Just one more summary item from the George Mason University Stats site...

And the “Shameless Exploitation of Children for Shock Value In the Furtherance of Misinformation” Award Goes To….
…The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. This group, which anyone can join for $20 dollars, has been denounced by the American Medical Association for “inappropriate and unethical tactics” and for giving medical advice that was “irresponsible and potentially dangerous to the health and welfare of Americans.”

So when the group launched a YouTube advertisement in July with young children talking directly to the camera about getting cancer from hot dogs – “I thought I would live forever,” said one child, “I was dumfounded when the doctor told me… I have late-stage colon cancer.” – you might have expected a firestorm of controversy to ensue. Wrong.

Though CNN noted that the ad was the work of “an animal rights group that wants us all to be vegans,” it also told viewers that there was “research” to support the link between hot dogs and cancer. “The problem experts believe it is in nitrites in the processed meats,” said CNN’s Elizabeth Cohen. “That's apparently what's causing the cancer link.” (Nitrites are present in salt and used in meat to prevent spoilage and protect against botulism. They are especially important for meats cooked at relatively low heat, such as hot dogs),

What the CNN report did not relay is that there are no substantiated links between nitrites and cancer, according to the American Medical Association. Or that we get 90 percent of our intake of nitrites from vegetables.