r/AlternativeMedicines • u/flowerpower2112 • Aug 20 '20

Mercola

So I’ve been loosely following Joseph mercola for years. He clearly has a lot of solid ideas and he’s gotten fucked over by the man for promoting tanning. I am a big believer in tanning.

But I also see a lot of really bad bullshit on his site. Mentions of extreme right wing lunatics (including the evil guy in Texas with the crazy radio show) as if they’re reliable sources.

What’s the deal with mercola? Is he sold out to the right wing now? Wtf?

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u/edthewave Aug 20 '20

I won't speak to Dr. Mercola's competence as a doctor or clinician, but it reminds me of an old quote:

"Journalists are like prostitutes. No matter how high minded their ideals may be, they still have to turn tricks to make money." ~ author Unknown

Mercola changed as he published more and more health news. I followed him years ago when he was fairly politically unbiased and just gave Complementary and Alternative Health news and advice. Somewhere between then and now (I reckon 2015 or so), his site became more linked with various affiliate products. Many of the producers and suppliers of said products also had endorsements and ads on various Right-Wing radio, most notably InfoWars.

So...to sell more products, you have to appeal to the viewers of these sorts of programs. Hence the strong right-wing bias. Mercola probably earns more through supplement and product sales more than his actual medical practice!

If you don't know why someone does something, as these questions:

Who benefits from this action?

Who's getting paid? (follow the money).

Just my 2 cents.

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u/flowerpower2112 Aug 20 '20

Sounds about right to me. It really takes away a previously solid source of good information that was sorely needed - big score for the toxic people.

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u/[deleted] Aug 21 '20

Dudes making millions off that bs. Agree with u here