Money, Misinformation and Snake Oil: There are many similarities between Joe Rogan and Gwyneth Paltrow.
The epidemic killed more than 5.6 million people, and before covid-related scams, misinformation, and a lucrative market for snake oil, Goop already existed.
The aspiring lifestyle brand and its dazzling "contextual commerce" products are driven by actress Gwyneth Paltrow, who has used her fame, fortune and enviable heredity to spark all sorts of pseudo-science and healthcare. With the mantra of "enabling" women to control their health and destiny, Paltrow's Goop has promoted highly questionable, though not very dangerous, products. Perhaps the most infamous is the Jade Egg, the $ 66 egg-shaped rock goop that advises women to poke into their vaginas and claims that it can cure medical conditions, "detoxify" female organs and awaken the mysterious forces of life (of course).
But don't forget that the 5 135 "Implant O'Rama" enema device that was meant to inject boiling coffee into the colon, the $ 90 vitamin that does almost nothing, or the $ 85 "medicine bag" is a little polished rock that secretly suggests they have magic. . Properties Wellness properties. Then came bee sting therapy, no, not bee sting therapy but bee sting therapy. Paltrow personally supported the practice, which was blamed for the death of a 55-year-old Spanish woman in 2018.
And, of course, Gupta has embraced the old nonsense known as homeopathy, which basically claims that a ritual mixture of toxins can cure a disease and that anthropogenic water molecules can help you remember how to heal. (An alarming number of homeopathic products, including baby teething tablets and gels related to the death of 10 babies and poisoning of 400 others, are for sale in the US.)
Profitable business
Since the day of the group's pre-epidemic-epidemic, creating headlines with blatant nonsense, the company has reduced some of its marketing, added product disclaimer and support, settled lawsuits and paid six-figure fines for making false health claims. But if you're worried that any of this could hurt Gup's bottom line, or Paltrow might reconsider his business, don't worry. At the end of last year, Goop was valued at over 30 430 million. The Goop website is happy to tell you that your liver and kidneys are not working and you need to "detox".
Unfortunately, the success of the group is another example of how profitable it is to sell misinformation, pseudoscience and panacea to dissidents. Although, frankly, most stupid peddlers have nothing close to Paltrow's elegant style. In fact, when Goop responded to health experts in 2017, we all witnessed his fancy bottles of Snake Oil become Oscar-winning CEOs. It was truly a masterclass of the upper class, which is clearly echoed today.
Paltro's secret defense came to light in 2017 when I read an unforgivable transcript of Joe Rogan's recent $ 100 million podcast on harboring, promoting, and supporting an endless stream of harmful misinformation about COVID-19. Among other things, it promoted uncertified and potentially dangerous treatments, spread lies and misinformation about vaccines, and reduced the risk of viruses, which again killed more than 5.6 million people worldwide and continue to grow.
I will not waste my time protesting Rogan's stupidity. Many mediums have done it: look here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, etc. The fact that his podcast is full of misinformation and untruths is out of the question. Last month, hundreds of doctors and public health experts criticized Spotify in an open letter for allowing Rogan to continue making "false and harmful to society" claims about the epidemic. Misinformation is the reason you didn't apologize the first time.
Instead, I will focus on its protection of the platform's misinformation because, like Paltrow's Goop protection, Rogan's rationalization is a skilled modern tech on the classic snake oil sales pitch.