Informed Consent Action Network

The Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN) is one of the main anti-vaccination groups in the United States.[1]:1 Founded in 2016 by Del Bigtree, it spreads myths about the risks of vaccines and contributes to vaccine hesitancy,[1][2][3] which has been identified by the World Health Organization as one of the top ten global health threats of 2019.[4][5]

Informed Consent Action Network
AbbreviationICAN
Formation2016
FounderDel Bigtree
PurposeAnti-vaccination advocacy group
Location
Official language
English
President
Lisa Selz
CEO
Del Bigtree
Chief Operating Officer
Catharine Layton
Public Relations
James Scherrer
Budget (2017)
$1.4 million
Staff (2019)
5
Websiteicandecide.org
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Funding and activities

ICAN was founded in 2016 by television producer Del Bigtree, after the release of the movie Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe, which he wrote and produced, with anti-vaccination activist Andrew Wakefield directing. The national attention Bigtree gained with the movie and its promotion tour allowed the newly-formed group to quickly assume a leading role among the anti-vaccination movement.[1][6][7] Scientists have countered many of ICAN's statements, arguments against vaccination being contradicted by overwhelming scientific consensus about the safety and efficacy of vaccines.[8][9][10][11]

ICAN was established with a $100,000 grant from the Selz Foundation. Its budget ballooned to $1.4 million in 2017, with one million coming from the Selz Foundation, making ICAN the most well-funded anti-vaccination group in the United States that year.[12] ICAN pays a salary of $146,000 to Del Bigtree as its CEO and $98,000 to its Chief Administrative Officer Catharine Layton.[1] An article in Rolling Stone states that Layton stumbled upon the anti-vaccine movement on social media after her two sons were diagnosed with autism.[3]:1

In 2019, Bigtree was a keynote speaker at several anti-vaccination events targeting the ultra-Orthodox Jewish in Brooklyn and in Rockland County.[1][13] He has been criticized by the Anti-Defamation League and the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum for wearing a Star of David at an anti-vaccination event, attempting to compare the treatment of those opposed to vaccination with the persecution of the Jewish people.[14][15][16][17] Bigtree's anti-vaccine advocacy has been described by anti-vaccination movement critic physician David Gorski as "fear mongering based on misinformation".[18]

Access to information lawsuit

In 2018, ICAN filed Freedom of information lawsuits to force the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to release administrative reports on childhood vaccine injury HHS is required to file with Congress. HHS replied that they could not find any such reports.[1]:1[19]:1

While ICAN claimed the absence of these reports means that the federal government has neglected to properly study the effect of vaccines,[19]:1 scientists and the fact-checking site Politifact pointed out a large number of in-depth studies were undertaken and their results shared with the public, even though HHS failed to file the required reports.[19]:1

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References
  1. Sun, Lena H. (June 19, 2019). "Meet the New York couple donating millions to the anti-vaccine movement". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 29, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  2. Karlin, Sam (May 7, 2019). "Bill backed by vaccine critics shot down; opponent called bill 'confusing and unnecessary'". The Advocate. Archived from the original on June 29, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  3. Dickson, EJ (March 28, 2019). "Will the Internet's War on Anti-Vaxxers Work?". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 29, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  4. "Ten health issues WHO will tackle this year". Who.int. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  5. PM, Aristos Georgiou (2019-01-15). "The anti-vax movement has been listed by WHO as one of its top 10 health threats for 2019". Retrieved 2019-01-16.
  6. Weeks, Carly (February 7, 2019). "Toronto health conference cancels appearance by anti-vaccine activist Del Bigtree". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on June 21, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  7. Merlan, Maria (June 20, 2019). "Everything I Learned While Getting Kicked out of America's Biggest Anti-Vaccine Conference". Jezebel. Archived from the original on June 21, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  8. "Communicating science-based messages on vaccines". Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 95 (10): 670–71. October 2017. doi:10.2471/BLT.17.021017. PMC 5689193. PMID 29147039.
  9. "Why do some people oppose vaccination?". Vox. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  10. Ceccarelli L. "Defending science: How the art of rhetoric can help". The Conversation. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
  11. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. "Vaccines.gov". Vaccines.gov. Retrieved 2018-08-05.
  12. Zadrozny, Brandy; Nadi, Aliza (2019-09-24). "How anti-vaxxers target grieving moms and turn them into crusaders". NBC News. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  13. Mole, Beth (June 6, 2019). "Measles cases hit 1,001 as anti-vaxxers hold another rally of disinformation". Ars technica. Archived from the original on June 21, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  14. "Anti-vaccine activists are using a Holocaust-era yellow Star of David to promote their cause". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. April 5, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  15. Mills Rodrigo, Chris (April 8, 2019). "ADL criticizes 'anti-vaxxers' for adopting Star of David badge". The Hill. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  16. Dolsten, Josefin (April 6, 2019). "US anti-vaxxers use Holocaust-era yellow stars to promote their agenda". The Times of Israel. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  17. Sun, Lena H. (April 1, 2019). "US measles cases surge to second-highest level in nearly two decades". Denton Record-Chronicle. Archived from the original on June 29, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  18. Gorski, David (May 6, 2019). "Deception by omission: Del Bigtree's ICAN calls the studies licensing MMR into question". Science-based Medicine. Archived from the original on June 21, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  19. O'Rourke, Ciara (April 10, 2019). "No, Health and Human Services didn't say it failed to monitor vaccine safety". Politifact. Archived from the original on June 29, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2019.

See also
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