Recently there has been some press coverage that potential running mates for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., are themselves well versed in conspiracy theories.
Kennedy, the driving force behind anti-vaccine pressure group Children’s Health Defense, which includes Children’s Health Defense Australia (recently abandoned website), is running as an independent for President of the USA. One possible running mate is Jesse Ventura who was mentioned here when the antics of Rima Laibow were reviewed. The other is Aaron Rodgers who has entertained a number of conspiracy theories including denial of the Sandy Hook shootings. Both are anti-vaxxers.
Kennedy has lobbied for years promoting the debunked link between MMR vaccines and autism. In the early days of the COVID pandemic he emerged as a vocal critic of COVID-19 vaccines. Which for a presidential contender, is understandably proving to be a problem. As measles cases rise across the US it isn’t surprising that Kennedy is not attacking vaccines on the campaign trail. In April last year Kennedy announced he would take leave of his roles as Chairman and Chief Legal Counsel of CHD, although the US site still lists him as both.
Exactly why the CHD Australian chapter URL is parked, just seven months after launching is unclear, although the Instagram page remains. What can’t be denied is Kennedy’s long history of spreading vaccine disinformation. In the early days of his campaign Kennedy talked about plans to tell NIH scientists it is time “to give infectious disease a break for about eight years”. However as his presidential campaign continues he is, according to NBC in the below clip, keeping his usual anti-vaccine message “relatively quiet”.
RFK Jr. relatively quiet on antivax message despite past ties
In June this year we briefly met suspended GP registrar, William Bay, thanks to his attempt to intervene in the Australian Babies Case. He has summarised his reasons for doing so here. Suffice it to say the Australian Vaccination-risks Network were not happy, making me very happy.
Fast forward to the present, and former AVN president Meryl Dorey, who has taken to feverish promotion of cooker-conspiracy theories on Substack, revealed Saturday that the same William Bay had sent her a formal Letter of Concern. It lists numerous comments about him on her Substack site, that he believes are defamatory. Billy wants the article and every comment removed, topped off with a public apology. This is the latest event since Billy, who proudly refers to himself as the Suspended Dr. William Bay, falsely declared his High Court challenge to have the Voice referendum declared unconstitutional, was a success.
This was not the first time Billy, who often proclaims he’s doing God’s work, declared victory in stark dissonance to the facts. He is soundly refuted by AAP FactCheck here. AAP provide insight into how quickly disinformation spreads between cookers. Billy’s proclamation of victory is a great example of how the uncritical acceptance of a claim can influence belief. It also underscores the power of social media, in this regard. Billy gave a performance of confidence and credibility in a Cafe Locked Out interview, citing as proof documents that actually confirmed his failure.
During the interview he referred to a document on his website’s legal docs page headed “Application For A Constitutional Or Other Writ”. Billy directs viewers to his site then says:
I’m looking at it on my computer right now. It’s a miracle, it’s gorgeous, it’s great. It is a stamped document by Justice Jagot of the High Court itself who has declined to rule on the constitutionality of the referendum. So with this case being dismissed from further need for analysis, in legal circles as my lawyer friends will know… if jurisdiction is not proven it is invalid.
The gorgeous and great miracle was the exact document Billy had submitted for filing. The stamp added by Justice Margaret Jagot references High Court Rule 6.07.2, which deals with the management of frivolous or vexatious applications, and includes:
I direct the Registrar to refuse to issue or file this document without the leave of a Justice first had and obtained by the party seeking to issue or file it.
The upper part of the stamped application is below.
Screenshot – Billy Bay’s rejected application
Of course I am not a lawyer, and neither is Billy for that matter, but he has filed documents with the High Court before this. The Notice Of Filing cover page is part of previous documents he has lodged, displayed on his website. This includes file number, title, registry, type of document; in this case Application for constitutional or other writ, filing party and date. Think of it as confirmation that legal proceedings will take place. Plainly absent from his gorgeous miracle, it also clearly states:
Notice of filing page: Important Information
Staying in theme dear reader, I submit that the evidence before you supports the contention that the Suspended Dr. William Bay did know or should have known that his application was unsuccessful, and did know or should have known that the 2023 referendum is not unconstitutional. This conduct is not unusual for Billy who frequently offers baseless beliefs as fact.
Nonetheless, what followed was an old fashioned pile-on by various “freedom fighters” who took three days and more to decide Billy was wrong. Which interestingly, although they’d never admit it, was how long it took for AAP FactCheck to publish their rebuttal. More so, the stamped rejection of Billy’s application was available on 5 September receiving comment on social media by critics of the so-called freedom movement.
Then on 8 September, long time anti-vaxxer, AVN member, self-proclaimed “journalist” and founder of The People’s Revolution, Tristan Van Rye, better known as Triccy Triddy took to Facebook. Triccy lives in that alternate universe where nefarious global conspiracies of momentous proportion are accepted as fact. His tactics deserve proper deconstruction, but for now bear in mind he is driven by base neoconservatism. There is the ever-changing enemy to fear and there is “us”, constantly threatened by the enemy. Triccy’s a true believer and whilst he’s sowing fear, disinformation and social harm, appears genuinely convinced he is doing good.
In this video Triccy does a sound job of pointing out why Billy’s claim that the referendum is unconstitutional, can only be bogus. Chatter in the cookerverse following Billy’s announcement was reinforcing his other claim, that voting is unnecessary. Triccy had spent months sewing disinformation and anxiety about voting “Yes” and understandably couldn’t allow the chance of lost votes to go unchallenged. Other seasoned curators of disinformation felt the same way and rushed to their live streams. Senator Malcolm Roberts (who himself alleged in parliament that the ballot was unconstitutional), AVN president Aneeta Hafemeister, SovCit grifter Mike Palmer, former MMA fighter and Peacemaker founder Nick Patterson and pseudolaw obsessive Derek Balogh, all had a sudden concern for the spread of misinformation.
In the wake of Triccy’s video, Billy sent him a text message. It was reposted on Telegram:
Triccy, I hearby request and direct you to take down that FB live that you just did about me because I consider it defamatory. We have WON in the High Court. I will continue to show and explain that to the people of Australia; until it’s crystal clear for everyone I encourage you to keep an open mind to things, and in the meantime, I would appreciate it to save us all the trouble if you would remove that video please. Dr William Bay
Billy also sent a Letter of Concern to Triccy in response to said defamatory video. Triccy, in a rare moment of near jocularity, burnt it in his favourite faux lounge fire-pit. Billy however, kept up his booming confidence and applied for leave to issue or file the original application. This matter was heard on 15 September and ruled the original application an abuse of process. See p. 5, para 8:
It is not necessary to consider the question of standing, here in the context of a referendum. By r 6.07.1 leave to issue or file should be refused where the document would amount to an abuse of process. The latter term encompasses proceedings which are foredoomed to fail, as the proposed proceedings are.
Ah, foredoomed to failure, dear reader. A weighty yoke for our suspended doctor to bear. By 19 September, Billy had apologised to Triccy and withdrawn “proceedings”. Triccy was not amused, and announced an end to any further cooperation with Billy. He also took issue with a claim Billy made about employment restrictions imposed by AHPRA. We’ll get to that. First, we don’t want to forget that when Billy was gearing up to sue Triccy for defamation, someone else got their bad ass boots on. In fact there was bad assin’ and chin juttin’ aplenty from our Meryl, all with the hope of provoking Billy.
He was easy to provoke and Meryl went in hard. In a piece titled Distinguishing truth from bullsh*t 101, Meryl hit him where it hurt. It began with humour, as Australia’s most pernicious antivax liar laid out the section heading; Unity is vital – but truth is paramount. Oh, how we laughed! But next came mockery with; Billy Bay’s High Court “Victory”. Ah, the sting of those quotation marks. Then Not the first time Billy has done this, opened the way to a recounting of the failure of the Australian Babies Case. But ultimately came the totally bad ass; Will Billy Bay now come after me for telling the truth about his actions?
Having got the desired reaction, Meryl posted an article, referring to him only as “Bully” as she outlined the specifics of Billy’s letter of concern. The subheading; I don’t take well to threats, can only be described as (need I say it?) totally bad ass, and the article swiftly dispenses with any notion that Meryl is concerned. Within, she refers to a comment reply she wrote in response to Billy’s comment requesting her to “stop attacking” him. She raises the same issue Triccy Triddy had done regarding Billy’s claim on Voice of Freedom that AHPRA had prevented him from working in “any job at all”.
This is another jolly example of that area between remote possibility and reality that Billy exploits. Just as he continued to claim victory in the High Court because he had filed for leave to have his (already rejected) application accepted, there is a submission Billy refers to in the hope of convincing his followers. Simply put it is material submitted in reply from Billy to AHPRA, The Medical Board of Australia and QLD State, in the wake of his suspension. It happens to include:
So, he sought an injunction to prevent AHPRA and the Board from further enforcement of their “compliance letter” so that he can work in positions that don’t “require current registration with AHPRA as a condition of employment”. Neither AHPRA nor the Board have the power to enforce conditions outside their purview. Billy has always been free to work in areas where registration with AHPRA is not required.
Prior to this Billy had submitted an Application for Review of the findings of AHPRA and the Board. On page 7 is a request for an injunction to limit enforcement of the “compliance letter”, so that Billy could work in health care roles seperate from those of a GP Registrar.
The “compliance letter” is clear in that Billy is prohibited from working in health care. All health care, and only health care. In fact, the same document includes a November 2022 affidavit from Billy Bay which presents a clear summary of that letter on page 4, item 15:
The evidence that AHPRA ever sought to prevent Billy working “at all” doesn’t exist. Yet Billy chose to zero in on one part of a much larger, failed application to the Supreme Court. From 27:20 to 28:45 in the interview with Carl Lieberman, Billy talks about what he then thought were defamatory comments from Triccy Triddy. It was “a matter of life and death” for him because if his followers don’t trust him, donations would dry up and this was his only income. You can grab the mp3 file here or listen below. The important part is:
Billy: I even filed an application in the Supreme Court to let me work in any job at all and I lost that one…
Carl: Is that any job in health or any job at all?
Billy: At all, at all Sir… at all! It’s an outrage. It’s a disgrace and a disgust and the people of Australia need to know that, to see how unlawful this AHPRA agency is that they think they can regulate me that much. If they can do that to me they can do that to you.
Carl’s face is priceless as he can’t hide his incredulity. He asks Billy about responding to AHPRA under basic trade-law rights, but Billy had already tried “the international covenant on political and civil rights”. And so it came to pass that Triccy and Meryl called foul on this claim of Billy’s. But they were ten and fourteen days late respectively. Where did they get such bad ass information? Could it be that badder asses had earlier sought to hold Billy to account? A quick visit to Billy’s Facebook page gave me an answer of sorts. Some devious character with an obviously fake name had commented under the video, a day after it was posted:
The plot thickens! There’s also some lucky losing cast iron flying pig standing on an old copy of The Skeptic magazine and snooping around X.
@DrBillyBay Can you support your claim of being prevented by AHPRA to work in “any job at all” please? You’re suspended, and AHPRA suspension outcomes are clearly stated on their website. I’m worried you might inadvertently reinforce Triccy’s claim you “spruik misinformation”.
Humour aside, there are serious elements to consider in the wake of Billy’s ultimately harmless threats against seasoned con-artists. It’s breath-taking to witness Meryl Dorey, architect of the 2016 No Jab No Pay High Court scam, levelling accusations of donation fraud against him. NSW Fair Trading found the AVN guilty of breaching the Charitable Fundraising Act 1991, yet decided not to press charges. As for the money Dorey admitted to hoarding, furious AVN donors had to swallow the loss of their $160,000. Yet she recently wrote about Billy:
So Bully is gaining money from our suffering community under false pretences and I exposed that along with several other long-time supporters of health freedom and informed choice.
Meryl exposed nothing others hadn’t revealed two weeks before. Her own false pretences ensured a career sabotaging public health initiatives and scamming donors. Prior to the formation of the unfunded volunteer group, Stop The AVN, her unceasing schemes ran unchecked. COVID was a double-edged sword; bringing more followers to anti-vaccine conspiracies, but ensuring the increasing irrelevance of the Cult of Meryl. Even the AVN court cases failed. The frustration seeps through in this stand-over advice she offered Billy.
Better than you have tried to censor me for nearly 3 decades and they have not been successful. Perhaps it’s time for you to do some deep soul searching Bully and try to work out why you are actually involved with this issue. Because as far as I can see, it doesn’t appear that caring for our community and the lives of the children and adults therein is your main motivator.
Triccy was far more diplomatic in his criticism, stressing that he meant Billy “no harm”. Unlike Dorey, Triccy appears genuinely focused on change rather than profit and ego. That said, his belief that “we are experiencing World War III, which will be known in the future as The War Against the People”, is based on harmful conspiracy theories of shadow governments. Whilst a key aspect of his rhetoric is that “people will forget their differences”, he is quite skilled at ensuring division between what he wants and what most of us identify as progressive thought.
Billy himself has spent over a year filing for court cases, circling social media and attending protests, after he publicly sabotaged his medical career at an AMA conference in July 2022. Like these other two judging him, he spends a great deal of time spreading disinformation to suit his own bizarre ideology. He also scoops up donations from gullible supporters drawn to conspiracies.
Ultimately, trouble in cooker paradise is nothing short of great news. Belief in conspiracy theories and suspicion of vaccines have both increased post COVID. Researchers are refining their understanding of the factors behind distrust of health authorities. Yet the role social media played in warping uncritical minds during lockdown, has today been replaced by quick-changing narratives adapted to suit. Attacking the Voice referendum is a case in point.
For a long time yet, anything that reflects positive social change will be seen by these players as the latest phase of dark conspiracies. I for one wish them all the infighting and trouble they can muster, and may they tear their angry little worlds asunder.
The COVID-19 pandemic created, embellished and gave impetus to a range of movements that have at their core a belief in one concept. Namely, that the pandemic itself revealed or confirmed that global conspiracies are in play, as governments and authorities ultimately seek to harm the populace.
Enter “My Place”. One of the many anti-vaccine groups to percolate from the barrage of disinformation during COVID, it was formed by Darren Bergwerf to oppose COVID vaccinations. It began to attract attention after disrupting council meetings earlier this year. Brandishing all the attributes of the freedom movement, My Place urges adherents to form council action groups with the aim of “controlling council decisions”.
Amongst councils targeted this way was Yarra Ranges Council which, in response to abusive and intimidatory behaviour from the public gallery, took council meetings online in April this year, temporarily closing the gallery. Foremost amongst My Place obsessions is the concept of 20 Minute Neighbourhoods or Smart Cities, which conspiracy theorists believe are covert plans to restrict movement, monitor activity, remove freedom of choice and launch an all-seeing digital ID. With textbook conspiracy theory thinking, My Place wrongly assumed the Monbulk Urban Design Framework (UDF) draft plans, accommodated such a nefarious scheme.
Yarra Ranges had openly encouraged community consultation on the UDF, from 16 December 2022. My Place action group members attended the 31 January 2023 council meeting causing enough disruption to temporarily stop proceedings. Council members were yelled at, called a range of names, accused of hidden motives and had their professional integrity questioned. Council then published Statement regarding misinformation on social media on its website, in which it clarified the purpose behind 20 Minute Neighbourhoods and the manner in which technology may be used. This included:
The intent is for people to be able to move about easily and freely without being burdened by excessive travel or costly transport options. It improves movement and access, rather than preventing it.
Sometimes technology can be used to understand where there is congestion on a path or road network or an intersection… [or] when a bin is full or when a drain is blocked, helping to stop litter entering waterways and flooding.
The decision to move council meetings online is permitted under security provisions in the Local Government Act 2020 [see 66 (2)(b)(c)]. Online meetings were available to the public, and at the time, Yarra Ranges mayor Cr. Jim Child stressed he would review the situation in June. In-person council meetings with registration requirements resumed on 11 July. However in a June media release, My Place contended they had been “locked out” of meetings and more so, Council had done this merely due to “perceived” threats to safety. It was a breach of the human rights of residents by Council, and “deeply insulted” by comments that the mayor had made, My Place submitted an application to the Supreme Court. Their orders are laid out below.
And so it came to pass. On 4 July 2023 the matter came before Supreme Court Justice Melissa Richards. The sole plaintiff seeking an interlocutory injunction to prevent Council from adopting the proposed UDF was Darren Dickson, who represented himself and had submitted affidavits from 18 members of the Yarra Ranges community. Dickson has been described on social media as a “pseudo-law guru”, although I cannot attest to the import of this particular honorary. Justice Richards set a trial date for 3 August 2023.
Dickson sought the injunction based on a lack of community engagement, and further:
An extended 12 month consultation period.
Council to reopen the public gallery for meetings.
Clarification on filming from the public gallery.
Contended Council did not meet Local Government Act 2020 (Vic) requirements.
Contended Council was in breach of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act (Vic) 2006, namely right to privacy, to freedom of expression and participation in public life.
Mr. Dickson also sought answers to two questions specific to the manner in which he perceived the implementation of 20 Minute Neighbourhoods (20MN). Namely:
Whether Council’s role includes power to develop three storey accommodation for local areas.
Whether Council can engage with and adopt United Nations policies.
Whilst not living in the municipality Dickson identifies as a member of the community. He works and socialises there and cares for his mother who is a Yarra Ranges resident. Dickson had attended the disruptive 11 April council meeting that led to temporary closure of the public gallery.
Lilydale resident Martin Dieleman was concerned that the UDF proposed by Council would permit 20 Minute Neighbourhoods and in turn, this would ensure increased surveillance and housing density along with restricted choice and freedom of movement. He started a petition in March this year, promoting the well debunked conspiracy theory view of 20MN and by June had over 2,000 signatures from across Victoria. Absurd claims about smart cities had by then become an increasing feature of social media, resonating with those convinced by the “freedom movement”. Dickson had bought the narrative and learned of growing attention to the Monbulk UDF from Dieleman in April this year.
Throughout the consultation period Council had made themselves available to discuss and clarify aspects of the UDF. Specific community engagement programmes organised by Council were provided, along with multiple interactions with individual community members. The draft UDF is discussed in the below video published on 11 February 2023.
Nathan Islip, Manager Design and Place talks about the Monbulk UDF
Edward Gisonda, counsel for Yarra Ranges Council, submitted that being part of the community does not give Darren Dickson standing to seek public law remedies regarding approval of the UDF, conduct of Council meetings and the two questions regarding 20MN. In her judgement of 199 paragraphs over 62 pages, Justice Richards found Darren Dickson did not have standing to pursue legal action. More specifically Dickson did not demonstrate that he had special interest in the UDF, or that if approved by Council, it would have a legal or practical effect on him. His interest is no different to that of any member of the public.
I accept that he is concerned about aspects of the UDF, although these concerns seem to be based on misunderstandings of the UDF’s content and effect. An intellectual or emotional concern, however strongly held, is not enough to give Mr Dickson standing to obtain public law remedies in relation to the Council’s consideration of the UDF.
Nor could Dickson demonstrate a special interest in how Council held its meetings, and he did not submit that he had difficulty accessing or viewing council meetings when held online. Dickson did submit affidavits for 11 local residents who had privacy concerns about the registration process for attending in-person meetings but Dickson himself was not one of them. Nor had he sought consent to record any council meeting.
At its highest, Mr Dickson’s interest is a strongly held belief that the Council should conduct its meetings in a particular way. On its own, that is not enough to establish standing to obtain orders compelling the Council to conduct meetings in that way.
Justice Richards went further and considered if someone with standing would secure the legal remedies that Mr. Dickson sought. This involved examining evidence and testimony presented at trial and viewing Council performance through the lenses of the Local Government Act, the Planning Act, Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 [Vic] (the Charter) and Plan Melbourne 2017-2050: Metropolitan Planning Strategy. There are some interesting aspects to the judgement.
One contention raised by the plaintiff and revisited during questioning was that the council had failed to “meaningfully engage” over the UDF, with particular emphasis on the temporary closure of public meetings. Council is bound by the Charter to ensure the right to engage with public affairs is observed. Yet this doesn’t give an individual the right to dictate terms of their involvement. Council’s community engagement with respect to the UDF, and the involvement of Nathan Islip in attempting to assuage concerns of some residents, covered 10 pages of the ruling.
Mr. Islip’s patience is evident, in that he was clearly repeating answers to the same questions from the same resident/s via email, over the phone, in person and during council meetings. He fielded questions over freedom of movement, privacy and “tracking of movements” in 20MN. At one meeting he was asked if there would be “consequences for travelling outside of our 20MN”. Addressing whether or not Council met community engagement obligations specific to the UDF, Justice Richards ruled overwhelmingly that they did [para. 70 – 125].
Justice Richards rejected six complaints raised by Mr. Dickson highlighting different means by which Council purportedly failed to provide adequate community engagement. Addressing each in turn Her Honour ultimately wrote:
Mr Dickson has not established that the Engagement Plan adopted by the Council for the UDF limited his or anyone else’s Charter right to participate in public affairs. The right does not enable any member of the public, regardless of their interest in the UDF, to dictate the terms of the Council’s engagement with the community about the UDF, or to demand immediate answers to questions about matters not contained in the UDF.
As had been clear from the My Place media release and questions raised by David Dickson during the hearing, the fact that online council meetings had been held from 26 April to 27 June 2023 was considered a breach of the Local Government Act by the plaintiff, because these meetings were not “open to the public”. However the Local Government Act is clear in this regard. Justice Richards wrote:
Mr Dickson’s complaint that the Council had closed its meetings to the public between 26 April and 27 June 2023 was misconceived. […] A council meeting is ‘open to the public’, as that term is defined in s 66(6) of the Local Government Act, if the meeting is broadcast live on the internet site of the council.
Let’s recall, dear reader, that meetings moved online in response to repeated abuse and aggressive behaviour from the public gallery. Justice Richards recounts in detail, evidence from witnesses concerning the intimidation [para. 157 – 169]. During the trial David Dickson cross examined witnesses, seemingly intent on dismissing what they had already reported as intimidating or threatening experiences. Nathan Islip had given evidence that “threatening comments” were made at the 31 January council meeting, to which police were called. Dickson asked Mr. Islip if he knew what “the definition of a threat is”. Here, Dickson is focusing on the threat of harm, seemingly unaware that intimidation in pursuit of coercion is also a threat.
There was a group of people among the large public gallery who were intent on disrupting the meeting, and who did so. They interjected frequently and loudly and did not recognise the authority of the Mayor as Chair of the meeting. Their behaviour was contrary to r 73.3 of the Governance Rules, in that they did not extend due courtesy and respect to the Council and its processes, and they did not take direction from the Chair.
With respect to filming council meetings, attendees wanting to do so must seek consent of the Chair. Pre-registration with photo ID for those who want to attend in-person meetings has not been shown by Mr. Dickson to be unlawful. It is permitted under the Local Government Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004. Evidence was given by Andrew Hilson, Yarra Ranges Director of Corporate Services, that information collected is in accordance with the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014. Justice Richards ruled that given prior disruption to council meetings, registration is proportionate and not an unlawful interference with the right to privacy.
This brings us to the two additional questions Dickson wanted answered regarding three storey accomodation and the adoption of UN policies. In fact they arise from a misunderstanding of the origin and scope of the UDF. There is no evidence that Council is seeking to develop three storey accomodation for local areas. Nor is there evidence that the UDF heralds adoption of UN policies. Rather, the UDF does not actually refer to 20 Minute Neighbourhoods. In the event that it did, it would in fact be Victorian Government policy and an existing part of the Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme.
More importantly however, is that David Dickson does not have standing to seek answers to these questions. Again, his interest is no different to any other member of public. Justice Richards wrote:
In short, the additional questions should not be answered because they do not relate to any legal controversy between the Council and Mr Dickson, or the Council and anyone else identified in the evidence.
Ultimately, there were no democratic principles or legislation breached by Yarra Ranges Council during UDF consultation, or as a result of temporarily changing meetings to online. Online meetings are not only available to the public but are the preferred option for many. Yarra Ranges Council posted a response to the ruling on their website here.
Darren Dickson was ordered to pay Council’s costs. If in disagreement, he has until 1 September 2023 to submit his reasons as to why a different order should be made.
One cannot ignore that as sovereign citizens, My Place supporters reject the notion that Australian courts, laws and institutions hold any valid power. Exactly how this ruling will be accepted remains to be seen. Might it be rejected outright, or woven into the complex tapestry of the parallel society My Place founder Darren Bergwerf aims to create? Sov Cits are skilled at rationalising dissonant outcomes as victory. It may be that taking a Council to the Supreme Court can be accepted as a win. Of sorts.
Either way, the theme of corrupt public authorities was also evident in the many unsuccessful cases involving anti-vaccination groups and vaccine mandate opponents, recently making their way to court. They too had “woken up” to a new reality. Many were exploited or left in debt. Established anti-vaccine pressure groups had retooled for COVID. They continue to promote themselves, and financially profit to this day.
Not one has been, or will be, denied an opportunity to access the court system and bring their evidence, no matter how disjointed and deceptive, before a judge. Ultimately, this particular case has, like the others, reinforced the strong democracy Australia has.
Evidence for a corrupt global cartel however, remains elusive.
The COVID pandemic gave voice to a number of conspiracy theories that sought to offer an explanation about what was “really” happening. Some of the more bizarre, and yet persistent, conspiracies involve an inexplicable plan of global depopulation. Or as it is often labelled, “culling”.
A decade before the pandemic, anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists had accused Bill Gates of using vaccines in his own quest to depopulate the planet. That was an intentional distortion of a TED talk Gates had given in which he notes that improved public health correlated with decreased population growth. Over time it became a particularly robust piece of misinformation, commonly spread with the unfounded claim that vaccines cause infertility. Claims of vaccine induced depopulation and infertility found new ground during the pandemic. As the pandemic continued a host of conspiracy theories about vaccines were entertained by antivaxxers in a bizarre ebb and flow fashion modulated by social media.
Another identity associated with the depopulation conspiracy theory to be dusted off during the pandemic was psychiatrist, Dr. Rima Laibow. Rima was referenced on social media in 2021, January 2022 and most recently in March 2023. Laibow’s attraction was due to her appearance on the 2009 programmeConspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura. Motivated by H1N1 (“Swineflu”), anti-vaccine conspiracy theory rhetoric, Laibow claimed during an interview that the World Health Organisation had been working since 1974 to orchestrate global depopulation. She claimed the WHO assessed the world overpopulated by 90% and was using vaccines to create “permanent sterility”. That the population had grown from 4 billion to just under 7 billion from 1974 to 2009 was seemingly lost on her.
April 2023 Instagram post from a now deleted account
Her 2009 appearance with Jesse Ventura was being shared on social media along with commentary suggesting that Laibow had “nailed it” and foreseen both mandatory vaccination and “the great culling“. In the histrionics of conspiracy theory echo chambers this was proof that the WHO was using COVID-19 vaccines to create permanent sterility, and that Laibow had “cautioned us against COVID-19”. It must be stressed that mandatory vaccination either for H1N1 or COVID-19 never eventuated. There has been ample controversy regarding vaccine mandates in certain workplaces during the COVID-19 pandemic, but in no way have Laibow’s claims been realised.
On 26 April 2022 Health Feedback published a fact check of another of Laibow’s accusations in the video. Namely, the claim that squalene in vaccines caused autoimmune disease and Gulf War Syndrome. Unsurprisingly, the verdict was “inaccurate”. Laibow warned of the horror vaccines would unleash, telling Jesse Ventura, “What that means is a genocidal holocaust. Men and women will sicken and die and those who survive will be infertile”. The YouTube video below contains the circulating clip of Rima Laibow, edited to educate the viewer as to Laibow’s relationship with science, the truth and legislation.
Dr. Rima Laibow
Selling Colloidal Silver
During her interview Laibow dramatically remains on the edge of a tarmac lest she need to suddenly escape from the USA to avoid “compulsory vaccination” for H1N1. She did not feel safe living in the USA and tells Ventura she was leaving as soon as the interview was over. However, it appears she managed to overcome her fear to work as “medical director” and trustee of the company, Natural Solutions Foundation, with a website hosted at drrimatruthreports.com. By 2014 Rima Laibow was selling a “cure” for Ebola. The “cure” was 10 PPM Nano Silver, which was in fact colloidal silver, and packaged as “Dr. Rima Recommends Nano Silver”. In September 2014 the US Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission labelled the company “scammers”. A warning letter to the company informed Laibow and a co-trustee that they were in breach of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA).
The correspondence includes examples of strikingly inaccurate claims made on the Natural Solutions Foundation website in which nano silver is described as “safe and non toxic… able to kill every pathogen worldwide against which it has been tested”. Health authorities were of course hiding the truth of this cure and the absence of “declassified research” supporting colloidal silver was proof it is effective. Packaged with a CBD organic chocolate bar, nano silver constituted part of a “protection pack”. Other claims included:
Conventional Antibiotics won’t do much against genetically engineered or resistant organisms… But safe, gentle and effective nano silver kills disease organisms in a different way… This is powerful natural protection you need for yourself ad [sic] your family. Choose the Personal Protection Pack or the Family Protection Pack…
It kills only the organisms that cause disease… similar to the lamps in hospitals that kill deadly germs… and also interferes with the metabolism of the disease organisms in such a way that they cannot become resistant to it.
Laibow responded by altering claims made on the company website. The scheme was heavily criticised on the7 On Your Side TV programme “Don’t Get Taken By Ebola Scams”, in which Laibow reportedly argued the scam label was “ridiculous”. Ebola scams were common in the USA at the time, taking the form of bogus charities and cures. Ebola cases and deaths had occurred on US soil and scam artists were taking advantage of fear and uncertainty.
By 2020 of course, the pandemic was upon us. Did Rima Laibow actually turn to reminding us that she had warned of the WHO depopulation-by-sterilisation using vaccines? Did she flee the US in fear of mandatory vaccination? Well no, because Natural Solutions Foundation immediately got to work selling the very same Nano Silver concoction as a treatment for COVID-19. At the same time COVID conspiracy theories were peddled via the long standing Dr. Rima Truth Reports, and went as far as calling face masks “mind control devices”.
Ultimately, the FDA filed a suit on 13 November 2020 that alleged Natural Solutions Foundation, and its trustees Rima Laibow and Ralph Fucetola, had “sold and distributed a nano silver product that the defendants claim will cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent COVID-19.” It further alleged that they had sold misbranded drugs, as labelling for use was insufficient. As such they had violated the FDCA, and on 28 December 2021 were ordered by a District court to stop distributing the colloidal silver. This was the same product used in breach of the same Act as in 2014, albeit now in exploitation of COVID-19.
‘Dr. Rima Recommends’ nano silver label
Fortunately, this time the outcome was more enduring. The defendants agreed to settle the suit and be bound by a Consent Decree of Permanent Injunction [PDF]. The court entered an order that enjoins the defendants from violating the FDCA. They were ordered to recall all nano silver products sold from 22 January 2020 to 27 December 2021, and destroy any such products in their possession. Before distribution of any drugs in future they must notify the FDA in advance, comply with remedial measures and permit an FDA inspection of their facility and procedures. On 8 March 2023 the FDA published an urgent product recall from the company for the nano silver product, issued as part of the consent decree.
These days Dr. Rima Laibow and Ralph Fucetola of Natural Solutions appear on Open Source Truth [archive] and present a weekly podcast titled The Unmasked Crusaders. The Natural Solutions Foundation website is unchanged from a decade ago and the Dr. Rima Truth Reports continue. They do not, thankfully, sell colloidal silver.
The anti-vaccine, anti-mask, anti-science rhetoric however, is undiminished.
During the second and third years of the COVID pandemic, skeptics began to hear more and more of an anti-parasitic drug that had been used frequently for animals and less so for humans.
Ivermectin has been approved by health authorities to treat humans with strongyloidiasis and onchocerciasis (river blindness): conditions that are caused by parasitic worms. Also there are topical ivermectin preparations used to manage skin conditions such as rosacea and external parasites such as head lice. Used as prescribed it is quite safe and has improved the lives of countless individuals in developing nations. Yet we weren’t hearing about ivermectin used in this manner. Thanks to disinformation and irresponsible repetition of dubious claims, ivermectin was being promoted as a means to combat COVID-19.
The anti-vaccination movement embraced ivermectin because it resonated with the “my body, my choice” mantra. Right leaning media identities promoted it in much the same illogical way as they had hydroxychloroquine. It had been used safely for decades, they argued, and thus was clearly a sound choice to combat COVID-19 symptoms. Yet hydroxychloroquine, had a pharmaceutical history as an anti-malarial and an agent to manage symptoms of arthritis and autoimmune disease, not in treating COVID-19. Ivermectin similarly, had no clinically proven background in the treatment of COVID-19. The clinical trials had simply not been done.
For skeptics, the issue was and is quite simple. Look toward reputable sources. Seriously examine the arguments in favour of ivermectin. Review the strength of research being cited. Place the issue in context. Keep an eye out for ideology. Check the profiles and backgrounds of key players, and so on. In short: Seek the evidence.
Initially there was the 3 April 2020 media release from Monash University. The Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute announced a paper published in the peer reviewed journal Antiviral Research. The title, The FDA-approved drug ivermectin inhibits the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro, was tantalising. An informative piece published in the Sydney Morning Herald on 22 October 2021 cites experienced drug developer Dr. Craig Rayner referring to the impact of the announcement:
“It was incredibly hyped,” Dr Rayner said. “I knew it was going to start a fire.” […]
“It’s not the best thing for Australia to become known for in terms of its contribution to the pandemic,” Dr Rayner said. “But that’s what it is, unfortunately. It has promoted vaccine hesitancy and people are dying because they’re taking a veterinary medicine that has not been proven.”
For those looking to grab the ivermectin ball and run with it, the media release was peppered with big names, other nasty diseases and potentially exciting findings. It has since been modified to include an FDA warning and offer clear disclaimers about ivermectin’s effectiveness. What mattered to those who would go on to push ivermectin as a safe cure for COVID-19, came from just a few paragraphs:
A collaborative study led by the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI) with the Peter Doherty Institute of Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute), a joint venture of the University of Melbourne and Royal Melbourne Hospital, has shown that an anti-parasitic drug already available around the world kills the virus within 48 hours.
The Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute’s Dr Kylie Wagstaff, who led the study, said the scientists showed that the drug, Ivermectin, stopped the SARS-CoV-2 virus growing in cell culture within 48 hours.
“We found that even a single dose could essentially remove all viral RNA by 48 hours and that even at 24 hours there was a really significant reduction in it,” Dr Wagstaff said.
Ivermectin is an FDA-approved anti-parasitic drug that has also been shown to be effective in vitro against a broad range of viruses including HIV, Dengue, Influenza and Zika virus.
Dr Wagstaff cautioned that the tests conducted in the study were in vitro and that trials needed to be carried out in people.
For those of us even broadly familiar with how drugs are brought to market, it was that final line above that mattered. Early lab results do not equate to clinical trials. Indeed shortly after the announcement, effort and funding across the globe was directed to clinical trials of ivermectin. Yet it would take almost eighteen months before enough studies were done, presenting enough evidence to show that ivermectin does not hold promise as a treatment for COVID-19. Over 2021, the number of news articles heavily critical of the “dubious” apparent “miracle cure” rose steadily such as here, here and here. The BBC published a powerful article on the “false science” backing ivermectin. Flawed data, fake evidence and poorly designed and written research was common.
Australia watched on as Malcolm Roberts, George Christensen, Craig Kelly and Clive Palmer promoted (and still promote) ivermectin. In the absence of evidence ivermectin could not be prescribed for COVID-19. This led to proponents sourcing and ingesting veterinary-grade ivermectin. It soon became clear from social media that many were taking excessive doses very often. On 21 August 2021 the FDA tweeted, “You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y’all. Stop it.” That tweet links to accurate FDA information on the dangers of using ivermectin.
Losing In The Lucky Country 