What The NYTimes & Forbes Aren’t Telling You About Vaxxed

Making myself a hot cup of tea and sitting down at my computer Monday night, I found myself shocked when an article written for Forbes came across my screen. In it, the author boasts that Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe, the film I had just seen that very morning with my husband and son, had gotten unflattering reviews and was lacking in viewers. Surely, its author, Emily Willingham, couldn’t be talking about the same film I had seen. As I read further, it was clear that she had been no where near the theatre to comment on the film herself, nor to see just how wrong her information was. In fact, she referenced Rebecca Robbins, a journalist who attended the premier and whose information she relies on somewhat for her post, as having “heroically attended the premiere.” I guess Willingham didn’t have her cape on that day. Of course her agenda was never to see the film, but rather to divert others from seeing it. It seems that fellow writer, Melena Ryzik (The New York Times), whose work is also referenced in Willingham’s article, did not attend a film screening either. It’s too bad that they critique the film without actually seeing it, especially since much of the information discussed is either inaccurate and/or completely one sided. It’s sad, really, the reach that the CDC and the pharmaceutical industry have when it comes to funding the media companies and blinding the public, but I digress.

Forbes says there were few in attendance. The Reality: Sold Out Shows

Willingham leads her readers to believe that the film had a poor turnout by quoting The New York Times who states that there were “several dozen” people there and follows this with Robbins’ Stat tweet, “Not a huge crowd here.” What’s interesting is that this contradicts the words of one of the reviewers that she highlights in her post. From the same article she quotes Jordan Hoffman from, comes his statement that, “its first showing was, for 11am on a Friday, well populated.” Hmm…  he went to the same viewing that Robbins attended. And what about the Friday night, Saturday and Sunday shows (you know, when many people don’t have to be at work)? The same article from The New York Times that Willingham references the ‘several dozen’ from also tells us that there were sold out screenings, but Willingham neglects to point this out. The theatre was actually packed for the majority of the weekend screenings, many of them having SOLD OUT shows. Just check out the photos below. If you want the actual numbers, The Truth Barrier did some number crunching.

Forbes/Hoffman claim the film doesn’t address Wakefield’s past at all. Reality? It sure does!

Willingham shares that Jordan Hoffman, reviewing for the Guardian, says, “At no point does the movie address or deflect the elephant in the room: that the British gastroenterologist and researcher (Wakefield) has been struck off as a licensed doctor.” For staters, this statement is false, as it is touched upon in the film. There are shots of newspaper articles saying his license was pulled. They also have Anderson Cooper say that Andy Wakefield had his license pulled and that he is a fraud. They did NOT shy away from Wakefield’s background at all. So, once again, this leads me to wonder, did Hoffman stay to watch the the film? If so, how could he miss this? Wakefield isn’t trying to hide anything (he has no reason to), thus why this IS included in the film, however, this is NOT a documentary about Andrew Wakefield, which is why it was mentioned, yet not a main focus. This is a documentary about the CDC whistle blower, NOT Andy Wakefield, and about the government corruption that is putting all of our children at risk.

Forbes/Robbins claim there is no evidence. Reality? Vaxxed is chock-full of it.

Willingham quotes Rebecca Robbins of Stat, saying, “Vaxxed also advanced, but provided no evidence for, a conspiracy theory which has been circulating for about two years among anti-vaccine activists and concerned parents.” Um… Rebecca, were you sleeping during the film? They had and showed the actual documents from the Whistleblower coming straight from the CDC. These very documents are in the hands of Congressman Posey, where you can access them too. Of course, no one counts the many families in the film sharing their stories of how their children suddenly changed right after receiving the MMR, because you know, they don’t count (total sarcasm, can you tell I’m frustrated with people like this?). “The vaccine of focus in the film is the MMR vaccine. As Robbins notes in Stat’s piece, this vaccine has been demonstrated to be safe in many large-scale studies” (Willingham). These ‘large scale’ studies were falsified and/or done in such a way to make the numbers seem to be safe, as seen in the film. The fraud behind these studies are what this film is about – how did she miss that? Maybe she had to use the ladies room (for the entire length of the film). Oh, wait, she was at the same viewing as Hoffman who also missed some things…

Forbes/NYTimes/Kohn state Vaxxed is one-sided propaganda. Reality? They Need A Reality Check.

Willingham, along with The New York Times, also shares that Eric Kohn gave the film a D and called it “one-sided propaganda.” So when someone comes across and shares information that doesn’t fully support vaccines or the CDC it’s one-sided propaganda, but when someone shares information supporting the CDC and vaccines without showing the other side, it’s the end all be all. Yeah, that seems fair.

Forbes conveys that there are few reviews and they are not positive. Reality: Filmgoers have been writing rave reviews.

Willingham claims that the reviews “dribbling in” are “not flattering.” She then cites 3 reviews. That’s right, 3. I guess those are the only negative ones she could find? No, I’m not that naive, I am sure there are many more negative reviews coming from people paid to write them that way. Ryzik does the same in her article in that she sticks to referencing people and reviews that clearly do not support the film. The thing is, there are plenty of positive reviews that are well written, praising the film and its producers. There’s one by The NYC Movie Guru, one by Harvey Karten, and, at the moment that I write this, 130 five star ratings on Fandango from people who actually saw the film without an agenda and without being paid to be there or to write one.

“I was blessed to be one of the first to see this movie premiering TODAY in New York City at the Angelika Film Center. It was a riveting roller coaster for those with their eyes and minds open to the possibility that greed and corruption at the Centers for Disease Control may have built over years. Each lie for the “Greater Good” laying a deeper foundation of deciet. I have seen and been involved in the production and marketing of dozens of Autism documentaries and this by far is rated a “must see.” Before I unpack this, let me disclose that: I am a parent of a vaccine injured child. I am not in any way shape or form a medical professional. I have not been paid to write this review. I am a British Citizen who resides in Illinois. I have been studying Autism and advocating for better health for all for fourteen years. I am a contributing editor at The Age of Autism Age of Autism dot com. I am behind #CDCwhistleblower. I am biased but not bought. I wish I had seen it…before. Things to take into this movie: 1. Tissues. Yes humans attending this movie will be moved. Dramatic and graphic yet not over the top. 2. An open mind. For those new to the Vaccine Safety world there will be a lot that forces you to come face to face with a lot of your programmed beliefs about the medical establishment, doctors and pharmaceutical business practices. 3. Bring a Friend. I was shaking and crying and needed a hand to hold and hug when it was over. There are multiple reasons advanced copies of this movie were not provided to the press. I applaud the producers for not bowing to the establishment pressure. Many will jump on CDC provided talking points, but this film is not about Dr Andrew Wakefield. This film is about Dr William Thompson who is a top CDC scientist still working at the CDC. He is known on the web as the #CDCwhistleblower. Questions raised over and over in the public domain about Fraud, Deception and Malfeasance at the CDC are detailed in such a way I personally believe it will be impossible for the crimes to go ignored. I have to applaud the depth of commitment of all the individuals in the film. In our current silenced, censored and politically correct world these heroes are taking great risks to appear. We must, as parents dealing with children who have and may have been injured by vaccines, support this film in every way we can. No matter the smoke screens, misdirection and pointing of fingers by the establishment. When real questions are raised, real answers are required. It is not remotely Anti Vaccine to demand Laws be followed, fraud prevented and best outcomes in health pursued.” ~ Tim Welsh – Health Advocate – Contributing Editor Age of Autism

“I’m not personally impacted, but I viewed the film because a friend asked me to. I’m a skeptical soul, and every alarm in me went off watching this film. For me, the central claims and arguments are so much different than sound bites reported by main-stream media. This documentary IS NOT anti-vax. It’s about PRO- QUESTIONING. The central claims are not about whether to vax or not, but rather about when (at what age) and whether multiple/combos like MMR should be administered at all. It’s also about the need to require that vaccinations go through the same safety and efficacy disciplines that all other drugs are subjected to.” ~Bashmint

“I’m pleased to have a film on this subject that I can share with others who have not been as immersed in this topic as I have. It has a narrow scope and is well supported so it is a good introduction or re-introduction to the vaccine debate for those who feel “the science is decided.” Despite my endless discussion on the subject at family gatherings, this film still managed to shock my mother-I’ve been trying to do that for years! The relentless push for vaccine mandates in the US continues as story after story regarding vaccine safety concerns emerges and is left uncovered by the media. Will the spark of outrage provoked by the dropping of this film by the Tribeca Film Festival be enough to encourage or force further discussion/coverage/legislation? Based on past history, probably not…but let’s hope! Thank you to the brave people who invested their time and money to bring this documentary to the world and thank you to Dr. William Thompson and all the future whistleblowers to come.” ~ Nicki Browsh

Forbes/NYTimes Focus on protecting their own vested interests rather than on what Vaxxed has to offer. That’s the reality.

Finally, to boot, the end of Willingham’s post exemplifies her vested interest and her inability to do an honest review, perhaps, once again, why she didn’t put on her cape and attend the viewing herself. Instead she was too busy gathering links to measles outbreaks to include at the end of her “movie review.”

As badly as Willingham’s post ends, off topic and spewing propaganda, The New York Times conclusion is no better. “All the energy we spend fighting over a debunked vaccine conspiracy theory,” he (Drezner) wrote, “is energy we’re not spending on working with autistic people to help them better thrive in the world today.” There is no evidence that Drezner saw the film. Whether he did or he didn’t, once again we see that the content of the film, the basis of the documentary, is being ignored. Anyone seeing the film will recognize that this quote is in direct opposition of just what the producers of this film are doing – working to make it so that the numbers of children with autism drop down significantly, as they should never have gotten to where they are today had the information presented in the film been presented in whole, without tampering, as it should have been years ago.

Now, let’s see, how can I end this? Oh, I know, let me share information on the film! Here’s the Official Website: Vaxxedthemovie.com and here’s the Vaxxed e-mail subscription sign-up form (if you want the film to be shown near you, this will let them see just where you are, and thus where the demand for the film is. And… Here’s the trailer!

Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe Official Trailer from Cinema Libre Studio on Vimeo.

Works Cited

Ryzik, Melena. “Anti-Vaccine Film, Pulled From Tribeca Film Festival, Draws Crowd at Showing.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 01 Apr. 2016. Web. 06 Apr.          2016.

Willingham, Emily. “Andrew Wakefield’s Film Fizzles.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 03 Apr. 2016. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.

A special thanks to Pat Robinson of Heal Thyself and to Aimee Villella McBride for their advice and encouragement. And, of course to everyone involved in the film, Vaxxed, for being crusaders for all of our children who cannot crusade for themselves.