Mike Adams (aka HealthRanger) Goes Berzerk over Shorty Awards
Perhaps Mike could benefit from some of this product. ("Natural Oil Synergies to Uplift Mind and Mood" by Crystalwood Naturals/CC-by-nd via Flickr)
For those of you who aren’t Twitterers (or “Twits” as some would have it), the Shorty Awards are the latest iteration of the high-school-redux popularity contests that are new media awards. In this one, Twitterers are invited to vote for their favorite fellow-Twits in a variety of categories.
Alt-med guru Mike Adams (soi-disant “Health Ranger”), who was in the lead in the health category a few days ago, was disqualified when someone noticed that a large number of the votes for him came from Twitter accounts that appeared to have been created solely to vote for him, in violation of the rules.
Adams promptly had a public and embarrassing tantrum, quickly followed by a very funny rant two very funny rants about what skeptics—whom he blames for his disqualification—believe.
Why would Adams care? The only benefit of winning is that the honoree gets an instant boost of fame and followers—two attributes that are only important to egocentrics or marketers.
Oh, right… we’re talking about Mike Adams.
While many of my pals believe Mike has finally had one too many coffee enemas (or whatever it is he does to be able to extrude the shit that comes out in the form of his daily e-mail newsletter), I think he’s just doing what he does best: sellin’ it to the credulous souls who believe in him.
Mike Adams may not be much of a scientist, investigative reporter, or writer, but he is clearly a talented salesman. And he knows his audience.
If you read his rants, you might well ask what belief in God, the soul, free will, or (G-d help us) the tragedy of 9/11 have to do with Mike’s main topic, “natural” health.
It’s simple: Mike’s playing into the religious beliefs, paranoia and general prejudices of people who tend to be the most ardent alt-med devotees. When he demonstrates that he understands their preoccupations, it’s much easier to sell them the kind of books, products, real-estate tours in Ecuador, or even MLM schemes by which he apparently makes his living.
Snake-oil salesmen like Adams have a harder job than many of us give them credit for. To be truly successful, they have to appeal to at least two disparate groups of people: those who fall for any and all appeals to nature, and who tend to have left-wing sympathies and a deep mistrust of businesses like “Big Pharma;” and government-hating conspiracy-theorists, who tend to lean right or libertarian.
Adams has clearly found the sweet-spot in alt-med marketing by mixing stuff like God, new-agey mysticism, and all-encompassing conspiracy theories into his “health” messages.
Adams’ marketing tactics—not to mention his multiple meltdowns–suggest that seemingly stupid contests like the Shorty Awards are more important to him than they are to people like the current leader, Dr. Rachael Dunlop (“Dr. Rachie”), who has nothing to sell. Adams’ success is dependent on his ability to build a following among people for whom a popularity contest is a measure of credibility.
Either way—winning or DQ-ing out—the Shorty Awards are a boon for Mike. If he had won, it would have lent him an air of credibility among those who believe in the wisdom of the masses regarding health-related matters; among his conspiracy-theorist fans, his disqualification is simply confirmation of his persecution by the Forces of Evil, setting him up as a Galileo-like figure.
However the cards—and the credulous—fall, Mike knows how to play ‘em.
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Mike Adams is a scam artist. His Natural News site is nothing but sensationalism and brain dead right wing propaganda. The scientific community (the skeptics) have sliced and diced, chewed up and spit out Mike Adams exposing him for the fraud that he is.
Attacks on “Big Pharma” are glaringly arrogant, ignorant and displays the overload of cretinism that Mr. Adams is al about. He’s mere a salesman. A sly, slithering snake in the grass who’s dictators style has snared an admiring, yet ignorant as hell audience.
The entire premise of homeopathy, functional medicine and naturopathy is based on anecdotal evidence. In other words, quackery. There’s no science behind it. Even if they claim there is. So, you get dullards like Mike Adams who’re nothing more than snake oil salesman trying to discredit authentic science by bashing allopathic medicine. Let’s see if and when Mr. Adams is rushed to an emergency room for a life threatening complication and he’ll be begging for western medical doctors to save him. No, they won’t be using herbs and supplements, they’ll be using real medicine; medicine that is scientifically proven to treat, cure and better the lives of millions of Americans.
Your herbs, vitamins and supplements aren’t going to do diddly squat. Wishful thinking is all that’s behind it. Science based medicine works, PERIOD!
Dr. Rachael Dunlop put some weight on herself, you said she sell nothing….. so please check again, I bet she eats bacon, fried food and so….
And the prize for funniest use of the non-sequiteur fallacy on a two-year-old blog post goes to…
You are a piece of shit, “Confutata.” You are just the kind of person that is helping to bring this once great nation down into the dumps…into your own shit, because you ARE a piece of shit. For goodness sakes…wake the hell up…! You are attacking Mike Adams with no knowlege or awareness of what is really happening in our world. Where the hell have you been the past 10 years? Up your own ass? God, you are a piece of shit. Along with Obama and Ben Bernanke and Zionists and Israel and who else can I add to this list of evil in our modern world?
Fuck you for attacking Mike Adams, who has done more good than you obviously have. Why don’t you pull your head out of your own smelly ass, that reeks of idiocy and arrogance, and take a thorough look at the world you are obviously not living in.
Fuck Obama! End the Fed! Belief and support in Ron Paul!
Up there with Obama, Bernanke, Zionists, and Israel, huh?
I’m definitely asking my lizard overlords for a pay raise.
Funny stuff. I hadn’t heard about this particular incident, but pretty much felt the same way about our intrepid ‘Ranger’.