Demonization or demonisation is the reinterpretation of polytheistic deities as evil , lying demons by other religions , generally by the monotheistic and henotheistic ones. The term has since been expanded to refer to any characterization of individuals, groups, or political bodies as evil.
34-454: [REDACTED] Look up big pharma in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Big Pharma may refer to: Big Pharma conspiracy theories Pharmaceutical industry Pharmaceutical lobby Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), a trade group Big Pharma (artist) , Finnish electronic musician Big Pharma (book) ,
68-420: A 2006 book by Jacky Law Big Pharma (video game) , a 2015 simulation video game See also [ edit ] List of conspiracy theories List of pharmaceutical companies Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Big Pharma . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to
102-465: A breakthrough cancer cure. Ferreira confirmed he was not dead; nobody of that name was on the aircraft's passenger list. The idea that vaccines were created by the pharmaceutical industry to make people sick, or to alter human DNA , has been around for a long time but has been given new life during the COVID-19 pandemic. The conspiracy theory that vaccines make people autistic can be traced back to
136-463: A cure for cancer , but suppresses it so that they can continue to make billions on the "ineffective" treatments currently given to cancer patients. This was believed by 27% of the American public according to a 2005 survey. The argument is that pharmaceutical companies are slowing down research for a comprehensive cure for cancer by developing high-profit, single-purpose treatments rather than focusing on
170-419: A dead end, further research goals, or a decrease in the mortality rate for a specific type of cancer. Dave Roos and Oliver Childs have criticized the idea that holding back a cure for cancer would result in more profit than presenting one. Dina Fine Maron further notes that this view largely ignores the fact that cancer is not a single disease but instead many, and the fact that large strides have been made in
204-408: A secular viewpoint, demonization can be used to denigrate an opposed individual or group, making adherents to one's own religion or viewpoint less inclined to do business with them (and possibly convert) and more inclined to fight against them. If foreigners are evil and corrupted by demonic influence, then any means of self-defense is easily portrayed as legitimate. The portrayal of almost all pagans in
238-724: A study published in The Lancet in February 1998. Andrew Wakefield claimed that there is a link between MMR vaccine and autism . The study later turned out to be fraudulent , and led to Wakefield being struck off the medical register. The Lancet also withdrew the article. Although a number of studies have disproved the link between autism and vaccines, the conspiracy theory has survived in various forms, and it has been spread by, among others, Donald Trump . Other conspiracy theories suggest that vaccines are used to implant microchips for surveillance and thought control . Among others,
272-460: A supposed cure-all for all cancers. Following the crash of Voepass Linhas Aéreas Flight 2283 in August 2024, social media posts appeared naming Leonardo Ferreira, a cancer researcher, as one of the passengers. The Brazilian College of Radiology and Imaging Diagnosis published an obituary and conspiracy theories spread about how big pharma had engineered the supposed death of somebody close to finding
306-446: A whole , especially big corporations , act in dangerously secretive and sinister ways that harm patients . This includes concealing effective treatments, perhaps even to the point of intentionally causing and/or worsening a wide range of diseases , in the pursuit of higher profits and/or other nefarious goals. The general public supposedly lives in a state of ignorance , according to such claims. Some theories have incorporated
340-512: Is "certainly a grain of truth" to these claims, notes that there are in fact papers critical of specific drugs published in top journals on a regular basis. A prominent example noted by Radford is a systematic review published in the British Medical Journal showing that paracetamol is ineffective for lower back pain and has minimal effectiveness for osteoarthritis . In his 2012 book Bad Pharma , Ben Goldacre heavily criticises
374-498: Is not universal. Psalms 96:5, for example, is alternately translated as, "For all the Gods of the gentiles are nothing," "For all the Gods of the gentiles are devils" ( Vulgate ), and "For all the gods of the peoples are idols." ( NRSV ) The Greek Septuagint translation of that passage, used by the early Christian Church, used the "devils" version. Jerome would follow the Greek text rather than
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#1732851077510408-475: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has been accused of wanting to microchip the world's population through global vaccination programs. The COVID-19 pandemic is surrounded by a wide range of conspiracy theories, including the postulation that COVID-19 does not exist at all or is just a mild flu . During the pandemic, there was a surge of conspiracies about the origins of the disease , such as claiming that
442-652: The Buddha an incarnation of Vishnu while in some texts such as the Puranas , he is portrayed as an avatar born to mislead those who deny the Vedic knowledge. Demonization is sometimes used against what are arguably political opponents rather than religious ones. The Knights Templar were destroyed by accusations that they worshipped Baphomet from King Philip the Fair . Baphomet, often thought to be Beelzebub , may have been used because of
476-470: The pharmaceutical industry , described in an emotional fashion , which exists disconnected from the real-life complexity of business history. Professor of writing Robert Blaskiewicz has written that conspiracy theorists use the term Big Pharma as "shorthand for an abstract entity comprising corporations, regulators, NGOs, politicians, and often physicians, all with a finger in the trillion-dollar prescription pharmaceutical pie". According to Blaskiewicz,
510-518: The 1970s and 1980s, the conspiracy theory was promoted by Ann Wigmore who held that diseases, including cancer and HIV/AIDS , could be effectively treated with a raw food diet . In this context, Wigmore believed that the pharmaceutical industry was part of a conspiracy to keep the population at large ill. André Picard wrote in 2009 that the internet had radically changed the nature of popular scientific discourse from being infrequent and deferential to widespread and conspiracy based: scientific debate
544-457: The Big Pharma conspiracy theory has four classic traits: first, the assumption that the conspiracy is perpetrated by a small malevolent cabal; secondly, the belief that the public at large is ignorant of the truth; thirdly, that its believers treat lack of evidence as evidence; and finally, that the arguments deployed in support of the theory are irrational, misconceived, or otherwise mistaken. In
578-858: The Hebrew when he translated the Latin Vulgate edition of the Bible. The "devils" epithet would still appear in Bibles up until the end of the 20th century when the consensus reverted to the original Hebrew text for modern translations. Analogs to demonization exist outside monotheistic religions, as well. Polytheism easily accepts foreign gods in general, and in times of conflict, a foreign nation's gods would sometimes be portrayed as evil. Less commonly, it would be applied to other religions as well. For example, Buddha's portrayal in Hinduism varies: Some strains of Hinduism consider
612-653: The Middle East as Baal worshippers in the Hebrew Bible is an example of this. If pagans are corrupted by the demon "god" Baal, then clearly they must be fought or at least oppressed. Especially in the earlier books of the Hebrew Bible, foreign deities are portrayed as existing and corrupting entities rather than being mere powerless idols . Some would argue this later transferred to Christianity after Constantine I 's ascension in its suppression of Roman paganism . Some of
646-406: The assertions that natural, alternative remedies to multiple health struggles are being suppressed, that medications for the treatment of HIV/AIDS are ineffective and harmful, that an effective cure for all cancers has been discovered but concealed from the public, that vaccines for COVID-19 are ineffective, and that alternatively understood cures exist for COVID-19 itself. In most cases,
680-480: The authors is a conspiracy theory, and that such beliefs were negatively correlated to mainstream religion while having anti-science and anti-elitism bases. The conspiracy theory has a variety of different specific manifestations. Each has different narratives, but they always cast "Big Pharma" as the villain of the piece. Since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic , many dangerous hypotheses have been put forward to explain
714-407: The conspiracy theorists have blamed pharmaceutical companies' search for increased profit margins . A range of authors have shown these claims to be false, though some of these authors nevertheless maintain that other criticisms of the pharmaceutical industry are legitimate. According to Steven Novella , the use of terminology such as Big Pharma has come to connote a demonized form of
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#1732851077510748-521: The existence of other gods or spiritual beings. On the contrary, they claim some of the other gods are not worthy of worship and in actuality are demons who mislead followers from proper belief or practice. Christian missionaries often employed demonization tactics when converting pagans , although Judaism , Islam , and other religions have similar histories. Demonization is not limited to focusing on other religions but can also be directed inward to condemn various schools of thought or movements. From
782-465: The fight against cancer. In 2016, David Robert Grimes published a research paper elaborating about the mathematical non-viability of conspiracy theories in general. He estimated that if there were a big pharma conspiracy to conceal a cure for cancer, it would be exposed after about 3.2 years due to the sheer number of people required to keep it secret. Demonization Religions, even those that are radically monotheistic, do not necessarily deny
816-456: The intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Big_Pharma&oldid=1190908142 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Big Pharma conspiracy theories Big Pharma conspiracy theories are conspiracy theories that claim that pharmaceutical companies as
850-660: The most known of these demonizations are Lucifer , Beelzebub and Baphomet up to the extent that they became synonymous with the devil / satan of Abrahamic religions . Later, the language of demonization would be invoked with the rise in Antisemitism in Iberia , leading to the Expulsion of Jews from Spain including the Moriscos . The view of early Judaism treating foreign deities as devils and later Judaism treating them as nonexistent
884-863: The notion that "Big Pharma", Bill Gates and the World Health Organization led a conspiracy, in which they acted together as a "circular cabal" with the aim of killing Americans. The video was released on May 4, 2020, and garnered millions of views, making it one of the most widespread pieces of COVID-19 misinformation. In the book Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You to Know About , author Kevin Trudeau claims that there are all-natural cures for serious illnesses including cancer , herpes , arthritis , AIDS , acid reflux disease , diabetes , multiple sclerosis , lupus , chronic fatigue syndrome , attention deficit disorder , muscular dystrophy , and that these are all being deliberately hidden and suppressed from
918-483: The origin and nature of the disease. One conspiracy theory claims that AIDS was created by the US government to control and/or wipe out gays and African Americans . Also, there is a cure for HIV/AIDS that is withheld from the poor. Other theories say that although the virus is harmful, the risks of antiretroviral drugs outweigh the benefits. The drugs are said to be toxins that are spread by doctors who have been corrupted by
952-422: The pharmaceutical industry "off the hook" since they distract from and tarnish more considered criticisms. He has also written, on Skepticblog , about the general misunderstanding and sensationalizing of cancer research that typically accompanies a conspiratorial mindset. He points out that cures for cancer, rather than being hidden, are not the cures they are initially touted to be by the media and either result in
986-448: The pharmaceutical industry but rejects any conspiracy theories. He argues that the problems are "perpetrated by ordinary people, but many of them may not even know what they've done". Steven Novella writes that while the pharmaceutical industry has a number of aspects which justly deserve criticism, the "demonization" of it is both cynical and intellectually lazy. He goes on to consider that overblown attacks on "Big Pharma" actually let
1020-499: The pharmaceutical industry. In a 2006 column for Harper's Magazine , journalist Celia Farber claimed that the antiretroviral drug nevirapine was part of a conspiracy by the "scientific-medical complex" to spread toxic drugs. Farber said that AIDS is not caused by HIV and that nevirapine had been unethically administered to pregnant women in clinical trials, leading to a fatality. Farber's theories and claims were refuted by scientists, but, according to researcher Seth Kalichman ,
1054-629: The public by the Food and Drug Administration , the Federal Trade Commission , and major food and drug companies. The book has been the focus of much controversy since its publication, with widespread allegations of fraud. A common claim among proponents of the conspiracy theory is that pharmaceutical companies suppress negative research about their drugs by financially pressuring researchers and journals. Skeptic Benjamin Radford , while conceding there
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1088-420: The resulting publicity represented a breakthrough moment for AIDS denialism . The former president of South Africa , Thabo Mbeki , influenced by AIDS denier Peter Duesberg , introduced policies that denied treatments to AIDS patients. According to estimates this led, among other things, to more than 300,000 people dying prematurely. A recurring conspiracy theory claims that the pharmaceutical industry has
1122-426: The virus was created in a laboratory. However, strong evidence suggests that the disease-causing virus, SARS-CoV-2 , is a naturally evolved strain belonging to the coronavirus subfamily . The 2020 video Plandemic: The Hidden Agenda Behind Covid-19 , promotes the conspiracist claim that vaccines are "a money-making enterprise that causes medical harm". In the video, former research scientist Judy Mikovits spread
1156-524: Was often supplanted by dismissal of science as being "part of some vast conspiracy". In the conspiracist world view, "Doctors, nurses, pharmacists, pharmacologists, biochemists, immunologists, geneticists and journalists are not to be trusted. They are all on the take". Research in Italy in 2016 found that nearly half the adult population believed that pharmaceutical companies hinder the development of effective medications to heal serious diseases, which according to
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