Talk:HIV/AIDS denialism

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In December 2006, the Arbitration Committee ruled on guidelines for the presentation of topics as pseudoscience in Wikipedia:Requests for arbitration/Pseudoscience. The final decision included the following:

Neutral point of view as applied to science: Wikipedia:Neutral point of view, a fundamental policy, requires fair representation of significant alternatives to scientific orthodoxy. Significant alternatives, in this case, refers to legitimate scientific disagreement, as opposed to pseudoscience.
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Frequently asked questions

Q1: Why does this article dismiss AIDS denialism as a valid scientific hypothesis?

A1: Wikipedia relies on reliable sources that have a reputation for fact-checking and accuracy. The neutral point of view policy, especially the sections on undue weight and equal validity, requires that editors not add their own editorial biases when writing text based on such sources. As the relevant academic field universally rejects the several hypotheses grouped under the umbrella of AIDS denialism, it would be a disservice to our readers to fail to report this as part of a full treatment of the topic. Further advice for how to treat topics such as this one may be found at the Fringe theories and Reliable sources (medicine-related articles) guidelines.

Q2: Why does this article use the term AIDS denialism? Why not AIDS dissent, AIDS reappraisal, or some similar term?

A2: There are several alternative terms describing the same constellation of ideas, and Wikipedia articles should use the most widely accepted in the most reliable sources; the word "denialism" is frequently used in the sociological and other professional literature on the topic. Furthermore, "AIDS denialism" adheres to both the neutral point of view policy and the "words to watch" guideline. It reflects the consensus among editors here and has been discussed several times in the past (see this archived discussion for such an example). Before starting another discussion about the article title, please consult the above policy and guideline, and read through the archives to see if your concern has already been addressed.

Q3: What about the famous and respectable scientists who dispute the role of HIV in causing AIDS?

A3: The scientists most often cited by the AIDS denialism movements are usually speaking outside their field of expertise, and generally have not published their disputes in reputable journals. For instance, Peter Duesberg is a groundbreaking cancer researcher and Kary Mullis invented PCR. Within the virology research community, however, there is no longer any doubt that HIV causes AIDS.

Q4: Doesn't Wikipedia's policy on "neutrality" require a neutral treatment?

A4: No. Wikipedia's policy on neutrality does not require that all hypotheses be treated as equal or valid, nor is neutrality decided by the opinions of editors. On Wikipedia, neutrality is represented by a fair summary of the opinion found in the relevant reliable, independent sources. If those sources reject an idea with unanimity or near-unanimity, due weight requires that that rejection be presented.

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AIDS Top‑importance

	This article is part of WikiProject AIDS, an attempt to build a comprehensive, detailed, and accessible guide to AIDS, HIV, and related topics on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate in the project, you can choose to edit this article, or visit the project page for more information.AIDSWikipedia:WikiProject AIDSTemplate:WikiProject AIDSAIDS
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Recent IP vandalism and 2018 sock

Latest comment: 5 years ago5 comments3 people in discussion

Hi Ezequiel, ¿cómo sos vos? ¿Todo bien?
GorillaWarfare, fyi and for the record: the recent IP vandalism at the article is highly reminiscent of indeffed EzequielBelaus (talk · contribs) (sock: Riveronthemountains (talk · contribs)) and a slew of IP addresses, many of which are enumerated at User talk:191.85.20.46#Dynamic IP. See also: User talk:190.173.150.216#Range blocked again, User talk:190.173.138.153, User talk:190.173.161.2, and User talk:191.85.20.46#HIV/Aids denialism. I tried my best to bring Ezequiel (in 2018, a minor child) back into the fold, but was unable to. Sad to see he's still at it. Ian.thomson was heavily involved and may want a ping; as was Bishonen who was very helpful; so were a lot of other admins, notably Huon, Kudpung, Yamla, 331dot, and others. Mathglot (talk) 22:07, 1 February 2021 (UTC)Reply

Appreciate the history, Mathglot. I remembered there was an LTA who focused on this page, though it was escaping me who it was — I don't have a great memory for those things. GorillaWarfare (talk) 22:13, 1 February 2021 (UTC)Reply

Yes, it's absolutely him. I've followed for a while. FYI he also typically simultaneously vandalizes Simple and the Spanish wikis. Antandrus (talk) 22:20, 1 February 2021 (UTC)Reply

@Antandrus: thanks for that. Convenience links:

es:Negacionismo del VIH/sida (historia, discusión) – some vandalism
Simple:HIV (history, talk) – clean so far
Simple:AIDS (history, talk) – some vandalism

Wutsje also includes (here) this wmflabs guc link for cross-wiki vandalism, showing him vandalizing Basque, French, Dutch, German, and Portuguese (pt-talk) wikis. Cheers, Mathglot (talk) 23:24, 1 February 2021 (UTC)Reply

@Wutsje: could you run the guc tool run on the IP ranges indicated? There may be more than one range; see above. Mathglot (talk) 23:47, 1 February 2021 (UTC)Reply

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Latest comment: 2 months ago1 comment1 person in discussion

There is currently a glaring omission in the article: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. needs to be mentioned as a major supporter of AIDS denialism. He has promoted the ideas of Duesberg and has also advanced his own theory that poppers cause AIDS. Considering his current role in the US government, he may well be one of the most prominent (if not _the_ most prominent) public figures linked to this movement. See this article from 2024. LonelyBoy2012 (talk) 04:23, 10 June 2026 (UTC)Reply

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Talk:HIV/AIDS denialism

Recent IP vandalism and 2018 sock

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.