An anti-vax doctor who's one of the biggest spreaders of COVID-19 disinformation says he doesn't lose sleep if his remarks cause death
Sarah Al-Arshani
Wed, October 20, 2021, 3:10 AM·2 min read
WHACKO
A healthcare worker holds a syringe of COVID-19 vaccine.
Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images
- The Center for Countering Digital Hate has named Dr. Rashid Buttar as one of its "Disinformation Dozen."
- According to CCD, the group of 12 anti-vaxxers is responsible for almost two-thirds of COVID-19 disinformation.
- Buttar, a licensed physician, told CNN: "If I'm wrong so be it," when asked if his claims could cause death.
A physician spreading conspiracies theories and unsubstantiated medical claims about COVID-19 said, "If I'm wrong, so be it," during an interview with
CNN on Tuesday.
Dr. Rashid Buttar is a member of the "Disinformation Dozen," a group of anti-vaxxers responsible for almost two-thirds of COVID-19 misinformation, according to a 2021
report by the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate. During an interview with CNN'S Drew Griffin, he repeated countless unfounded claims about COVID-19 vaccines.
Without any evidence, Buttar, who is licensed to practice in North Carolina, falsely said the COVID-19 vaccine killed more people than COVID-19 and is a means for mass genocide. He's been using his Twitter, Telegram, and website to urge people not to get vaccinated.
Griffin told Buttar - who at one point had 1.2 million followers before
many of his social media accounts were suspended for spreading disinformation - that he had an "outsized influence" on people in terms of medical advice, to which Buttar agreed.
Buttar said he was "more than confident" in his ability to "look at the data." He did not specify to which data he was referring.
"If I'm wrong so be it, because I have to look at myself in the mirror every night when I go to bed and every morning when I get up, and I don't lose any sleep," Buttar said.
Countless studies have found that COVID-19 vaccines are extremely effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalization, and death.