David 'Avocado' Wolfe and the Reviews

An early Skeptical Kiwi meme

Yesterday morning, while browsing through Facebook, after reading another articulate article from Anna Zakrisson, Doctor Anna's Imaginarium, I discovered something. I discovered that you can review one of the vilest, most influential, woo-peddling, pseudoscience-pushing, snake-oil-selling charlatans on Facebook, David 'Avocado' Wolfe. The muppet most people will know as the man who used to endorse and own stocks in the Nutribullet and the reality TV show "Mad Mad House" as a nudist. A greasy, naked, nutter. This man has some outrageous claims. Some outright dangerous, such as vaccines are bad, to the downright hilarious, like mushrooms are from space and salt stops water from floating into space. He's also a flat-earther.

The article mentioned earlier was Doctor Anna's writings on SciComm (here) and the ugly realisation when joining Facebook that pseudoscience is rife. Not only is it horribly common, but people will vehemently defend it, claiming conspiracy and labeling people trolls, shills or liars. In most groups on Facebook, you will find yourself banned pretty fast if you post a study showing that vaccines are actually good and save lives. The science-denial on facebook is saddening, to say the least. Anna mentioned how Wolfe has over 12,000,000 followers.

After Four hours. The picture that was shared hundreds of times

I shared this to the Skeptical Kiwi page and someone there couldn't believe that he could have that many, it must simply be an exaggeration. So, I went to check. While I was there, I saw the review option. There were approximately 60 reviews at the time. So, I thought I would add my 2 cents in. I left my review and shared the screenshot in the brilliant group, "David 'Avocado' Wolfe can fucking rim me". The members of the group were thrilled to discover this. The rest started adding their reviews. Pretty quickly, it turned into a movement. Skeptical Kiwi shared the screenshot, then Antivaxxed: Catching the Autism, What's The Harm, Soldiers of Science, The Science Juice, Credible Hulk, SciBabe, Genetically Modified Humans for Monsanto... it exploded. Within 4 hours, there were over 221 reviews.

The reviews went on and on, with some absolutely bang on statements by a lot of clever people. At last count, the 1-star reviews were numbering 5,000+, with unconfirmed reports of 5,300 or even 5,600. There were so many bad reviews that his rating dropped as low as it can go, to a 1. The 5 stars remained at a paltry 53. Only 12 of his fans came to his aide, within the 24-hour onslaught.

Science is not belief. David Wolfe likes to use terms like "Scientism", a reference to a crazed religion perhaps? Science relies on evidence, fact, and critical thinking. We can make our voices heard. If you see something you don't think is right, check it out. Look it up. In more than one place, this is important. Always think critically. 

I would like to thank everyone for their enthusiasm in showing Mr. Wolfe just what we think about him. It truly is a shame that he removed the review option, but there is still so much we can do to make a difference. A lot of his fans will try to spin this as "paid trolls" or a "scientism army" mayhaps, but the truth is on our side. Vaccines save lives. The earth is round. Gravity is real and not a toxin. Mushrooms are simply the reproductive parts of fungi and not from space. Doctors are there to help. Salt is not what stops water from floating away, gravity is.

Don't share anything of his. Tell your friends who do, about who he is. Let them know what they are supporting. This man steals memes, cute videos and inspirational content from other sources to gain followers and then peddles his wares to trusting people who may not know any better. This man is dangerous and must not be supported. #DontCryWolfe 

If you disagree with anything I have posted here, then let me know. Discuss it. I will not ban you. I will not take away your option to have your say. Let's discuss.

Sincerely,

Skeptical Kiwi.