The idea that vaccines cause autism is probably the most infamous conspiracy when it comes to vaccines. In 1998 Andrew Wakefield (at that time a doctor) published a 'study' in the Lancet, a prestigious medical journal, that linked the MMR vaccine (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) to autism. The study sent shock waves throughout the world as parents began to stop vaccinating out of fear that it would cause their children to have autism!
Almost immediately doctors and scientists called into question how the study was carried out. The study had a very small sample size and mostly relied on what parents could remember and what they personally believed. The paper was later retracted by the Lancet and all his co-authors took their names off it. The General Medical Council in Britain revoked his right to practice medicine and described the paper as "an elaborate fraud". Since then Wakefield has refused to replicate the study, and although others have tried, they have been unable to replicate his claims.
Yet unfortunately Wakefield's damage is done, and many people continue to believe that vaccines cause autism. Anti-vaxxers love to point out that a vaccines have become more widespread, so have diagnoses of autism. This is, of course, a logical fallacy. Just because their is a correlation between two variables, it does not mean that there is a causal link between the two. It is interesting to note that there is a very similar correlation between organic food sales and diagnoses of autism in the United States, but you don't hear many conspiracy theorists claiming organic food is the problem.
Reversing the damage that Wakefield had caused will never be complete, but we can try. All we can do is flood the internet with facts and hope people come to the right conclusion.
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