--- title: Watch a Science Cop Take on the Anti-Vaccine Movement description: TIME's Science Cop Jeffrey Kulger takes on the misinformation coming from opponents of childhood vaccinations. canonical: https://time.com/3426725/anti-vaccine-science-cop/ author: Jeffrey Kluger article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-09-24T21:03:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T09:01:40.069Z article:section: Science og:title: Watch a Science Cop Take on the Anti-Vaccine Movement og:description: TIME's Science Cop Jeffrey Kulger takes on the misinformation coming from opponents of childhood vaccinations. og:url: https://time.com/3426725/anti-vaccine-science-cop/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0dcf9aa4fbd7cf50/6986a552810bbbb647c93a13/ep3-tout-640.jpg?branch=production&width=640&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 640 og:image:height: 360 og:image:alt: Getty Images(4): Photo Illustration by TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch a Science Cop Take on the Anti-Vaccine Movement twitter:description: TIME's Science Cop Jeffrey Kulger takes on the misinformation coming from opponents of childhood vaccinations. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0dcf9aa4fbd7cf50/6986a552810bbbb647c93a13/ep3-tout-640.jpg?branch=production&width=640&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Watch a Science Cop Take on the Anti-Vaccine Movement > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=534af1cc-9e41-4872-8f9b-fb651556e4c6&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Science Cop: How Anti-Vaxxers Put Everyone at Risk [Watch (HLS stream): Science Cop: How Anti-Vaxxers Put Everyone at Risk](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ai82XWJ8.m3u8) (2:06)  _Published 2014-09-24. TIME's Science Cop Jeffrey Kulger takes on the misinformation coming from opponents of childhood vaccinations_ by [Jeffrey Kluger](https://time.com/author/jeffrey-kluger/) and [Michael Lester](https://time.com/author/michael-lester/) Sep 24, 2014 9:03 PM UTC by [Jeffrey Kluger](https://time.com/author/jeffrey-kluger/) and [Michael Lester](https://time.com/author/michael-lester/) Sep 24, 2014 9:03 PM UTC Nothing gets the anti-vaccine fringe going quite so much as believing they’ve found a scandal—some bit of gotcha’ proof that the global medical establishment really, truly is covering up a terrible secret about the dangers of vaccines. Recently, this always-vocal but rarely-rational crowd announced that they had what they were looking for, with the [discovery](http://time.com/3208886/whistleblower-claims-cdc-covered-up-data-showing-vaccine-autism-link/) that a comparatively old study had excluded some data suggesting that African-American children who had been vaccinated were slightly likelier than other kids to have developed autism. But again—and always—the anti-vaxxers were wrong, misunderstanding the science, misrepresenting the findings, and recruiting the worst possible person imaginable to argue their wrong-headed case. ## Transcript So, our recent report claimed that a 2004 study withheld a link between vaccines and autism in African American boys. No surprise, the anti- vaccine crowd considered this a big win. But again and always, they're wrong. Here's why. [ MUSIC ] First, the subjects excluded from the study had no birth certificates available. Meaning data on their mother's age, race and more could not be confirmed. And that information was vital for the work the investigators were doing, More important, the people criticizing the research make the familiar mistake of confusing associated with causation. While it's true that the study did find a slightly higher rate of autism among some kids vaccinated between 24 and 36 months of age, it's almost certain that those children were already autistic and were vaccinated later as part of a basic health requirement for attending special education program [ MUSIC ] programs. If you join the Army and get a mandatory crewcut before basic training, you don't then conclude that military service causes baldness. Finally, the narrator of a disgraceful web video spreading the rumors about the study is Andrew Wakefield. The British researcher whose fraudulent 1998 paper falsely linking vaccines to autism got the entire got the entire anti- vaccine mess started. Wakefield has had his license to practice medicine revoked in the UK. And is hardly in a position to be offering opinions on anything at all. So for the billionth time, vaccines are safe, effective and vitally important. Rumor mongering, on the other hand, can kill. 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