An ongoing Twitter debate over vaccine misinformation between podcaster Joe Rogan and scientist Peter Hotez has led a number of individuals—including billionaires Bill Ackman and Elon Musk—to urge Hotez to debate anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in an online spat that purportedly led anti-vaxxers to show up at Hotez’s home to “stalk” him.
The conflict started Saturday, after Hotez tweeted a Vice article that was critical of an interview Rogan did with Kennedy on his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, in which Kennedy presented false claims about vaccines—including links to autism that most experts have discredited—which Hotez described as “nonsense.”
Rogan responded to Hotez’s criticism by inviting the vaccine scientist onto his podcast to debate Kennedy and pledging $100,000 to charity if Hotez agreed.
Billionaire Bill Ackman then pledged an additional $150,000 if Hotez agreed to the debate, which led to other public figures and vaccine skeptics to make similar pledges, bringing the total charitable pledges up to at least $600,000.
Hotez—who has previously appeared on Rogan’s show—agreed to go on Rogan’s podcast “to clear the air,” but in separate tweets Hotez said he wanted to discuss getting more people vaccines and vaccine misinformation—an offer that Rogan didn’t see as a response to his request for Hotez to debate Kennedy.
The scientist has also retweeted several people who chided the idea of debating Kennedy, including one who called the...
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