Conspirituality Episode 302: "The Disinformation Dozen: Wuhan Drift"

Release Date: April 2, 2026
Hosts: Derek Beres, Matthew Remski, Julian Walker

Episode Overview

This episode revisits “The Disinformation Dozen” — a group of 12 wellness and alternative health influencers who became notorious for spreading COVID and vaccine disinformation online. The hosts break down a recent “victory lap” taken by several of these figures following a legal settlement in Missouri v. Biden (later Murthy v. Missouri), examining how these influencers continue to rewrite history, inflate their sense of martyrdom, and weaponize free speech rhetoric. The discussion scrutinizes the persistent, evolving strategies of the alt-wellness/conspirituality ecosystem, its ties to legislative lobbying, and the mainstreaming of anti-science extremism.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Background: "The Disinformation Dozen" and Their Court Victory Spin

• Early episodes covered the CCDH’s (Center for Countering Digital Hate) 2021 "Disinformation Dozen" report, tracing how 12 key influencers seeded most anti-vaccine content on social media (07:12).
• Recent “Maha Report” (a live stream run by Tony Lyons, RFK Jr.'s business partner and Skyhorse Publishing founder) gathers the group to celebrate a supposed win in court, portraying themselves as free speech martyrs (01:43, 02:48).
• Key Quote:
  “The Maha movement exists to be the megaphone for every American who refuses to shut up and comply because a right you don't use is a right you eventually lose.”
  — Tony Lyons, (20:38)

2. Legal Context: Missouri v. Biden / Murthy v. Missouri

• Lawsuit accused the Biden administration of pressuring social media companies to censor COVID/vaccine/election misinformation (04:50).
• The Supreme Court ultimately reversed the earlier injunction, ruling that plaintiffs lacked standing — but did not address the constitutionality of government actions (10:47-12:00).
• “Victory lap” is hollow: The settlement imposed nominal limits but didn't validate their claims (12:00).
• Key Quote:
  “Maha activists spin one hell of a story, and the disinformation dozen narrative was one they weaponized within their own communities and have used to portray themselves as martyrs… really just running around with that participation trophy.”
  — Derek Beres, (12:52)

3. Who Are “The Disinformation Dozen”?

• CCDH report spotlighted Joseph Mercola, RFK Jr., Ty and Charlene Bollinger, Sherry Tenpenny, Rizza Islam, Sayer Ji, Kelly Brogan, Christiane Northrup, Ben Tapper, Kevin Jenkins, Erin Elizabeth, and others as main sources of pandemic misinformation (07:36).
• The group’s combined online following was nearly 59 million at its peak (07:54).

4. New Tactics: Martyrdom, Memeification & Faux Science

• Many members now embrace "persecution" status, branding themselves as heroic dissenters and leveraging “free speech” talking points (14:26, 20:38).
• Quote on Martyrdom Aesthetic:
  “The way in which this group has been able to co-opt the label of Disinformation Dozen into a kind of martyrdom pivot is really something to learn from...”
  — Matthew Remski, (14:26)

5. Direct Grifter/Lobbying Networks

• Multiple interconnected organizations (Maha Action, Maha Institute, Children’s Health Defense) move money and amplify influence — using "Russian nesting doll" structures to obfuscate their operations (03:16-04:29).
• Donations from anti-vaxxer supporters are often redirected to lobbying for unrelated state-level initiatives (04:41).

6. The Fate of U.S. Misinformation Researchers

• Imran Ahmed (CCDH founder) faces deportation attempts, a move seen as scapegoating digital disinformation researchers for advocating internet safety and “woke” social justice values (09:00-10:47).

7. Weaponizing the Language of Science & Rights

• Influencers conflate rigorous debate with denialism, suggesting science is “whatever the people in power say it is,” and that true science demands absolute free speech (20:38).
• Quote:
  “If you silence scientists, science just becomes whatever the people in power say it is. True science requires ruthless debate.”
  — Tony Lyons, (20:40)

8. Profiles in Disinformation: Notable Guests & Highlights

Sayer Ji (GreenMedInfo founder):

• Compares his criticism to being “pilloried” for speaking against authority; claims only to share “peer-reviewed” info (25:15-26:25).
• Mocking Response:
  “There was nothing radical about claiming the Pfizer COVID vaccine killed more people than Covid, which is something Sayer has repeated in his version of trust me, bro, science.”
  — Derek Beres, (26:24)

Christiane Northrup:

• Laments being “canceled” for “telling the truth,” shares debunked Zelenko protocol claims, equates COVID isolation to prison (28:49-30:08).
• Notable Moment:
  Hosts point out her history of posting misleading content and then framing herself as a victim when platforms finally removed her (32:06).

Ben Tapper:

• Uses “First Amendment” to justify all speech, framing himself as unconstitutionally labeled (33:21-34:22).
• Host Julian jokes Tapper’s persecution narrative is especially ironic given his significant public platform and lack of real oppression (35:14).

Rizza Islam:

• Revives debunked “CDC whistleblower” claim about MMR vaccines and autism in Black boys, a trope popularized by RFK Jr. (37:29-39:49).
• Debunking:
  “The study did not find that vaccines were causing autism. The reanalysis... was performed by a known vaccine opponent. It was subsequently retracted.”
  — Julian Walker, (39:49)

Sherry Tenpenny:

• Pushes claims of “chronic, long-term death” from COVID vaccines (43:11).
• Hosts’ Rejoinder:
  “You just talked about chronic long-term death in which people died suddenly. I just talked about it. It's amazing.”
  — Derek Beres, (43:14)

Erin Elizabeth:

• Suggests that family members’ cancers/Parkinson’s are vaccine-related, despite offering no evidence (44:58-45:50).
• Hosts highlight her blend of implied causality and plausible deniability, a favorite Kennedy tactic (46:51-47:59).

Eric Berg:

• Complains about being unable to promote “cancer cures” or colloidal silver as a chiropractor; hosts mock his persecution narrative and warn against conflating kitchen remedies with evidence-based medicine (48:33-53:32).

Other Guests — Mary Holland & Legislative Moves:

• Outlines push for Congressional “COVID Justice Resolution” to ban future lockdowns, mandates, and public health restrictions, enshrine religious exemptions, and severely limit emergency powers (53:59-61:39).

Russell Brand:

• Delivers a rambling, quasi-mystical monologue equating public health interventions with satanic rituals, invoking “Moloch, Baal, Baphomet,” and advocating for death acceptance over disease mitigation (62:16-66:27).

Notable Quotes & Moments (With Timestamps)

On Misinformation as Martyrdom:

• “They're really just running around with that participation trophy. Like how I used to win old bowling trophies by throwing a ping pong ball into a fishbowl at the town fair...”
  — Derek Beres (12:52)

On the Political Turn in Science:

• “This blunt instrument of the concept of protected speech is really no match for how you're going to actually define what disinformation is.”
  — Matthew Remski (22:06)

On Weaponizing Science Rhetoric:

• “You can always, in bad faith, use certain valid critiques about paradigms of knowledge to try to advance pseudoscience or supernaturalism…”
  — Julian Walker (23:05)

On Pseudoscience’s ‘Folksiness’:

• “You came into my garden and you uprooted my herbs and you didn't allow me to benefit from the harvest of my own hands...”
  — Matthew Remski (51:55)

On Russell Brand’s Arc:

• “He echoes Dr. Zach Bush’s Christian-influenced argument about how accepting death is more virtuous than vaccines or other mitigation efforts — except then he frames medical science as part of the satanic panic.”
  — Derek Beres (64:17)

Important Timestamps

• 04:50 – Lawsuit overview and implications for social media censorship
• 07:12-07:54 – Breakdown of the Disinformation Dozen and their collective influence
• 12:00-13:44 – The strategic use of “martyrdom” and “participation trophy” narratives
• 25:15-26:24 – Sayer Ji’s “pillory” comparison and myth-spreading
• 28:49-30:08 – Northrup laments persecution, embraces Zelenko/Blaylock pseudoscience
• 33:21-34:22 – Ben Tapper on First Amendment and government “labeling”
• 37:29-39:49 – Rizza Islam and the debunked MMR/Autism claim
• 43:11-43:25 – Tenpenny’s claim of “chronic long-term death”
• 44:58-45:50 – Erin Elizabeth links vaccines to family illness with zero evidence
• 53:59-61:39 – Mary Holland’s “COVID Justice Resolution” and its wider implications
• 62:16-66:27 – Russell Brand’s free-association, theology-tinged monologue

Thematic Insights

• Mythmaking & Martyrdom: The Disinformation Dozen now lean on narratives of persecution, conflating criticisms of their harmful activities with high-minded defenses of liberty and dissent.
• Strategic Obfuscation: By misrepresenting legal and scientific realities and erasing the NGOs/researchers who held them accountable, the group fosters confusion and grievance among followers.
• Legislative Creep: Behind-the-scenes work to enshrine anti-public-health, anti-mandate, and anti-vax ideas in policy is detailed as a sophisticated, ongoing threat.
• Epidemiology vs. "Kitchen-Sink Science": The hosts track how medical grifters blur the line between folk remedies, alternative therapies, and misinformation-fueled product marketing.
• Evolving Conspirituality: The group continues to exploit every available ideological, aesthetic, and technological lever — moving fluidly between memes, moral panic, and policy activism.

Memorable/Critical Exchanges

• “You couldn't talk about colloidal silver. You still can't talk about it... that's one of the main natural antibiotics.”
  — Eric Berg (48:51)
• “Yeah, the longer he goes on the, like, the, the worse it gets. Right? You're just like, oh, oh, oh, okay, okay, oh."
  — Julian Walker, reacting to Berg (49:29)
• “Let that be the marker... spending all of our time erecting for false gods, occupying false temples, living within the institutions that we know, bow down and worship. Moloch, baal, Baphomet, the necromancer, he who walks backwards...”
  — Russell Brand (62:22)
• “He was about all of the yoginis he could get in Los Angeles at the time... That was the moment you're identifying. So, that's the language that would work to get the yoginis.”
  — Derek Beres, on Russell Brand (65:18)

Conclusion

The episode exposes how the Disinformation Dozen—buoyed by a landscape of lax content moderation, evolving social media ecosystems, and political will—persist and mutate in their strategies. The hosts analyze tactics of obfuscation, victimhood, and legislative threat, issuing a call for continued vigilance and smarter counter-messaging to counteract this ever-adapting “conspirituality” movement.

For further context and detailed debunkings, check the episode show notes on the Conspirituality website.