THE GHOST

IN THE MACHINE
An Exposé on How Puppet Masters Control
the Planet for Their Benefit

THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE 1

 AN INTRODUCTION TO

THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE

You may have noticed that more dangerous drugs and misleading health
information are being aggressively promoted to the public nowadays. All
these are perpetrated by none other than the corrupt forces that control our
health care system, influencing everything from the media and academia to
the government agencies and nongovernment organizations.

Could you be entrusting your health to “puppet masters” who put profits
over patients? Now’s the time to learn more about the deception of the
Ghost in the Machine.

BIG PHARMA HAS

THE MEDIA AND
GOVERNMENT
AGENCIES IN THE
PA L M O F I T S H A N D S

Y ou don’t have to look hard to see the

conflicts of interest between people from
Pharma and the government. One of the best
examples of this is the former U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner,
Robert Califf, who received money from 23
drug companies before taking office in 2016.

Another example is FDA commissioner Scott

Gottlieb, who was involved in high-profile work
as Pharma consultant and stock trader before
being appointed in 2017 by President Trump.
He had to recuse himself from work related
to nine drug companies, including Roche,
Sanofi-Aventis and Proctor & Gamble,
because of his financial links.

Despite the glaring Pharma corruption, there

seems to be a lack in media coverage on

2 THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE

 this important issue. Not surprisingly, this is
another direct result of conflicts of interest,
as major U.S. media outlets have at least one
person from Pharma on its board.

The drug industry shells out billions of dollars

annually on TV ads to promote dangerous
drugs and misleading health information while
stifling any negative news about Pharma.
Similar conflicts of interest exist in medical
journals, universities, medical associations
and advocacy groups, too.

Here are other examples of the “Revolving Doors”

between Pharma and the Government:

Thomas Insel — Former director of the National

Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), he left the
government in 2015 to work for the drug industry.

Julie Gerberding — Former director of the Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), she left the
agency in 2009 to head Merck’s vaccines division.

Former Texas governor Rick Perry — Mandated all

girls in Texas to be vaccinated with Gardasil after his
former chief of staff became a Merck lobbyist.

THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE 3

 CONFLICTS OF Between 2000 and 2011, more than half
of all new drugs approved in the U.S. were
INTEREST ABOUND developed by collaborations with other
IN DRUG TRIALS entities, such as universities. This partnership

AND RESEARCH not only allows the drug industry to profit

from tax-supported research, but it also gives
them control over the soaring cost
T he academia is supposed to be a source of of medicine.
unbiased drug and health information — its
To make more money, dangerous drugs are
government-funded discoveries available in
now being rushed to the market despite the
the public domain, as they should be since
lack of the necessary trials to ensure their
their funds came from taxpayers’ money.
safety. Gag orders were simply given to
However, with the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980,
injured parties to keep the dangerous side
the academia has been partnering with
effects of these drugs from reaching the
pharmaceutical companies to patent and
public and dampening sales, while conflicts of
license discoveries exclusively to companies
interest in publishing skews the perception of
in return for royalties.
the drugs’ safety in the public’s eyes.

Some of the drugs rushed to

market before they were proven
safe include:

Vioxx, a painkiller estimated to have killed

over 60,000 people

Hepatitis C drugs, which, along with their

high cost, were found to have the ability to
reactivate pre-existing hepatitis B

4 THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE

WHY IS BIG PHARMA
DIPPING ITS TOES
I N T O N AT U R A L ,
NONPRESCRIPTION
T R E AT M E N T S ?
Drug companies that dominate the
mainstream medicine often claim that safe
and natural nonprescription treatments are
worthless and untrustworthy, yet they’re
trying to enter the vitamin and supplement
industry themselves. Why? Because they want
to cash in on people who say who say they
have “excellent” or “very good” health and have
high discretionary income, as they often prefer
natural treatments over dangerous drugs.

If you’re among those who take supplements

and natural products to help treat or lower
the risk for the conditions on which Pharma
makes most of its money, then you’re one of
the most desirable customers to these drug
companies — be careful not to be deceived by
the Ghost in the Machine.

THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE 5

 CHAPTER 1
DRUG SAFETY
AND MEDIA SHAPED
BY BIG PHARMA
When you tune in to major TV channels
or visit established health news sites, you
probably won’t see much about the dangers
of prescription drugs that are approved
and aggressively marketed to patients.
Instead, what you’re likely to see are positive
messages that deliberately veil these drugs’
real safety risks.
The reason for this is that reporting the safety
risks right while they were occurring would
go against the interest of the people behind
6 THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE
the scenes: the drug industry representatives
sitting on the boards of major TV and
mainstream media outlets, intercepting
reports of drug safety and effectiveness.
When makers of dangerous drugs admit
their products caused harm, the settlements
usually include gag orders so that new
victims are none the wiser. Unfortunately,
financial conflicts of interest do not end with
media companies — they’re present in the
government and academia, too.
Some popular examples of drugs with
hidden dangers include:
• Bisphosphonates
• Hormone replacement therapy
• Statins
• Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
(SSRI), especially Paxil
• Antibiotics such as Levaquin
• Arthritis drugs like Humira
BIG PHARMA PULLS
THE STRINGS
OF DIFFERENT
GOVERNMENT
AGENCIES
T he U.S. FDA and Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) have deep financial
links to Big Pharma. In 2016, former FDA
commissioner Robert Califf was appointed
into position despite receiving money from 23
drug companies. And just when you thought
it couldn’t get any worse, venture capitalist Dr.
Scott Gottlieb was named FDA commissioner
in 2017.
Dr. Gottlieb received a large sum of money
from 2013 to 2015 to advise Vertex
Pharmaceuticals. He was also a consultant to
pharmaceutical giants and is the acting chief
executive of Cell Biotherapy, an early-stage
cancer biotech firm that he helped found. His
numerous problematic ties with Big Pharma
prove that conflicts of interest at the FDA
could definitely get worse over time.
THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE
The military serves as a reliable source of
revenue for the drug industry, too. The U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has spent
a whopping $717 million on risperidone in just
nine years to help treat post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD), even though it works no
better than a placebo. The former executive
director of the VA’s National Center for PTSD,
Matthew Friedman, also admitted to receiving
money from the drug giant AstraZeneca.
ACADEMIA AND
FOR-PROFIT GROUPS
IN ALLIANCE WITH
BIG PHARMA
In order to increase their credibility and better
persuade the public, the industry schemed
with professors from top universities to write
blogs and articles, and even host conferences
to defend its new sky-high drug prices. Before
this, there were also ghostwritten papers that
contributed to the popularity of dangerous
drugs like the withdrawn Vioxx and the birth
defect-linked Paxil.
7
 Academic medical centers have become
unapologetic arms of the drug industry,
thanks to the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, which
allows universities to license tax-funded
drug discoveries to Big Pharma in return for
royalties. Almost all major drug companies
also have leaders in academic medical
centers on their boards.
Meanwhile, for-profit groups known as
contract research organizations (CROs) are
hard at work to bring dangerous drugs to
market by providing everything from drug
trial design, recruitment and enrolment to
marketing and branding.
Even institutional review boards (IRBs), which
are groups of medical professionals, laypeople
and ethicists who monitor human safety in
trials, have now become focused on profit.
What Is Wrong With For-Profit IRBs?
For-profit IRBs make a mockery out
of objectivity.
Entrusting the safety of research
participants to a panel of experts paid by
pharmaceutical companies depending on
their congenial review of new drugs is far
from reassuring.
8 THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE
SPONSORED CONTENT
IS NOT AS HARMLESS
AS YOU THINK
Sponsored content was the trademark of
startup companies like Vice and Buzzfeed,
but you can now also find it in established
news sites like The Huffington Post, The
Washington Post, Business Insider and The
New York Times. Also called native or branded
content, sponsored content is nothing but
advertorials in the guise of health articles.
It’s the industry’s substitute to old-style
banner ads that are often ignored or blocked,
and pop-ups or screen takeovers that many
readers hate. This content, which even passes
off as real journalism, also fills webpages
without the need to pay writers, as sponsors
pay the site or publication where the content
will appear instead.
Since it’s becoming increasingly hard to tell
apart editorial content from advertising, new
and unsuspecting patients may be misled.
The average reader may not realize that
they’re being fed corporate propaganda that
are putting their lives at risk, while lining the
pockets of drug companies.
 RELEASING NEW
BUT UNSAFE
DRUGS?
YOU’LL NEED
THE RIGHT
CONNECTIONS
THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE 9
 CHAPTER 2
SUCCESS BREEDS GREED
T H AT G E TS I N T H E WAY O F
ETHICS, COMMON SENSE
AND CAUTION
After bypassing the conflicts of
interest at the U.S. FDA spearheaded by
Gottlieb, expensive and possibly harmful
pharmaceutical drugs are given the green
light to be produced, sold and marketed. What
comes next is the shelling out of thousands
of dollars to advertise drugs and ensure that
they’re targeted to the people who are willing
to spend money on them.
Direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising was
born, setting the precedent for different
menacing drug-related campaigns. Although
DTC advertising only began in 1997, it has
created a massive domino effect — causing
a massive spike in prescription medicine use
among Americans and adding an additional
$180 billion in medical spending expenses.
Rampant DTC campaigns have also resulted
in advertised drugs being prescribed more
compared to those that weren’t promoted
aggressively.
10 THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE
THE MANY
D I S A DVA NTA G E S
O F R A M PA N T D T C
A DV E RT I S I N G
In DTC advertising, much attention is given
to how the message is delivered, yet very little
toward the drug’s potential risks. In 2016,
the FDA gave the go-signal for Big Pharma
“off-label” speech (which was once illegal),
allowing marketers and representatives to
claim that their drugs have benefits, even if
they weren’t FDA-approved at all.
DTC advertising has also permitted Big
Pharma to turn a blind eye to poor people who
cannot afford expensive drugs but greatly
need urgent medical care, simply because of
the lack of profit they can derive from them.
And when you think about it, most DTC
advertisements are unethical, given the
ongoing opioid epidemic that’s claimed
the lives of hundreds of people. The 21st
Century Cures Act, which was passed a few
years back, allocated a million dollars for
Big Pharma to create “solutions” to this drug
 problem — a move that backfired immensely
because it has allowed the industry to profit
more from those suffering through this crisis.

WHY DTC
C A M PA I G N S T E N D T O
BE ‘EFFECTIVE’
DTC advertising mainly hinges on a principle
called “disease awareness,” which focuses on
highlighting the possible diseases you may
be affected only based on some symptoms
you are experiencing. Some ads even give
spiels on how to tell your doctor about your
condition, along with discount coupons so
you can purchase more drugs and feed Big
Pharma’s pockets.

Incorporating disease awareness into the

advertisement’s message further increases
cases of hypochondria and self-diagnosis,
along with the number of patients who
become trapped in Big Pharma’s grasp. In
some cases, companies spend more time
promoting expensive drugs, even if cheaper
and more effective options exist.

THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE 11

12 THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE
THERE’S MORE TO
THE BIG PHARMA
P L AY B O O K T H A N W H AT
YOU KNOW
You’ve heard of pharmaceutical companies
and head officials significantly raising prices
of much-needed drugs — and even higher
if you’re privately insured. Corporate greed
allows such events to happen, setting the
scene for the creation of patient front groups
(a known “astroturfing” strategy) to ensure
that prices remain as high as possible.
Lawmakers who outright oppose Big Pharma’s
strategies and question the drugs’ exorbitant
prices are also subject to PR campaigns
that paint them as heartless and unwilling to
provide better options for the people
they serve.
Clearly, DTC advertising does more than just
its initial purpose of promoting drugs to a
national audience. It furthers Big Pharma’s
financial agenda under the guise of providing
service and even jobs under the U.S. economy
by purposely misleading its audience. This is
one of the many tricks up Big Pharma’s sleeve
that has allowed it to thrive despite inhumane
and unlawful practices.
THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE
Many drug-related commercials are
part of an elaborate DTC advertising
campaign, and contain the following
aspects:
• Intense fearmongering over symptoms
of a rare disease
• Turning a seemingly common condition
into a rampant disease (in the hopes of
more people eventually taking
prescription drugs)
• Persuading people to be more aware of
their risk for a particular illness to
prompt them to take a drug as a
precautionary measure
DTC advertising urges consumers
to buy drugs and visit a doctor as
soon as they experience symptoms,
allowing Big Pharma to capitalize on
selling drugs meant to target illnesses
such as:
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
• Cardiovascular disease
• Erectile dysfunction (ED)
• Schizophrenia and other mental illnesses
• Cancers
• Autoimmune diseases
• Rheumatoid arthritis
13
 CHAPTER 3
PRIDE AND THE POLITICS
OF VACCINES

The debate over vaccine safety is not over
yet. Greed-based marketing has become
the name of the game, resulting in unethical
and manipulative control over vaccines.
Considering the numerous instances
that reveal how these disease prevention
strategies can be risky and questionable,
how far are you willing to sacrifice for “the
greater good?”
The U.S. vaccination program is
undoubtedly in need of methodologically
sound investigative studies that are not
compromised by conflicts of interest within
the industry and the government. After all,
what we all want is a healthy and safe means
of protecting our children and the generations
to come from infectious diseases.
S H A M E F U L VA C C I N E
HISTORY AND
OVERSEAS DISASTERS
In 1990, the Children’s Vaccine Initiative (CVI)
was founded by the Rockefeller Foundation,
United Nations Development Program (UNDP),
United Nations International Children’s
Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the World Bank
and the World Health Organization (WHO). Its
main goal is to vaccinate all the children in the
world with vaccines endorsed by the WHO and
the government.
Reportedly, there was a rivalry of leadership
between the WHO, UNICEF and the U.S.,
and conflicts arose from coordination with
different governments and public-private
partnerships. There was also a question
regarding drug companies and governments
being able to quickly produce large
quantities of vaccines without compromising
their quality.
In a World Mercury Project press
conference, the late Dr. Bernadine Healy,
the first female director of the National
Institutes of Health (NIH), expressed
concern to the government, as there
are no efforts made yet on finding out if
there is a population that’s susceptible to
vaccines.
She also brought up the disregard for
animal vaccine studies that may be linked
to neurological damage.

14 THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE

 In poor and underdeveloped countries, Big
Pharma introduced vaccines to be lifesaving,
but ended up with disastrous outcomes. One
instance was the death of young tribal girls
who were given human papillomavirus (HPV)
vaccines, Gardasil by Merck and Cervarix by
GlaxoSmithKline.

Overseas clinical trials like this provide

convenience to the pharmaceutical industry
because of less strict and sometimes
nonexistent regulations, and unlikely product
liability lawsuits involving personal injury.
Participants may also be “drug-naïve,”
and have less knowledge of medical care.
Additionally, participants in poor countries
do not have drugs to “wash out,” which may
likely affect the trial results. Because of
language barriers and the fact that some trial
participants cannot read, ethicists encourage
videotaped consent statements instead of
written consent forms.

THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE 15

 MAINSTREAM MEDIA
AND GOVERNMENT
ABOUND WITH
CONFLICTS OF
INTEREST
Big Pharma’s link to mainstream media
and the government is a clear case of the
fox guarding the henhouse. Essentially, drug
company representatives who serve as board
members of news outlets are associated with
most of the drugs ads that you watch or see.

News reports on vaccine safety seemingly

neglect journalistic ethics by declaring that
“all vaccines are safe,” without affirming that
“all drugs are safe.” Headlines of online news
outlets even “blame” anti-vaxxers for measles
outbreaks, when in fact, CDC’s Vaccine
Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS)
revealed that 416 deaths from measles were
caused by measles vaccines MEA, MER, MM,
MMR or MMRV.

According to vaccine safety activist Robert

F. Kennedy Jr., the CDC owns more than 20
different vaccine patents and sells $4.1 billion
in vaccines each year. The New York Times
even reported that there were conflicts of
interest in most experts who served on CDC
advisory panels for flu and cervical cancer
vaccine evaluation.

Researchers have presented a number of

potential dangers of vaccines, including
immune system dysfunction, brain
inflammation and permanent brain damage in
pertussis toxin and live measles virus.
Aside from mercury, which Kennedy focuses
on, other vaccine ingredients that may cause
harm are aluminum adjuvants, DNA fragments
and retroviral contaminants.

16 THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE

 Further, millions of funds are being given to
the Academy of Pediatrics for conferences,
grants, medical education classes, and for
the establishment of their headquarters,
according to a CBS investigative report.

PUBLIC’S INTERESTS
ARE IGNORED BY THE
‘ VA C C I N E C O U RT ’
Instead of serving as a catalyst in producing
the safest vaccines possible, the vaccine
injury compensation program (VICP), also
known as the “vaccine court,” became a legal
protection for vaccine manufacturers through
the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act
so they could steer clear of vaccine injury
liabilities.

Many Americans may not have heard of this

vaccine court due to several claims that are
not publicized, while two-thirds of received
claims are dismissed. Keeping these facts
from the public may help reduce the risk of
doubts on vaccine safety, but the vaccine-
related injuries are often disturbing and
alarming. These actions plainly show how
greed-based vaccine business models hold
control over mass safety and health.

THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE 17

 CHAPTER 4
THE WAR ON SUPPLEMENTS,
ESSENTIAL OILS AND
H O M E O PAT HY

Supplements and alternative therapies publishing these kinds of information to

improve lives by helping inhibit numerous
health conditions, as they encourage
patient education and self-care. They’re
more affordable than drugs as well, which
is probably one of the reasons why they’ve
become more widely used.
The supplements and natural products
industry was expected to exceed $36 billion
in retail sales in 2017 — no wonder Big
Pharma has become more interested in this
flourishing business.
discredit supplements and expose alleged vile
manufacturers and lobbyists.
Among the supplements and natural products
that are being vilified are vitamin C, vitamin
A and beta-carotene, vitamin E, vitamin B6,
vitamin D, calcium, multivitamins, ginkgo
biloba, echinacea, fish oil and ephedrine.
Homeopathy and aromatherapy are also being
attacked.
What most people do not know is that there
is a greater risk with prescription drugs
produced by Big Pharma, as prescription drug
overdose ranks ninth in the causes of death in

TRADITIONAL MEDIA the U.S. Growing opioid addiction contributes

to the rising death toll as well.
CAST DOUBT UPON
T H E VA LU E O F
SUPPLEMENTS P R O D U C T P U R I T Y:
CONSIDERING BOTH
Y ou may have read it on one website
SIDES OF THE STORY
or another — articles written by medical
professionals saying that supplements
are “ineffective, a waste of money and Dr. Paul A. Offit, one of the nation’s leading
may even cause physical harm.” TV news drug and vaccine defenders, narrates in a
media, print media and the web have been Medscape interview how Purity First’s vitamin

18 THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE

C, multimineral preparation and B-complex
vitamin preparation caused adverse health
effects in 25 women in Connecticut.
He questioned how anabolic steroid
contamination took place and mentioned how
appalling it would be if vaccines were to be
involved in a similar controversy.
Unknown to many, vaccines and medical
products are often recalled but are not
reported by the mainstream press. These
include the 600,000 defective Ventolin
inhalers by GlaxoSmithKline and more
than 4 million bottles of cholesterol-fighter
THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE
atorvastatin by Mylan. There have been
14 vaccine recalls and 13 immunoglobulin
recalls from 2007 to 2010, too. In addition,
side effects and long-term negative health
outcomes of vaccines remain unknown
because they are not methodologically tested
for safety and effectiveness.
Big Pharma not only discredits
supplements for their unproven
health benefits, but they execute
false promotion as well. At least
31 companies have been charged,
including:
Pfizer — Off-label marketing of Neurontin
for the non-FDA approved indication of
bipolar disorder, paid $430 million fine
Eli Lilly — Off-label marketing scheme
of Evista for unapproved FDA indication
of prevention of breast cancer; sent off
hundreds of drug reps to sell them
Other companies that have been charged
are Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Forest,
Amgen and Allergan.
19
 SUPPLEMENTS,
ESSENTIAL OILS
A N D H O M E O PAT H Y
THERAPY
Forbes, a pro-Pharma site, writes in an article
that vitamin D is “a waste of money,” and
instead recommends Fosamax (alendronate).
But what the article failed to mention is that
Fosamax is one of the most dangerous drug
classes out there, and it has been linked to
esophageal cancer, jawbone death, heart
problems, intractable pain and the very
fractures that it is supposed to counteract.
As found by a 2014 breast cancer survival
study, vitamin D is actually a valuable
nutrient with beneficial effects against
multiple sclerosis management, diabetes and
20 THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE
depression, chronic liver disease and diseases
of older age. Other notable supplements
and natural remedies that were found to be
effective include:
• Folic acid for high blood pressure, diabetic
kidney disease and heart failure, stroke
• Oregano for norovirus
• High doses of vitamin C for ovarian cancer
and stroke
• Multivitamins and olive oil for
breast cancer
• A compound found in a Japanese
mushroom for human papillomavirus
• Vitamin E for deterring miscarriage
• Micronutrients for adult attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
• Vetiver essential oil for children with ADHD
• Homeopathy for allergies
THE FINAL IRONIES
BETWEEN PHARMA
AND SUPPLEMENTS
What game does Big Pharma play as it
continues to attack and question the safety,
reliability and effectiveness of vitamins and
supplements while trying to produce its own?
Despite their efforts to positively market their
own range of vitamins and supplements,
the false claims charges that they point out
against the supplements industry bounce
back to them.
In one instance, the drug company Pfizer was
sued over claims that its Centrum products
support “energy and immunity,” “heart health,”
“eye health,” “breast health,” “bone health”
and “colon health.” In addition, Seven Seas
Multivitamin Complete, produced by Merck
subsidiary Seven Seas, indicate claims such
as providing adults with energy and promoting
“a healthy heart, eyesight, bones and digestive
system.”
THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE 21
 CHAPTER 5
LIES, DENIAL, DECEIT
A N D M A N I P U L AT I V E
‘RESEARCH’

T he vaccine business has been considered

a lucrative alternative by Big Pharma since
blockbuster drugs like Lipitor, Viagra,
Seroquel, Zyprexa, Singular and Concerta
lost their patents. Vaccines are priced higher
than pills, and are marketed to be “life-saving”
by governments and NGOs. With the help
of taxpayer or NGO money, these agencies
advance misleading research to scare the
public into getting vaccinated.

Some may have fallen into the trap of this

misleading advertising, but many are starting
to question the intent. For example, many
families with adolescents are now refusing
the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.
In response to this, Big Pharma launched
a “shame” campaign that featured young
adults with cancer blaming their parents for
not having them vaccinated when they were
adolescents.
The over-the-top campaign backfired, and
even elicited unfavorable remarks from
vaccine supporters. Some people called it out
for trying to guilt trip parents.
In 2017, the Indian Medical Journal
of Medical Ethics reported the flaws of
the HPV vaccine and raised questions
on its safety and effectiveness, saying
that:
• No consideration is given to the genetic
basis of autoimmune diseases, which
cannot assure the safety of the vaccine
• The immune evasion mechanisms of
HPV are disregarded
• The limitations of effectiveness of the
vaccine. They also noted various issues
that came up in the course of
developing, promoting and distributing
the vaccine

22 THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE

THE BILL & MELINDA But aside from Big Pharma, Gates is invested
in the GMO market as well. In 2012, he told
G AT E S F O U N D AT I O N the world about his plan on ending hunger by
P R O M OT E S VA C C I N E S supporting genetically modified (GM) crops,

AND GMOS and invested $27 million into Monsanto with

short-sighted and misinformed views.

B ill Gates is one of the staunchest
supporters of Big Pharma, particularly
vaccines. In a 2011 Forbes interview, he
confirmed the profitability of vaccines,
saying that it can now be considered a
money-making business.
In truth, GM crops provide and produce the
opposite of what the world needs — they
threaten the existence of not only small-scale,
organic and sustainable farming but also
biodiversity.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

(B&MGF), which he founded along with his
wife, Melinda, started buying billions of
drug stocks in 2002. It hired people from
GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis as research
heads, and appointed Dr. Susan Desmond-
Hellmann, former president of product
development at Genentech, as its CEO.

Indeed, the B&MGF has become one of the

leading funders of vaccine development and
promotion, although health writer Ruben
Rosenberg Colorni revealed the true nature
of the foundation by describing it as a “tax-
avoidance scheme.”

THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE 23

 M A S S V A C C I N AT I O N
FOR ‘HERD IMMUNITY’
IS MISLEADING
T he concept of “herd immunity,” the idea that
there must be a high vaccination rate in a
given community so that those who are not
immunized may not endanger others, is being
promoted by vaccine makers, governments
and NGOs to market mass vaccination. But
if HPV, a sexually transmitted disease (STD),
cannot be spread from one person to another
simply by being in close proximity with an
infected individual, then this marketing tactic
should raise eyebrows.
What’s more, purveyors of the herd immunity
theory themselves cannot explain the reason
why outbreaks of diseases that have been
targeted by vaccines occur in communities
with the herd immunity status. They also
deliberately confuse the public and do not
acknowledge that vaccination and natural
exposure to a disease produce two types
of immune responses that are qualitatively
different.
24 THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE
M A N I P U L AT I N G
I N F O R M AT I O N O N
VA C C I N E I N J U R I E S
AND EFFECTIVENESS
HPV vaccine marketing has revolved around
half-truths, scare tactics and alarmist
advertising. The HPV vaccine, primarily
presented to be a “vaccine against cancer,” is
a good example. One science website touts
that the vaccine has cut infections by up to
90% in the past 10 years — but this is not the
same as cutting the incidence of cancer.
Vaccine makers, governments and doctors
who administer vaccines continue to conceal
questions on safety and vaccine injuries, and
instead insist that these injuries are merely
coincidences. The FDA and the CDC even
claim that controlled clinical trials found no
causal associations between HPV vaccination
and side effects.
As the drug industry becomes more interested
in growing its market, it continuously inflates
the number of estimated sufferers, while
reporters repeat drug industry-supplied
“facts.” These efforts prove Big Pharma’s
deceptive strategies to gain profit through
vaccines — at the dire cost of human lives.
 MONEY-MAKING
MOTIVES
CAN LEAD
TO F L AW E D
FINDINGS

THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE 25

 CHAPTER 6
MAINSTREAM MEDIA
C E N S O R S N E W S T H AT
T H R E AT E N S ITS
FINANCIAL INTERESTS

With fake news threatening to infiltrate the

current media landscape, internet watchdogs
play a crucial role in filtering trustworthy
content from fabricated stories. But have
you ever wondered who regulates these
organizations?

Conflicts of interest between the

pharmaceutical industry and the government
agencies have been exposed in recent
years. However, connections between
pharmaceutical corporations to “unbiased”
watchdogs are being unveiled one by one —
casting further doubt on the virtues of these
fact-checkers.

WHERE IT WENT
DOWNHILL FOR
SNOPES
A Daily Mail expose published in 2016
regarding fact-checking website Snopes
appeared to be “fake news,” but it turns out
its claims weren’t made-up at all. The expose
claimed that Snopes founders David and

26 THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE

Barbara Mikkelson, who have since then
divorced, fabricated a nonexistent society.
When Forbes writer Kalev Leetaru reached
out to David Mikkelson for comments, he
was told that a binding settlement agreement
prevented Mikkelson from divulging
information about his divorce.

Snopes was also found to have political

leanings, after it was discovered that Elyssa
Young, Mikkelson’s new wife, ran for congress
in Hawaii in 2004 as a Libertarian.

the board members of The New York Times.

CONFLICTS OF Johnson & Johnson associates had also

INTEREST AND occupied positions on The Washington Post’s

board. Even PBS and NPR, who are considered
C E N S O R S H I P: H O W B I G “public” media, have also accepted money

PH ARM A LOCKS THE from GlaxoSmithKline, UnitedHealthCare and

the Koch brothers.
MEDIA IN ITS GRASP
Mainstream news outlets have also
B ig Pharma companies try to gain
deliberately prevented publishing of
stories regarding adverse effects linked to
partnerships with media and news outlets so
bisphonsphates (bone drugs) and TNF-alpha
little to no information regarding drug safety
inhibitors, or illegal marketing tactics used for
and effectiveness is shared with the masses.
promoting the asthma drug Xolair. A scientific
For example, affiliates from drug companies
study even went so far as to bury the real
Schering-Plough and Eli Lilly are some of
health risks linked to the antidepressant Paxil.

THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE 27

 A PROMISING
P R O G R A M T H AT F A L L S
F L AT B E C A U S E O F I T S
CONNECTIONS
While it’s a new player compared to
other internet watchdogs, NewsGuard
seems promising because of its intentions
to measure websites’ credibility and
transparency. It’s a downloadable web plugin
for personal computers, laptops, tablets or
cellphones, and once it’s installed you’ll see
“ratings” via color-coded labels on search
results and articles on your social media
feeds.

However, dig deeper and you’ll realize that

NewsGuard isn’t as bias-free as you initially
thought it to be. It’s actually for-profit and
has received initial funding from global
communications giant Publicis Groupe,
whose health subsidiary Publicis Health lists
big pharma companies Abbot, Amgen, Astra
Zeneca, Sanofi, Biogen, Roche and Bayer as
some of its many clients.

Understanding the dubious relationships

between corporations and “independent”
watchdogs can make you question the moral
compasses of such groups tasked to deliver
honest content. To avoid being duped, follow
your guiding light and exercise skepticism.
Don’t be deceived by some who only aim
to further the interests of a special few and
aren’t concerned at all with improving the
well-being of the public.

Don’t be deceived by Google’s seemingly

innocent ventures — it has dabbled in health
care, social engineering, artificial intelligence,
military applications, biomedicine and
pharmaceutics, among many others. In no
time, this tech giant can wield influence over
many aspects of your well-being.

28 THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE

THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE 29
30 THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE