  hiv/aids denialism is the belief, contradicted by conclusive medical and scientific evidence, that human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) does not cause acquired immune deficiency syndrome (aids). some denialists reject the existence of hiv, while others accept that hiv exists but say that it is a harmless passenger virus and not the cause of aids. insofar as denialists acknowledge aids as a real disease, they attribute it to some combination of sexual behavior, recreational drugs, malnutrition, poor sanitation, haemophilia, or the effects of the drugs used to treat hiv infection. the scientific consensus is that the evidence showing hiv to be the cause of aids is conclusive and that aids-denialist claims are pseudoscience based on conspiracy theories, faulty reasoning, cherry picking, and misrepresentation of mainly outdated scientific data. with the rejection of these arguments by the scientific community, aids-denialist material is now targeted at less scientifically sophisticated audiences and spread mainly through the internet. despite its lack of scientific acceptance, hiv/aids denialism has had a significant political impact, especially in south africa under the presidency of thabo mbeki. scientists and physicians have raised alarm at the human cost of hiv/aids denialism, which discourages hiv-positive people from using proven treatments.{{cite web | url = http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/hivaids/understanding/howhivcausesaids/pages/hivcausesaids.aspx | title = the evidence that hiv causes aids | accessdate =14 october 2009 | publisher = national institute of allergy and infectious disease | date = 4 se
AIDS_origin_hypotheses Denialism HIV/AIDS_denialism HIV/AIDS_in_South_Africa Medical_controversies Pseudoscience