Simone Gold

[[File:Simone Gold (50755976658) (1).jpg|thumb|right|165px|Simone Gold speaking with attendees at the 2020 Student Action Summit hosted by Turning Point USA]]
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'''Simone Melissa Gold''' is a physician, [[lawyer]],<ref name=Radicalization/> author, and, more than anything else, an anti-[[COVID-19|COVID]] [[quack]]. She is the founder of '''America's Frontline Doctors''', an organization of fellow quacks that have railed against the many measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19, while supporting the use of [[hydroxychloroquine]] and [[ivermectin]].

Oh, and she also participated in the [[2021 U.S. Capitol riot]].

==Quackery and crankery==
{{main|1=Quack|3=Crank}}
Gold has regularly promoted hydroxychloroquine as a "safe" alternatives to COVID vaccines, despite [[evidence]] that it is ineffective as a COVID-19 treatment and can carry significant risks.<ref name="BBC HCQ">{{cite news |last1=Giles |first1=Christopher |title=Hydroxychloroquine: Why a video promoted by Trump was pulled on social media |date=July 28, 2020 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/53559938 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=February 14, 2021}}</ref> She most notably held a press conference called the "White Coat Summit" extolling the alleged positives of hydroxychloroquine. The press conference was co-sponsored by the [[Tea Party movement|Tea Party Patriots]] and was broadcast by [[Breitbart]], because of course it was. Gold has also supported the use of ivermectin<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20220610124215/https://twitter.com/drsimonegold/status/1535019189387374592 BREAKING: Missouri Governor Mike Parson has signed legislation that will prevent state licensing boards from punishing physicians who prescribe Ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine. This is a tremendous victory for medical freedom.] by Simone Gold (3:01 PM · Jun 9, 2022) ''Twitter'' (archived from June 10, 2022).</ref> for COVID despite it being shown to be ineffective.<ref>[https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2115869 Effect of Early Treatment with Ivermectin among Patients with Covid-19] by Gilmar Reis et al. (2022) ''The New England Journal of Medicine'' 386:1721-1731. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2115869.</ref>

She is also against [[face masks]] and think they are unnecessary and unhelpful. 

Gold has alleged that the United States Government [[Black genocide|experimented on black people]] to test the general safety of vaccines.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Mak|first=Aaron|date=18 March 2021|title=Where Anti-Vaccine Propaganda Went When YouTube Banned It|work=Slate|url=https://slate.com/technology/2021/03/youtube-rumble-vaccine-misinformation.html|access-date=29 March 2021}}</ref>

Gold was a speaker at AMPFest, a pro-[[Donald Trump|Trump]] event held in Miami in October 2020.<ref>{{cite web |title=Speakers |url=https://americafirstevents.swoogo.com/ampfest2020/speakers |publisher=AMPFest2020 |access-date=February 13, 2021}}</ref> She spoke at an event for donors to the [[Council for National Policy]] in November of the same year, and in December she was part of a summit hosted by [[Turning Point USA]]. 

In April 2021, Gold appeared at the "Health and Freedom Conference" at Rhema Bible Church in Broken Arrow, [[Oklahoma]], along with speakers including actor Jim Caviezel, [[Mike Lindell]], and L. Lin Wood.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.publicradiotulsa.org/post/tulsa-county-sheriff-vic-regalado-defends-appearance-convention-featuring-conspiracy-theorists#stream/0 |title=Tulsa County Sheriff Vic Regalado Defends Appearance At Convention Featuring Conspiracy Theorists |date=April 19, 2021 |last=Polansky |first=Chris |website=[[KWGS]] |access-date=May 10, 2021}}</ref> Gold and America's Frontline Doctors held an RV tour across the US in May 2021, called the "Uncensored Truth Tour". On the tour, Gold held an event at Legacy Church in Albuquerque, [[New Mexico]], which drew hundreds of guests.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/prominent-anti-vaxxer-speaks-to-large-crowd-at-legacy-church/6106011/ |title=Prominent anti-vaxxer speaks to large crowd at Legacy Church |date=May 12, 2021 |last=Reader |first=Grace |website=[[KOB (TV)|KOB]] |access-date=May 29, 2021}}</ref>

America’s Frontline Doctors and three other antivax and [[COVID-19 denialism|COVID denialist]] group profited and expanded enormously during the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref name=weber>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/02/21/covid-misinformation-earnings Tax records reveal the lucrative world of covid misinformation] by Lauren Weber (February 21, 2024 at 6:00 a.m. EST) ''The Washington Post''.</ref> The three other groups were [[Del Bigtree]]'s Informed Consent Action Network, {{wpl|Front Line Covid-19 Critical Care Alliance}} and [[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]]'s Children’s Health Defense.<ref name=weber/>

==2021 U.S. Capitol riot==
On January 5, 2021, Gold spoke at a rally in Washington D.C. to a crowd of people gathering in the city for the following day's "Stop the Steal" rally. She criticized the COVID-19 vaccines, said that the COVID-19 was non-fatal, and made additional unfounded claims about the vaccines.<ref>{{cite web |last1=D'Ambrosio |first1=Amanda |title=Simone Gold Arrested for Role in Capitol Insurrection |date=January 20, 2021 |url=https://www.medpagetoday.com/washington-watch/washington-watch/90778 |publisher=MedPage Today |access-date=February 14, 2021}}</ref> She told supporters, "If you don't want to take an experimental biological agent deceptively named a vaccine, you must not allow yourself to be coerced!"<ref>{{cite web |last1=Devine |first1=Curt |last2=Griffin |first2=Drew |title=Leaders of the anti-vaccine movement used 'Stop the Steal' crusade to advance their own conspiracy theories |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/04/politics/anti-vaxxers-stop-the-steal-invs/index.html |publisher=CNN |access-date=February 14, 2021}}</ref> Gold was scheduled to speak the at the Rally for Health Freedom on January 6 but the rally was cancelled before her speech. She then joined the crowd of insurrectionists and illegally entered the Capitol building, along with America's Frontline Doctors Communications Director John Strand.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Satija |first1=Neena |title='I do regret being there': Simone Gold, noted hydroxychloroquine advocate, was inside the Capitol during the riot |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/simone-gold-capitol-riot-coronavirus/2021/01/12/d1d39e84-545f-11eb-a817-e5e7f8a406d6_story.html |work=The Washington Post |access-date=February 14, 2021}}</ref> Gold and Strand were seen on video footage "in the middle of a crowd attempting to push past law enforcement officials to get inside." She then gave the speech she had planned to give at the rally in the rotunda of the Capitol building. Gold said that she spent approximately 20 minutes in the Capitol.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Shaheen |first1=Perla |title=Local doctor gave speech in U.S. Capitol during the riots |date=January 14, 2021 |url=https://www.kget.com/news/local-news/local-doctor-gives-speech-in-u-s-capitol-during-the-riots-fbi-seeking-info-on-her/ |publisher=KGET |access-date=February 14, 2021}}</ref>

Gold and Strand were later identified by [[FBI]] wanted images from the event circulated on social media. Gold was arrested at her home in Beverly Hills, [[California]] on January 18 on five charges including entering a restricted building and disorderly conduct.<ref name=Radicalization>{{cite web |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/05/doctor-lawyer-insurrectionist-the-radicalization-of-simone-gold/ |title=Doctor, Lawyer, Insurrectionist: The Radicalization of Simone Gold |date=May 6, 2021 |last=Mencimer |first=Stephanie |website=[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]] |access-date=May 9, 2021}}</ref><ref name="GuardianWillful">{{cite web |last1=Stone |first1=Peter |title='Wilful ignorance': doctor who joined Capitol attack condemned for Covid falsehoods |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/22/coronavirus-misinformation-simone-gold-americas-frontline-doctors |work=The Guardian |date=January 22, 2021 |access-date=February 13, 2021}}</ref><ref name="NYTimesArrests">{{cite news |last1=Fazio |first1=Marie |title=Notable Arrests After the Riot at the Capitol |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/10/us/politics/capitol-arrests.html?searchResultPosition=2 |work=New York Times |date=January 10, 2021 |access-date=February 14, 2021}}</ref> Gold admitted entering the Capitol building, saying that she did not know it was illegal to do so and that she did not witness any violence, saying "where I was, was incredibly peaceful." She said: "I do regret being there," because she was concerned that the controversy would detract from her (controversial) work with America's Frontline Doctors. In April 2021, Gold told [[Ted Nugent]] in an interview that "20 [[FBI]] agents" had come to arrest her and that she had been placed on the No Fly List.

In February 2022, she pleaded guilty to knowingly and unlawfully "entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds," which is a Class A misdemeanor.<ref>{{cite web |author1=The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia |title=Statement of Offense |url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/case-multi-defendant/file/1479696/download |website=justice.gov |publisher=U.S. Department of Justice |access-date=March 5, 2022 |page=4}}</ref> Gold was sentenced to 90 days in jail for the misdemeanor, but she was excoriated by the judge for fundraising $430,000 for her legal defense. Gold's lawyer said that her legal expenses were no where near that amount, implying that it was grifting.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/06/16/simone-gold-sentenced/ Anti-vaccine doctor sentenced to prison for Jan. 6 trespassing: A federal judge criticized Simone Gold for using her legal woes to raise $430,000 for herself and her organization.] by Spencer S. Hsu (June 16, 2022 at 2:29 p.m. EDT) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>

==Grifting==
In early November 2022, America's Frontline Doctors (AFLDS) sued Gold, alleging that Gold used the group's charitable funds to buy a $3.6 million mansion for herself and her boyfriend, three cars for personal use, and other charges to the charity, including expenses for a personal security officer, a housekeeper, private plane flights, and other personal lifestyle expenses. According to the lawsuit, other AFLDS leaders, already suspicious of Gold's usage of funds, hired a "forensic auditor" to do a deep dive into the organization's financials while Gold was in prison and discovered the irregularities. <ref>[https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/exclusives/101640 "Internal Strife at America's Frontline Doctors: Simone Gold Accused of Misusing $$$"] by Cheryl Clark, MedPage Today, 2022 November 7</ref><ref>[https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/11/right-wing-doctor-group-led-by-anti-vaccine-insurrectionist-implodes-in-scandal/ "Right-wing doctor group led by anti-vaccine insurrectionist implodes in scandal"] by Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 2022 November 15</ref>

==Christian nationalism and internalized discrimination==
{{main|1=Christian nationalism|3=Uncle Tom}}
Gold was raised Jewish and active in the Jewish community until 2010.<ref name=Radicalization/> Since that time, Gold has relied on associating with [[far-right]] Christians and Christian nationalists to promote her quackery, including Matt Shea, who has written a manifesto that non-Christian males should be killed unless they submit to Biblical law.<ref name=Radicalization/><ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/10/23/right-wing-election-turnout/ Right-wing roadshow promotes Christian nationalism before midterms] by Annie Gowen (October 23, 2022 at 4:23 p.m. EDT) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>

==Reception==
Unsurprisingly, Gold has few friends in the non-quack medical community. Various legitimate medical experts, ranging from former [[CDC]] executives to college professors, have denounced her as a "toxic purveyor of misinformation" who shows "a willful ignorance of science and the [[scientific method]]."<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/22/coronavirus-misinformation-simone-gold-americas-frontline-doctors "'Wilful ignorance': doctor who joined Capitol attack condemned for Covid falsehoods"] by Peter Stone, Guardian, 2021 January 22</ref> Others have called for her to have her medical license revoked, but so far this has not happened.<ref>[https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/exclusives/103084 "Simone Gold Accused by California Medical Board"] by Cheryl Clark, MedPage Today, 2023 February 13</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gold, Simone}}
[[Category:2021 U.S. coup attempt]]
[[Category:Alternative medicine promoters]]
[[Category:Anti-vaccination movement]]
[[Category:Authors]]
[[Category:Christians]]
[[Category:COVID-19 denialists]]
[[Category:Internalized discrimination]]
[[Category:Internet kooks]]
[[Category:Jews]]
[[Category:Lawyers]]
[[Category:Physicians]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience promoters]]
[[Category:Right-wing activists]]
[[Category:Shysters]]
[[Category:Tea Party]]

Categories: 2021 U.S. coup attempt, Alternative medicine promoters, Anti-vaccination movement, Authors, Christians, COVID-19 denialists, Internalized discrimination, Internet kooks, Jews, Lawyers, Physicians, Pseudoscience promoters, Right-wing activists, Shysters, Tea Party