Michael Fumento

{{media}}'''Michael Fumento''' {{lived|1959}} is an [[United States|American]] investigative [[journalist]] and [[author]]. He was embedded in [[Iraq]] and [[Afghanistan]], but mostly spreads health and environmental [[denialism]].

==Journalism==
Write down any public health or [[environmental]] issues you can think of on scraps of paper, pull one out of a hat, and there's a 99.9% chance Fumento lives up to the "fume" part of his last name and has written some hit piece denying it or minimizing while crying "alarmism!" His first book-length excretion was published in the 1980s, called ''The Myth of Heterosexual AIDS''. While Fumento does not [[AIDS denial|deny the existence of AIDS]], he merely claims that the [[AIDS]] [[epidemic]] is minimal and therefore requires no action.<ref group=note>The title is so absurd today it refutes itself, but here is [https://fair.org/extra/the-fumento-mythology/ a FAIR article] on his breathtaking dishonesty anyway.</ref> He has also denied any risk from [[DDT]], [[global warming]], [[tobacco|second-hand smoke]], SARS, [[swine flu]], and the possibility of an avian flu pandemic. More recently,  Fumento has also hopped on the [[COVID-19 denialism]] bandwagon, dismissing social distancing and other measures as "mass hysteria" and calling Dr. Anthony Fauci and Robert Redfield "Horsemen of the Apocalypse".<ref>[https://fumento.com/articles/the-two-horsemen-of-the-apocalypse-fauci-and-redfield/ The Two Horsemen Of The Apocalypse: Fauci And Redfield] by Michael Fumento (August 04, 2020) fumento.com</ref>

Scripps-Howard dropped him from syndication in 2006 after it was discovered that [[Monsanto]] had dumped a boatload of cash into the Hudson Institute, where Fumento was employed while he wrote numerous biotech columns and ''BioEvolution'', essentially a book-length advertisement for Monsanto.<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/15/AR2006011501113_pf.html In the Fog of War, A Moral Haze: Monsanto's Man?] by Howard Kurtz (Monday, January 16, 2006) ''[[Washington Post]]''</ref> It was no surprise, either, when it was discovered that he was being bankrolled by Philip Morris as well through [[sound science|The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition (TASSC)]]. He's been around the block in terms of the Beltway [[conservative]] and [[libertarian]] [[think tank]]s — he's been employed by the Hudson Institute, the [[Competitive Enterprise Institute]], the [[American Enterprise Institute]], and ''[[Reason (magazine)|Reason]]''.

Also no surprise is that Fumento is BFFs with [[Steve Milloy]]. They helped co-found TASSC and often cross-post each others' work or post to their "Trash Talk Bulletin Board."<ref group="note">[https://junkscience.com/2012/01/january-is-epas-national-radon-action-month/ One such example] of their "friendship", where Milloy cites several of Fumento's articles on [[radon]].</ref> They're also both fond of using the [[doublespeak]] terms "[[junk science]]" and "[[sound science]]." It is unknown at this time whether or not Milloy and Fumento were cloned in the same lab.

In May of 2012, Fumento seemingly went through a conversion to [[liberal|the dark side]], penning a lengthy piece in [[AlterNet]] disclaiming some of his former views and denouncing the [[right-wing]], though he still claims to be an [[New Right (United States)|older-styled conservative]] and claims "[[Dunning-Kruger effect|I was always way ahead of the curve]]".<ref>[https://www.alternet.org/2012/05/why_i_stopped_being_a_right-winger_--_modern_conservatism_has_become_a_form_of_mass_hysteria/ Why I Stopped Being a Right-Winger: Modern Conservatism Has Become a Form of Mass Hysteria] by Michael Fumento (May 24, 2012) AlterNet</ref>

Fumento has a better record on some other parts of science. Fumento has written pieces debunking [[vaccine hysteria]]. He also wrote a well-researched article that debunked the [[low-carb diet]]ing misinformation of [[Gary Taubes]] and has written articles critical of the [[Atkins diet]].<ref>[https://reason.com/archives/2003/03/01/big-fat-fake/ Big Fat Fake: The Atkins diet controversy and the sorry state of science journalism.] by Michael Fumento (March 2003) ''[[Reason (magazine)|Reason]]''</ref><ref>[https://fumento.com/articles/michael_fumento_lowcarb_lunacy/ Low-carb Lunacy] by Michael Fumento (February 11, 2004) fumento.com</ref> Fumento has written a book ''The Fat of the Land'', which criticizes [[pseudoscientific]] claims of [[fad diet]]s.<ref>''The Fat of the Land: The Obesity Epidemic and How Overweight Americans Can Help Themselves''. (1997) Viking. {{Isbn|0670870595}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Anti-environmentalism]]

==External links==
*[http://fumento.com/ Fumento's site]
*[https://scienceblogs.com/tag/fumento ScienceBlogs] has an entire category dedicated to his [[bullshit]].
*[http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Michael_Fumento Sourcewatch entry]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

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[[Category:Authors]]
[[Category:COVID-19 denialists]]
[[Category:Denialists]]
[[Category:Global warming denialists]]
[[Category:Journalists]]
[[Category:Living people]]

Categories: Authors, COVID-19 denialists, Denialists, Global warming denialists, Journalists, Living people