Stella Immanuel

{{pseudosciencenav}}
'''Stella Gwandiku-Ambe Immanuel''' {{lived|1965}} is a Houston, [[Fun:Texas|Texas]]-based pediatrician, religious book [[author]], and spiritual leader of Fire Power Ministries (a non-orthodox church).<ref name="wp">[https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/america-is-suffering-trump-offers-them-a-doctor-who-warns-of-sex-with-demons/2020/07/28/460fea3e-d0fb-11ea-8c55-61e7fa5e82ab_story.html "America is suffering. Trump offers them a doctor who warns of sex with demons."] by David Von Drehle, Washington Post, 2020 July 28</ref> She and her colleges form an almost perfect nexus of [[Donald Trump|Trump]] supporters, [[Conspiracy theory|conspiracy theorists]], outlandish religious beliefs, and [[Fox News]] punditry.

==Pseudoscience promotion==
She earned infamy in late July 2020 when [[Donald Trump]] retweeted a speech she made, where she dubiously claimed that [[2019-20_COVID-19_outbreak#Chloroquine|hydroxychlorquine]] will cure [[COVID-19]], and that [[2019-20_COVID-19_outbreak#Facial_Masks.2C_An_Assault_On_Mah_Freedom.21|facial masks]] are not needed to fighting the pandemic.<ref name="wp"></ref> The speech was part of a press conference of a small group of doctors who call themselves 
America’s Frontline Quacks
 "America's Frontline Doctors"; the group disputes the medical consensus on [[COVID-19]]. Predictably, the individual doctors in question, if notable at all, are mainly noteworthy for regular appearances on [[Fox News]], mistrust of {{wpl|National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases|NIAID}} director {{wpl|Anthony Fauci||,}} hydroxychlorquine promotion, and other eccentricities such as the promotion of [[bitcoin]].<ref>[https://gizmodo.com/who-are-americas-frontline-doctors-the-pro-trump-pro-1844528900 "Who Are 'America's Frontline Doctors', the Pro-Trump, Pro-Hydroxychloroquine Weirdos Banned From Social Media?"] by Matt Novak, Gizmodo, 2020 July 28</ref> This event was organized by the [[Tea Party movement|Tea Party Patriots]], and the original publisher of the video was [[Breitbart]] News.<ref name="db">[https://www.thedailybeast.com/stella-immanuel-trumps-new-covid-doctor-believes-in-alien-dna-demon-sperm-and-hydroxychloroquine "Trump’s New Favorite COVID Doctor Believes in Alien DNA, Demon Sperm, and Hydroxychloroquine"] by Will Sommer, Daily Beast, 2020 July 28</ref><ref name="at">[https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/07/donald-trump-jr-and-breitbart-get-twitter-timeouts-over-covid-video/ "Twitter suspends Donald Trump Jr. for posting COVID misinformation"] by Timothy B. Lee, Ars Technica, 2020 July 28</ref> 

These videos were eventually deleted from both [[Facebook]] and [[Twitter]] for spreading misinformation about COVID-19.<ref name="db"></ref> Breitbart's Twitter account was also locked by Twitter for spreading [[COVID-19]] [[bullshit]]; of course, in respsonse, Breitbart made the video a cover story on their website, with the usual whine about how [[social media]] is "censoring" them.<ref>[https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-hails-demon-sperm-doc-dr-stella-immanuel-as-important-voice-in-nations-covid-19-battle "Trump Doubles Down on Demon Sperm Doc"] by Will Sommer and Adam Rawnsley, Daily Beast, 2020 July 28</ref>

Immanuel responded to the controversy by, on Facebook, declaring that Jesus Christ would destroy Facebook’s servers if her videos weren’t restored to the platform.<ref name="db"></ref>

==Conspiracy promotion==

Upon further investigation of the Fire Power Ministries' web page and [[YouTube]] channel, many reporters found that Stella Immanuel is a promoter of many [[conspiracy]] and [[paranoia]] style beliefs.<ref>[https://www.thecourierdaily.com/dr-stella-immanuel-houston-texas-hcqs-covid19-wiki/23104/ "Who is Dr. Stella Immanuel? MD, Houston Doctor Promising HCQS is the Treatment for Coronavirus Fact Check"] by Sachin Jangra, Courier Daily, 2020 July 29</ref> Among her more outrageous claims were that [[alien]] [[DNA]] is currently being used in medical treatments, scientists are cooking up a vaccine to prevent people from being religious, some gynecological problems are caused by people having sex in their dreams with [[demons]] and [[witchcraft|witches]], and that the government is run by "[[reptilians]]" and other [[aliens]].<ref name="db"></ref> She also gave sermons on the [[Illuminati]], [[homophobia|gave sermons that preached hatred of LGBT people]], and (unusually for a pediatrician) praised corporal punishment in a sermon, declaring that "[[Corporal punishment|children need to be whipped]]" (but, not abused).<ref name="db"></ref> The discovery of these viewpoints led to "demon sperm" jokes becoming a trend on Twitter.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/07/28/stella-immanuel-hydroxychloroquine-video-trump-americas-frontline-doctors/ "Trump retweeted a video with false covid-19 claims. One doctor in it has said demons cause illnesses."] by Travis M. Andrews and Danielle Paquette, Washington Post, 2020 July 28</ref> It's bad enough that Immanuel promotes supernaturalism, but it actually seems to interfere with her medical practice because she believes that demon sex is causative of medical conditions such as endometriosis.<ref name="db"/>

In light of [[Donald Trump|Donald Trump's]] loss in the 2020 Presidential Election, Stella Immanuel outright stated that she denies Joe Biden's victory. In the fashion of right wing nuts, she has yelled,

{{quotebox|IT IS NOT OVER! THE STONE IS ABOUT TO DESCEND. THEY MAY MINGLE WITH US BUT THERE IS ABOUT TO BE A CRUSHING. KEEP PRAYING<ref>[https://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2020/11/08/it-is-not-over-stella-immanuel-reacts-to-defeat-of-trump-in-u-s-election/ 'It is not over! ...,' Stella Immanuel reacts to defeat of Trump in U.S election]. PM News Nigeria, 8 November 2020.</ref>}}

Pretty much any time a Trump supporter does not get their way, they will shout conspiracies. 

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

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[[Category:2020 election denialists]]
[[Category:Alternative medicine promoters]]
[[Category:Anti-abortion activists]]
[[Category:Anti-vaccination movement]]
[[Category:Authors]]
[[Category:Christians]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theorists]]
[[Category:COVID-19 denialists]]
[[Category:Crank magnetism]]
[[Category:Homophobes]]
[[Category:Ministers]]
[[Category:Physicians]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience promoters]]
[[Category:Right-wing activists]]
[[Category:Scams]]
[[Category:Shysters]]
[[Category:Ufology]]

Categories: 2020 election denialists, Alternative medicine promoters, Anti-abortion activists, Anti-vaccination movement, Authors, Christians, Conspiracy theorists, COVID-19 denialists, Crank magnetism, Homophobes, Ministers, Physicians, Pseudoscience promoters, Right-wing activists, Scams, Shysters, Ufology