03.20.18

House Republicans Shared a “News Story” on Twitter From a Widely Debunked Nutrition Supplement Website

Washington, D.C. – The official Committee Republican Twitter account shared an article today from a right-wing pseudoscience site – Natural News – that falsely claims that Massachusetts was forced to purchase natural gas from Russia earlier this winter because the state was “so short of energy” after unnamed “Massachusetts officials” supposedly blocked public financing for the $3 billion Access Northeast natural gas pipeline. The publications founder, Mike Adams, who calls himself the “Health Ranger” was awarded the “Worst Websites for Science in 2016” by Real Clear Science, and Forbes called the website “a thorn in the sides of all who hold legitimate science dear.”

The site, which frequently publishes claims that climate change is a liberal fantasy, is Adams’ premier forum for selling his nutritional supplements, which he says can “protect consumers from a wide range of maladies, ranging from Zika to cancer,” as Forbes reported. Adams recently served as a guest host for Alex Jones’ extreme right-wing show Infowars where he ranted about the recent termination of his YouTube account, claiming it’s a push to “censor voices of reason, voices of logic.”

It remains unclear why Republican Committee staff considers Natural News a credible news source.

The real story behind Massachusetts’ winter energy supply is unremarkable. The gas shipment the article cites was a blend of fuels from Russia and European sources, according to Politico. The Massachusetts Supreme Court – not “Massachusetts officials” – ruled in 2016 that electric utilities could not charge ratepayers to cover the cost of installing the Access Northeast pipeline, which led to parent company Enbridge suspending the project in June 2017 citing the inability to find funding. Two other natural gas pipeline expansions into Massachusetts began operating in the past 15 months.

“Citing embarrassing sources because they tickle your partisan funny bone is no way to maintain your credibility,” Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said today. “House Republicans are obviously desperate to find someone who agrees with their extreme views so they’ve stooped to the level of tweeting fake news stories to try to make their point.”

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