Timothy Caulfield

Wellness peptide craze: why people are injecting drugs 'not for human consumption' Growing numbers of people are injecting unregulated peptides for health reasons - but one expert says they are "lab rats".

Longevity craze + celeb endorsements + exploitive wellness influencers + RFK Jr push = UGH! 🚨

Wellness #peptide craze: Why people are injecting? www.bbc.com/news/article...

"The people using these products are, in essence, becoming lab rats."

Soon: on CTV Edmonton to talk peptides...

An Amish Avatar and an A.I. Monk Are Pitching Supplements on Social Media

An Amish Avatar and an A.I. Monk Are Pitching Supplements on Social Media www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/b...

Me: “It’s so tremendously efficient. You can curate an image that perfectly fits the vibe you’re trying to produce.”

Paradoxically, AI influencers leverage an "authentic" vibe to market bunk.

💯

‘A very dangerous person’: alarm as Pete Hegseth revels in carnage of Iran war Critics say brash, bombastic Fox News host out of his depth to guide US military through murky new Middle East conflict

The Manosphere War?

So much of the rhetoric from Trump administration seems filtered through manosphere norms.

Horrifying that regressive masculine posturing – such as Hegseth's deep desire to be seen as manly & cool (um, nope) – impacting world peace.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

It’s About to Be Hot Peptide Summer Over a dozen peptides may soon be unbanned. A doctor, med-spa physician, and healthcare executive explain what that means for you.

Ugh. RFK Jr's Olympic-level mental gymnastics:

Vaccines (highly studied, regulated, & hugely beneficial) BAD!

Unproven, profit-driven, potentially harmful, poorly regulated stem cell therapies, supplements, and peptides GOOD!

It’s About to Be Hot Peptide Summer www.gq.com/story/peptid...

Changes in paracetamol and leucovorin use after a White House briefing Changes in federal prescribing recommendations follow deliberate and transparent processes involving US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scientists, which normally include input from stakeholders an...

Impact of the Trump Tylenol debacle? 👇

Tylenol use craters then (mostly) recovers.

Leucovorin use increases, despite lack of evidence.

Study: Changes in paracetamol and leucovorin use after a White House briefing www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Sum: Confusion and... grrrrrr.

Opinion | Your social media ‘addiction’ is overrated It is healthier and more accurate not to pathologize our habits.

Your social media ‘addiction’ overrated? wapo.st/4rn2doX

Solid advice

1) "make social media less rewarding than the alternatives" (eg a good book!)

2) "add friction to make the habit harder to form" (eg leave phone in another room)

3) "disrupt the cues that trigger the habit" (notifications off)

Societal Costs of Total Abortion Bans in 14 US States After Dobbs | AJPH | Vol. Issue Objectives. To estimate societal costs, comprising personal and external costs, of total abortion bans in the first year of enactment for 14 states after Dobbs overturned the constitutional right to a...

So, so many reasons bad. Add economics to list. 👇

Costs of Total Abortion Bans ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/...

"Abortion bans are economically burdensome. Our findings provide compelling evidence that restoring and protecting abortion access would improve economic outcomes."

MAGA built on lies & the myth of an idyllic past.

“Country Back” by Alexis Wilkins (the FBI-protected “girlfriend” of Kash Patel) symbolic of this twisted thinking.

The 27-yr old singer graves some fictional past (like, 2010, when Obama prez?).

Every line of the song is a grievance pitch.

I think it might? Stay tuned! 📻

💯

Absolutely love going to my amazing brother's art openings.

Check out Sean's timely and compelling show – A Tragedy of the Commons – at SNAP, details: snapartists.com/exhibit/a-tr... cc @ualbertaarts.bsky.social @ualberta.bsky.social

Inside the booming business of wellness third spaces and membership clubs A growing number of consumers are seeking out third spaces and membership clubs surrounding wellness, to improve their health while also socializing.

I have an allergic reaction to anything associated with the exploitive, bunk-pushing, multi-trillion $$$ wellness industry.

And can be hyper exclusive.

But like idea of fostering community & connection.

The booming business of wellness third spaces clubs www.cnbc.com/2026/03/07/w...

Harder Better Faster Stronger | Films | CBC Gem Misinformation expert Timothy Caulfield investigates the purported ‘crisis in masculinity,’ debunks toxic men’s health myths, and meets with people challenging traditional masculine norms.

Tomorrow AM I'm chatting with @mattgalloway.bsky.social on CBC's The Current about #masculinity and the #manosphere.

What impact is it having on health & wellbeing?

Please check out our @cbcgem.bsky.social doc on point! gem.cbc.ca/harder-bette... 💪

Alberta's flu season is now the deadliest in recent memory as experts call for action | CBC News Influenza deaths have soared to new heights in Alberta this year, according to nearly two decades worth of data, prompting concern from health experts.

UCP vaccine policies & rhetoric = deadly.

Alberta's flu season deadliest in recent memory as experts call for action www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

"250 Albertans have died ... vaccination rates remain low."

Vaccine "one of the most effective ways to reduce the risk of severe illness.”

Does Being Called “Timmy” Make Me Less Manly? | The Walrus Online trolls think it’s cool to attack my masculinity. But “man up” is the lamest advice ever

The impact of masculinity on health not new, for sure! Issue has been around... forever?

But the pressure to be more manly does ebb and flow, often in response to cultural changes...

Touch on history / cultural issues here: thewalrus.ca/does-being-c...

The surgeon general nominee can’t get people to stop asking her about vaccines Casey Means alarmed immunization advocates at her confirmation hearing, but some opponents don’t trust her either.

🚨 Let's be super clear: Means = science-free wellness grifter.

Surgeon general nominee can’t get people to stop asking her about vaccines www.politico.com/news/2026/03...

@angierasmussen.bsky.social: "Means’ responses on vaccines as an attempt to obscure her previous anti-vaccine positions."

The 'prison' of toxic masculinity can keep men from seeking medical care. Canada wants to fix that | CBC Radio Researchers and health advocates say many men delay seeking care, even when symptoms appear — a trend the federal government says it hopes to reverse by developing a strategy focused on improving men’...

The 'prison' of toxic masculinity www.cbc.ca/radio/thecur...

Me: genuine problem with men’s health. "The manosphere presents itself as a solution [but] that solution is hyper masculinity, which is the exact wrong thing that we need.”

Great speaking with @mattgalloway.bsky.social on CBC about issue

The “backfire effect” is mostly a myth, a broad look at the research suggests Plus: Instagram is fertile ground for conspiracy theories, Apple gives to media literacy, and a terror attack comes with its own media strategy.

Lots of interesting research around backfire effect. Complex, for sure. I think context and topic specific.

But, in general, concern overstated, especially in health / science space www.niemanlab.org/2019/03/the-...

A person's mindset towards aging may play a major role in how a person ages, a new study out of Yale University has revealed. A person's mindset towards aging may play a major role in how a person ages, a new study out of Yale University has revealed.

Study suggests many people end up improving with age, but mindset key www.newsweek.com/new-study-ch...

32% > cognitively

28% > improved physically

From study: "need to instill or magnify the positivity of age beliefs & to redefine aging so that it includes the possibility of improvement."

Your Poop Is Not Reliable, At Least for Now Let’s say you mail your poop to two different companies—not an illegal act, by the way, provided it doesn’t smell or soil anything, and that it’s packaged and labelled appropriately. It also helps if ...

But these microbiome kits are just one more example of scienceploitation (h/t @caulfieldtim.bsky.social). People hear that research is being done, so they expect products, and companies are all too happy to sell them... even if the results are a crap shoot.

www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/...

How Stand Up For Science is trying to 'pull every lever' to win over the public Stand Up For Science has become a formal organization and adopted a new strategy that's more confrontational with grassroots tactics

#GoTeam! 🙏

@standupforscience.bsky.social pulls every lever www.statnews.com/2026/03/06/s... @statnews.com

"...we think people care about science. We think people care about biomedical innovation."

"We think that people care about not getting polio. Like, it’s really simple. That’s our strategy."

💯! Gonna touch on this in my next book (if I ever get to it!).

Ya know, lot of layers to this! Yep, a large portion of Americans continue to vote MAGA despite the overwhelming evidence of evil...

Still, historically, this kind of intense polarization (the other side is evil!) is somewhat unique (justified or not)...

Yep.

Thx, rage politics.

"The U.S. was the only country surveyed where a majority had such negative views of their countrymen."

US: 53% say their fellow citizens are morally BAD.

Canada: 92% say fellow Canadians are GOOD. ❤️

wapo.st/4d4DgLi via @pewresearch.org @washingtonpost.com

Online toxic speech as positioning acts: Hate as discursive mechanisms for othering and belonging - Esteban Morales, Jaigris Hodson, Victoria O’Meara, Anatoliy Gruzd, Philip Mai, 2025 While digital platforms foster a sense of community and identity, they also facilitate harmful exclusionary practices. In this context, toxic and hateful speech...

Toxic speech as positioning acts: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.... by @jhodson.bsky.social @philipmai.com

"...showcases how toxic speech is used to define and reinforce individual and group positionality."

A complex process of "belonging & othering" often underlies "online abuse and hate."

Great piece! Thanks to you & @funsizeimmuninja.bsky.social!🙏

Opinion | Neutrality Is Dangerous in the Face of Medical Misinformation Professional accountability can ensure expertise is used for public good

💯! Yes! This!

Neutrality About Medical Misinformation? www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/seco... by @drkatiesuleta.bsky.social

"...neutrality is not diplomacy; it's acquiescence.

A direct line can be drawn between neutrality & even tolerance of misinformation and the current state of public health."

RFK Jr. has wide discretion to choose evidence to support vaccine decisions, DOJ argues A Justice Department lawyer argued that the HHS secretary has broad discretion to issue vaccine guidance and choose what evidence to consider.

Who needs science when you can use conspiracy theories, lies, and politically motivated spin to support your health advice?

Sigh.

RFK Jr. has wide discretion to choose evidence to support vaccine decisions, DOJ argues www.statnews.com/2026/03/04/k... via @statnews.com