Earlier today, I offered Paul Offit $1M to publicly debate me for 1 hour.
While I hope he will accept, I am not optimistic.
They simply don’t like to engage in discussions with people who aren’t easily fooled by their rhetoric.
The Grok conversation about Peter Hotez and RFK Jr
From Grok—
Yes, the story about Dr. Peter Hotez being offered millions to debate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) on vaccines stems from a June 2023 incident tied to Joe Rogan’s podcast. After RFK Jr. appeared on *The Joe Rogan Experience* and discussed vaccine skepticism, Hotez criticized the episode as spreading “misinformation.” Rogan then publicly challenged Hotez to debate RFK Jr. on his show, offering $100,000 to Hotez’s charity of choice for an unlimited-time discussion on vaccine safety and efficacy.
This sparked a viral crowdfunding effort on X (then Twitter), with high-profile figures pledging more to the pot (all to Hotez’s chosen charity if he participated). The total quickly exceeded $1.5 million and reportedly climbed as high as $2.6 million or more, depending on the tally. Hotez declined, calling it akin to a “Jerry Springer” spectacle and emphasizing that science isn’t debated like politics; he suggested focusing on education instead. Critics, including RFK Jr. supporters, saw the refusal as dodging accountability.
Steve Kirsch’s $100K Contribution
You’re spot on about @stkirsch (vaccine safety advocate and entrepreneur Steve Kirsch). He was one of the first to jump in, pledging **$100,000** to the pot on June 18, 2023—bringing the total to around $500,000 at that point. He later upped his personal commitment to $600,000 the same day, framing it as a “desperate attempt to get the experts to debunk misinformation.” Kirsch has repeatedly referenced this in later posts as evidence that pro-vaccine experts avoid open challenges, even for massive sums.
Hellbound and Down 