Key Architect of ‘Disinformation Dozen’ List Resigns After ‘Epstein Files’ Reveal Tangled Web of Censorship

The 2021 publication of “The Disinformation Dozen” list of 12 “leading online anti-vaxxers” sparked efforts to discredit U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Sayer Ji and other outspoken critics of COVID-19 pandemic policies and vaccines.

Five years later, the release of the “Epstein Files” has led to the resignation of one of the list’s architects — Morgan McSweeney.

McSweeney, chief of staff to U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, resigned Sunday. In 2018, he co-founded what later became known as the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), which published the “Disinformation Dozen” list.

McSweeney’s resignation stemmed from his prior support for Peter Mandelson, former U.K. ambassador to the U.S.

Mandelson is implicated in the Epstein Files for his close ties to disgraced financier and registered sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. McSweeney had advised Starmer to appoint Mandelson to his ambassadorial post.

Starmer removed Mandelson from his post in September 2025, after emails between Mandelson and Epstein were made public. In the emails, Mandelson suggested that Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting sex from a child prostitute was wrongful and should be overturned.

The Epstein Files also showed that Mandelson shared sensitive government information with Epstein. The U.K. Metropolitan Police launched a criminal investigation of Mandelson, while Starmer apologized to Epstein’s sex-trafficking victims.

In his resignation letter, McSweeney took “full responsibility” for advising Starmer to appoint Mandelson.

But Ji, listed as one of the “Disinformation Dozen,” told The Defender McSweeney’s resignation shows that “the architecture behind a decade of political censorship is coming into view.”

“The same political culture that normalized backroom routing of power, deniability, and proxy enforcement is the culture that produced CCDH — and shielded it from scrutiny while it reshaped public discourse on both sides of the Atlantic,” Ji wrote on Substack.

In its early years, CCDH targeted left-wing political figures and independent media outlets in the U.K. with claims of antisemitism. Later, it targeted “misinformation” and “disinformation” in the U.S.

The Biden administration and corporate media used the “Disinformation Dozen” list to discredit figures like Kennedy and Ji. Social media platforms deplatformed those included on the list.

Internal documents leaked in 2024 showed that CCDH sought to launch “Black Ops” against Kennedy and “kill Musk’s Twitter” — now known as X. “Black ops” refers to secret operations carried out by governments or other organizations that hide their involvement.

The Epstein Files don’t contain evidence indicating Epstein was involved in CCDH’s operations, Ji said. But they do reveal an “operational lineage” connecting Epstein to figures like Mandelson and McSweeney, revealing “the hidden origins of CCDH — and the elite networks now illuminated by the Epstein files.”

“The Epstein files help explain why censorship became so aggressive,” said Seamus Bruner, director of research at the Government Accountability Institute. “CCDH and similar entities functioned less as neutral watchdogs and more as enforcement mechanisms — protecting systems, not public discourse.”

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Leftist Medical Orgs Try To Shut Down Debate On Vaccines

Left-wing medical associations have banded together to block an upcoming federal meeting in an attempt to table vaccine discussion and debate in a public forum.  

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), set to meet Feb. 25-27, is expected to discuss the recently updated childhood vaccine schedule. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and its cohorts are attempting to suppress open exchange through a court-ordered injunction scheduled for a hearing on Feb. 13. 

Shouting Down Dissent 

In January, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cut the number of recommended vaccines for American children from 17 to 11 following an executive order to investigate the vaccine schedule. The comparative report found that the U.S. schedule demands far more injections than other developed nations. Several vaccines on the schedule had never undergone large-scale double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trials before being approved by the Food and Drug Administration, safety reviews have been incomplete or nonexistent for decades, and liability protections for vaccine makers incentivize production over protection.  

The update is reasonable, aligning the U.S. with most other developed nations; but the American Academy of Pediatrics responded with outrage, blasting the government’s “dangerous” decision-making and adding another complaint to its 2025 lawsuit against Health and Human Services (HHS). 

The updated recommendations are “causing unnecessary confusion … compromising access to lifesaving vaccines and weakening community protection,” railed American Academy of Pediatrics President Dr. Andrew D. Racine. A co-plaintiff organization official warned of the threat of “increased illness and suffering by children and their families,” if the updated schedule is enacted.  

None of this is expected based on comparative data, but the American Academy of Pediatrics’ response continues to follow the same pattern — shout down dissent and sue to suppress debate. 

In June, the American Academy of Pediatrics protested HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s removal of all 17 Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices members, calling Kennedy’s replacement picks “vaccine skeptics” and the overhaul “an escalating effort by the Administration to silence independent medical expertise and stoke distrust in lifesaving vaccines.” 

The group then sued Kennedy for allegedly violating federal law in changing Covid-19 vaccine recommendations for children and pregnant women, amended the suit multiple times with additional complaints, and filed for an injunction to stop Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices from meeting altogether later this month. 

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The Most Unsettling Reality About Modern Medicine

There’s a reason doctors love pushing vaccines. The more they inject, the more money they make.

The foot traffic alone brings in big money, but there’s another perverse incentive, and once you hear it, it will make you angry.

RFK Jr. explains: “Pediatricians who vaccinate 80-85% of the kids in their office, get these giant bonuses… And that’s why they throw you out of the office if you fight back…You’ll lose them their bonuses.”

Sadly, these perverse financial incentives aren’t limited to vaccines but across many areas of medicine.

Dig a little deeper, and another disturbing pattern appears. And once you see it, you’re left gobsmacked by how dark modern medicine has become.

The video below is haunting—not because the doctor in it is malicious, but because she genuinely believes she’s helping.

She’s an MD with a Master’s in Public Health, a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and a former leader at Georgetown. Her language is warm. Her intentions seem pure.

Yet this interview perfectly captures how public health has lost its way.

After conquering most deadly contagious diseases, it turned toward chronic illness—and failed.

Instead of questioning why children are getting sicker, it doubled down on vaccinating more, earlier, and without dissent, often dismissing safety concerns as heresy.

Watch this video. Then ask yourself what matters more in modern medicine: children’s outcomes—or institutional certainty.

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Scientists Publish ‘Map’ for How Aluminum in Vaccines Can Cause Brain Injury That Triggers Autism

Aluminum adjuvants in vaccines can and likely do cause autism in genetically susceptible babies and children, according to a new scientific review of over 200 peer-reviewed studies.

The review, led by Children’s Health Defense (CHD) Chief Scientific Officer Brian Hooker, lays out the biochemical and physiological framework that explains how aluminum-containing vaccines can cause autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Hooker and his co-authors concluded that “mechanistic, neuropathological, epidemiological, and genetic evidence” show that aluminum adjuvants “can trigger ASD in genetically susceptible individuals” by causing inflammation of the brain.

They published their report on Jan. 31 on the preprint server Zenodo. They plan to submit the paper to a peer-reviewed journal in the near future.

Review refutes claim that ‘vaccines do not cause autism’

Hooker called the report “groundbreaking” because it scientifically explains the causal link between vaccines and autism that “has been denied and dismissed for over 30 years.”

In November 2025, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finally revised its autism webpage to say there is no evidence supporting the blanket claim that vaccines do not cause autism.

The webpage previously stated there is no link between vaccines and autism and that “vaccines do not cause autism.” It now says: “The claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.”

Hooker’s new paper adds weight to the argument that infant vaccines cause autism. Its authors show how the over 200 studies they reviewed collectively meet all nine of the Bradford Hill criteria for causation.

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Florida plans to become first state to eliminate all childhood vaccine mandates

Florida plans to become the first state to eliminate vaccine mandates, a longtime cornerstone of public health policy for keeping schoolchildren and adults safe from infectious diseases.

State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo, who announced the decision Wednesday, cast current requirements in schools and elsewhere as “immoral” intrusions on people’s rights that hamper parents’ ability to make health decisions for their children.

“People have a right to make their own decisions, informed decisions,” Ladapo, who has frequently clashed with the medical establishment, said at a news conference in Valrico. “They don’t have the right to tell you what to put in your body. Take it away from them.”

Florida’s move, a significant departure from decades of public policy and research that has shown vaccines to be safe and the most effective way to stop the spread of communicable diseases, especially among schoolchildren, is a notable embrace of the Trump administration’s agenda led by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist.

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Third U.S. State Introduces Legislation Designating mRNA Injections as Biological Weapons of Mass Destruction

Tennessee State Senator Janice Bowling has just filed Senate Bill 1949, the “mRNA Bioweapons Prohibition Act,” prohibiting the manufacture, acquisition, possession, or distribution of mRNA injections and products—punishable as a Class B felony under Tennessee’s weapons of mass destruction statute.

Just last week, Arizona Representative Rachel Jones Keshel introduced HB 2974amending existing statutes to designate modified mRNA injections as biological agents and weapons of mass destruction, and that their manufacture, possession, or distribution may be prosecuted as terrorism, carrying penalties up to life imprisonment if a violation results in death.

Credit to Dr. Joseph Sansone for drafting the “mRNA Bioweapons Prohibition Act,” now filed in three states.

There are now multiple legislators, international bodies, and peer-reviewed scientific publications declaring that mRNA injections constitute biological or technological weapons of mass destruction:

It’s only a matter of time before these dangerous products are outlawed.

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Racketeering Scheme?: Vaccine Makers Profit Twice by Selling Drugs to Treat Vaccine Injuries

A lawsuit filed by Children’s Health Defense (CHD) against the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) alleges that the AAP’s aggressive promotion of childhood vaccines created a “closed-loop” business model that set up pharmaceutical companies to profit from vaccines and from drugs used to treat vaccine injuries.

The lawsuit alleges the AAP violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act or RICO, by running a decades-long racketeering scheme to defraud American families about the safety of the childhood vaccine schedule.

A “racket” exists when a service creates its own demand, according to the complaint.

In this case, the same companies that make pediatric vaccines have also acquired companies that develop treatments for autoimmune disorders, allergies and neurodevelopmental conditions — conditions recognized in vaccine package inserts as adverse events that occurred during clinical trials or in post-marketing studies.

The complaint cites Pfizer’s 2016 acquisition of Anacor Pharmaceuticals for $5.2 billion. Anacor makes Eucrisa, a drug that treats eczema. At the time, Eucrisa was approved for 2-year-olds. It was later approved for babies as young as 3 months.

Post-marketing data have linked vaccines — including GlaxoSmithKline’s ENGERIX-B hepatitis B vaccine — to eczema, according to the complaint. Research studies have also linked the condition to the COVID-19 and measles-mumps-rubella or MMR vaccines.

In another example, Sanofi in 2020 spent $3.7 billion to acquire Principia Biopharma, developer of an experimental therapy for immune thrombocytopenia, an autoimmune blood disorder.

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Congress Members Urge DOJ to Investigate 4 States That Prohibit Religious Exemptions

A coalition of federal lawmakers today urged the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate four states whose laws prohibit religious exemptions for school vaccine mandates.

In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, lawmakers warned that vaccine mandate laws in New York, California, Maine and Connecticut violate the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause.

Lawmakers also asked the DOJ to intervene in two New York lawsuits where Children’s Health Defense (CHD) is either a plaintiff or is financing the case.

Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) is the lead author of the letter, which is also addressed to Harmeet K. Dhillon, assistant attorney general for Civil Rights.

As of this afternoon, 13 Congress members had signed the letter.

“Religious freedom is the cornerstone of our Republic,” Steube said in a statement to The Defender. “It is inexcusable that New York, California, Maine, and Connecticut refuse to provide people of faith with a religious exemption from their vaccine mandates. This is not only a direct violation of the Free Exercise Clause, but it is also a grave assault on civil liberties.”

He added:

“Your constitutional rights should never take a backseat to a vaccine mandate. That is why I am requesting Attorney General Pam Bondi and Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon launch formal investigations of all states that continue to violate the constitutional rights of the American people via coercion and infringement on their religious beliefs.”

Allowing the four states to violate citizens’ constitutional rights has emboldened states like Massachusetts and Hawaii, which are considering eliminating religious exemptions for vaccines, to “further encroach upon Americans’ rights,” according to the lawmakers.

The four states make up nearly 20% of the U.S. population, said Cait Corrigan, a former congressional candidate from New York and a medical freedom advocate who helped raise awareness at the federal level and worked with Steube’s office on the effort.

Corrigan said she hopes the DOJ will intervene in “the tragedy that is happening in these four states.”

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Iowa Bill Would Require Medical Examiners to Include Vaccine Records in Infant Death Investigations

Iowa legislators are considering a bill that would require medical examiners to document recent immunizations on the death certificates of children who died from unknown causes, KIMT3 News reported.

Bill sponsor Rep. Samantha Fett of Warren County said this information is important to understand what might be behind deaths categorized as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

“The U.S. continues to have a high SIDS rate compared to every other industrialized nation,” Fett told The Defender. “I believe it is time to start gathering this information for the parents of the children who have died.”

Fett said health departments also should have this information so health officials and medical examiners can ensure that every medication a child takes is taken into consideration when trying to determine why a child died.

Medical researcher Neil Z. Miller, author of numerous books on vaccine safety, told The Defender that “of course” the bill is a good idea.

“A child never dies from ‘unknown causes,’” Miller said. “There is always a reason for death. Often, that reason is vaccines. But medical examiners may be ‘hesitant’ to list vaccines as the probable cause due to intense pressure from medical colleagues.”

The proposed bill would relieve that pressure.

Critics of the bill say the medical review conducted when a child dies is already extensive. A local physician, Dr. Austin Baeth of Polk County, Iowa, said that even considering the bill “gives the signal to Iowans out there that vaccines are dangerous.”

Miller disagreed. “No, the actual harm may be yet another child’s death labeled as being from unknown causes, which can serve as a euphemism for a vaccine-related death.”

A Wright County medical examiner told KIMT3 that there are approximately 30 child deaths per year in Iowa that are attributed to unknown circumstances.

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FDA Requires Vaccine Makers to Include Febrile Seizure Warning on Flu Shot Labels

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notified six influenza vaccine manufacturers on Jan. 9, 2026 that they must add a warning about the risk of febrile (fever) seizures to their product information labels, citing newly identified postmarketing safety data. The notices, issued under the FDA’s statutory authority to mandate safety labeling changes, were sent to Sanofi, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), and CSL Seqirus.1

According to the FDA, observational analyses conducted during the 2023–2024 and 2024–2025 influenza seasons identified a statistically significant increase in seizures caused by fevers occurring within one day of vaccination among children aged six months through four years, prompting the agency to conclude the findings constitute “new safety information” requiring disclosure in product labeling. In its notification letter, the FDA stated that the results of the analyses “suggest a causal relationship”—language the agency typically avoids unless compelled by evidence.2

The data suggested an “estimated attributable risk of 21.2 excess febrile seizure episodes per million standard-dose quadrivalent influenza vaccinations” and “an attributable risk of 44.2 excess febrile seizure episodes per million standard doses of trivalent [influenza] vaccinations.”

Risk of Febrile Seizures May Increase After Childhood Vaccinations

The Mayo Clinic website states that in some infants and young children fevers can cause convulsions (seizures). Doctors generally describe “simple” febrile seizures as associated with fevers over 100 F, short-lived and typically harmless, although “complex” febrile seizures can last longer than 15 minutes and occur more than once in a 24-hour period.3

It has been acknowledged in the medical literature that convulsions can include an increased risk of future epilepsy (uncontrolled seizure disorder).4 5 Febrile seizures have also been associated with a spectrum of brain dysfunction and rarely, severe brain injury or death.6 7

Bioengineer Brian Hooker, PhD said he disagrees with febrile seizures being characterized as harmless. He said:

Any seizure is bad, period. Mild’ febrile seizures can double a child’s chance of an epilepsy diagnosis and ‘complex’ febrile seizures—lasting more than 15 minutes —can increase that risk up to 10 times.8

On the topic of febrile seizures and childhood vaccines, Mayo Clinic states:

The risk of febrile seizures may increase after some childhood vaccinations. These include the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine and the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine. A child can develop a low-grade fever after a vaccination. The fever, not the vaccine, causes the seizure.9

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) acknowledges that some vaccines are associated with a higher risk of febrile seizures than others, particularly in infants and young children, and that the risk increases when certain vaccines—such as the influenza, pneumococcal (PCV13), and DTaP vaccines—are administered during the same visit.

The agency also notes that measles-containing vaccines, especially the MMRV (measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella) combination, are associated with a higher risk of febrile seizures than their single-component counterparts, and that these events tend to occur within specific post-vaccination time windows. Still, CDC guidance emphasizes that the overall risk is small, that febrile seizures are typically short-lived and without lasting harm, and that vaccination should continue according to the recommended schedule.10

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