Celia Farber
Encyclopedia
Celia Ingrid Farber is an American
print journalist
and author
, best known for her part in the campaign which denies that AIDS is an infectious disease. She has also covered a range of topics for magazines including Spin
, Rolling Stone
, Esquire
, Harper's, Interview
, Salon
, Gear
, New York Press
, Media Post, The New York Post, Sunday Herald
, and was particularly noted for a report on OJ Simpson's post-trial life in 1998. Farber is the daughter of radio talk pioneer Barry Farber
.
does not cause AIDS
. She wrote and edited a monthly feature column in Spin
magazine entitled "Words From The Front" from 1987 to 1995, which was focused on the denialist agenda. She says that her interest in the field was sparked when, as an intern at Spin, she heard of AL-721, a lipid mixture derived from eggs that was proposed as an anti-HIV drug. She stated, "I was very young, and I believed instantly in the mythological fantasy that there was a quote 'cure' for AIDS that was being suppressed by the government and by the pharmaceutical industry."
Farber's work emphasizes the negative role she feels is played by pharmaceutical side effect
s in the health of many AIDS patients, as well as the claims of Peter Duesberg
and others who argue that HIV is harmless. Although Farber is not a scientist, she also describes what she considers to be flaws in the methodology used by some early HIV and AIDS researchers. Her view of the American scientific community
and the National Institutes of Health
is that they are "totalitarian" structures.
Her 2006 Harper's magazine article, Out of Control: AIDS And The Corruption of Medical Science, criticized the ethics and industry of antiretroviral drugs and favorably presented the scientifically discredited claim [citation needed] that HIV does not cause AIDS. In response to Farber's article, the Treatment Action Campaign
, a South Africa
n group campaigning for greater access to HIV treatment, posted a 37-page rebuttal written by eight prominent AIDS researchers. The rebuttal described over 50 errors in Farber's article, ranging from misleading or false statements to implications of sinister motives without evidence.
Farber's article was widely criticized for its promotion of AIDS denialism. A New York Times op-ed described Farber's article as promoting "deadly quackery", while the Columbia Journalism Review
wrote: "Next time, Harper’s should be more careful about giving so much legitimacy—15 pages of it—to such an illegitimate and discredited idea." In response, Farber claimed that she did not endorse the Duesberg hypothesis
and that she had approached the story as an objective journalist without a preconceived opinion, stating: "People can't distinguish, it seems, between describing dissent and being dissent." Her claim of objectivity was disputed, with critics pointing to Farber's long history of arguing that HIV does not cause AIDS. Farber also claimed that her article did not unduly disparage antiretroviral medication, writing that "...it does not, for example, say that all AIDS drugs are ghastly, or worthless." Farber also argued that, "...in each article where I have addressed HAART I have included, clearly, the fact that the regimens have absolutely helped people who are very sick." Again, her claims were disputed, with critics pointing to a number of prior writings by Farber in which she argues that HIV medications are deadly and ineffective.
In June 2006, Farber wrote an article in the independent paper Los Angeles City Beat in defense of Christine Maggiore
, an HIV-positive AIDS denialist who avoided antiretrovirals during pregnancy and did not have her children tested for HIV. Maggiore's daughter, Eliza Jane, was found to be HIV-positive only after the three-year-old died of pneumonia
as a complication of AIDS. Maggiore herself would die in 2008 at the age of 52 of pneumonia possibly related to HIV/AIDS.
The scientific accuracy and objectivity of Farber's articles has been widely disputed. Critics point to her favorable presentation of the denialist views of Peter Duesberg
. The Duesberg hypothesis
, which holds that HIV is a harmless "passenger" virus unrelated to AIDS except by association, has been examined and rejected by the medical and scientific communities.
A collection of her AIDS writings, Serious Adverse Events: An Uncensored History of AIDS, was published in July 2006. Farber was one of the original signatories to the letter establishing the Group for the Scientific Reappraisal of the HIV-AIDS Hypothesis.
and the McCarthyism
that reigned in Sexual Harassment law in the 1990s." During her time as a writer at Spin
, Farber was romantically involved with the magazine's publisher, Bob Guccione, Jr.
In 1994, a Spin employee filed a sexual harassment
lawsuit against Guccione, Jr. and the magazine, alleging sexual discrimination and favoritism. Farber was a key witness in the ensuing trial, as the prosecution alleged that Farber's relationship with Guccione, Jr. led to her promotion and other job opportunities. Ultimately, the jury found that Spin editors had created a "hostile environment" and awarded $90,000 to the plaintiff; the remainder of the charges, including those of sexual favoritism, were rejected.
In 1999, Farber co-founded the non-profit organization Rock The Boat. The organization's mission was to arrange rock music concerts to stimulate independent thinking about subjects which the organization's proponents believed had been censored by the media.
Farber also worked as a ghost writer on the books How I Helped OJ Get Away With Murder by Mike Gilbert, and The Murder Business: How The Media Turns Crime Into Entertainment and Subverts Justice by Mark Fuhrman.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
print journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, best known for her part in the campaign which denies that AIDS is an infectious disease. She has also covered a range of topics for magazines including Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
, Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
, Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
, Harper's, Interview
Interview (magazine)
Interview is an American magazine which has the nickname The Crystal Ball Of Pop. It was founded in late 1969 by artist Andy Warhol. The magazine features intimate conversations between some of the world's biggest celebrities, artists, musicians, and creative thinkers...
, Salon
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
, Gear
Gear (magazine)
Gear was an English language lad's mag published by Bob Guccione, Jr. in the United Kingdom devoted chiefly to revealing pictorials of popular singers, B-movie actresses, and models, along with articles on gadgets, cars, fashion, guy tales of sex, and sports.Gear debuted in September 1998, with...
, New York Press
New York Press
New York Press was a free alternative weekly in New York City, that was published from 1988 to 2011. During its lifetime, it was the main competitor to the Village Voice...
, Media Post, The New York Post, Sunday Herald
Sunday Herald
The Sunday Herald is a Scottish Sunday newspaper launched on 7 February 1999. The ABC audited circulation in April 2011 showed sales of 31,123.From the start it has combined a centre-left stance with support for Scottish devolution...
, and was particularly noted for a report on OJ Simpson's post-trial life in 1998. Farber is the daughter of radio talk pioneer Barry Farber
Barry Farber
Barry M. Farber is an American conservative radio talk show host, author and language-learning enthusiast. In 2002, industry publication Talkers magazine ranked him the 9th greatest radio talk show host of all time. He has also written articles appearing in the New York Times, Reader's Digest,...
.
Work on AIDS
In 1987 Farber began promoting the AIDS denialist view that HIVHIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
does not cause AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
. She wrote and edited a monthly feature column in Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
magazine entitled "Words From The Front" from 1987 to 1995, which was focused on the denialist agenda. She says that her interest in the field was sparked when, as an intern at Spin, she heard of AL-721, a lipid mixture derived from eggs that was proposed as an anti-HIV drug. She stated, "I was very young, and I believed instantly in the mythological fantasy that there was a quote 'cure' for AIDS that was being suppressed by the government and by the pharmaceutical industry."
Farber's work emphasizes the negative role she feels is played by pharmaceutical side effect
Adverse effect
In medicine, an adverse effect is a harmful and undesired effect resulting from a medication or other intervention such as surgery.An adverse effect may be termed a "side effect", when judged to be secondary to a main or therapeutic effect. If it results from an unsuitable or incorrect dosage or...
s in the health of many AIDS patients, as well as the claims of Peter Duesberg
Peter Duesberg
Peter H. Duesberg is a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences and a professor of molecular and cell biology at the University of California, Berkeley...
and others who argue that HIV is harmless. Although Farber is not a scientist, she also describes what she considers to be flaws in the methodology used by some early HIV and AIDS researchers. Her view of the American scientific community
Scientific community
The scientific community consists of the total body of scientists, its relationships and interactions. It is normally divided into "sub-communities" each working on a particular field within science. Objectivity is expected to be achieved by the scientific method...
and the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
is that they are "totalitarian" structures.
Her 2006 Harper's magazine article, Out of Control: AIDS And The Corruption of Medical Science, criticized the ethics and industry of antiretroviral drugs and favorably presented the scientifically discredited claim [citation needed] that HIV does not cause AIDS. In response to Farber's article, the Treatment Action Campaign
Treatment Action Campaign
The Treatment Action Campaign is a South African AIDS activist organization which was founded by the HIV-positive activist Zackie Achmat in 1998. TAC is rooted in the experiences, direct action tactics and anti-apartheid background of its founder...
, a South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n group campaigning for greater access to HIV treatment, posted a 37-page rebuttal written by eight prominent AIDS researchers. The rebuttal described over 50 errors in Farber's article, ranging from misleading or false statements to implications of sinister motives without evidence.
Farber's article was widely criticized for its promotion of AIDS denialism. A New York Times op-ed described Farber's article as promoting "deadly quackery", while the Columbia Journalism Review
Columbia Journalism Review
The Columbia Journalism Review is an American magazine for professional journalists published bimonthly by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism since 1961....
wrote: "Next time, Harper’s should be more careful about giving so much legitimacy—15 pages of it—to such an illegitimate and discredited idea." In response, Farber claimed that she did not endorse the Duesberg hypothesis
Duesberg hypothesis
The Duesberg hypothesis is the claim, associated with University of California, Berkeley professor Peter Duesberg, that various non-infectious factors such as recreational and pharmaceutical drug use are the cause of AIDS, and that HIV is merely a harmless passenger virus...
and that she had approached the story as an objective journalist without a preconceived opinion, stating: "People can't distinguish, it seems, between describing dissent and being dissent." Her claim of objectivity was disputed, with critics pointing to Farber's long history of arguing that HIV does not cause AIDS. Farber also claimed that her article did not unduly disparage antiretroviral medication, writing that "...it does not, for example, say that all AIDS drugs are ghastly, or worthless." Farber also argued that, "...in each article where I have addressed HAART I have included, clearly, the fact that the regimens have absolutely helped people who are very sick." Again, her claims were disputed, with critics pointing to a number of prior writings by Farber in which she argues that HIV medications are deadly and ineffective.
In June 2006, Farber wrote an article in the independent paper Los Angeles City Beat in defense of Christine Maggiore
Christine Maggiore
Christine Joy Maggiore was an HIV-positive activist who promoted the view that HIV is not the cause of AIDS. She was the founder of Alive & Well AIDS Alternatives, an organization which questions the link between HIV and AIDS and encourages HIV-positive pregnant women to avoid anti-HIV medication...
, an HIV-positive AIDS denialist who avoided antiretrovirals during pregnancy and did not have her children tested for HIV. Maggiore's daughter, Eliza Jane, was found to be HIV-positive only after the three-year-old died of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
as a complication of AIDS. Maggiore herself would die in 2008 at the age of 52 of pneumonia possibly related to HIV/AIDS.
The scientific accuracy and objectivity of Farber's articles has been widely disputed. Critics point to her favorable presentation of the denialist views of Peter Duesberg
Peter Duesberg
Peter H. Duesberg is a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences and a professor of molecular and cell biology at the University of California, Berkeley...
. The Duesberg hypothesis
Duesberg hypothesis
The Duesberg hypothesis is the claim, associated with University of California, Berkeley professor Peter Duesberg, that various non-infectious factors such as recreational and pharmaceutical drug use are the cause of AIDS, and that HIV is merely a harmless passenger virus...
, which holds that HIV is a harmless "passenger" virus unrelated to AIDS except by association, has been examined and rejected by the medical and scientific communities.
A collection of her AIDS writings, Serious Adverse Events: An Uncensored History of AIDS, was published in July 2006. Farber was one of the original signatories to the letter establishing the Group for the Scientific Reappraisal of the HIV-AIDS Hypothesis.
Other work
Farber describes herself as "a vocal and persistent critic of Political CorrectnessPolitical correctness
Political correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
and the McCarthyism
McCarthyism
McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence. The term has its origins in the period in the United States known as the Second Red Scare, lasting roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s and characterized by...
that reigned in Sexual Harassment law in the 1990s." During her time as a writer at Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
, Farber was romantically involved with the magazine's publisher, Bob Guccione, Jr.
Bob Guccione, Jr.
Robert Charles Guccione, Jr. is the eldest son of Penthouse founder Bob Guccione. He is best known for founding music magazine Spin.-Publishing career:...
In 1994, a Spin employee filed a sexual harassment
Sexual harassment
Sexual harassment, is intimidation, bullying or coercion of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. In some contexts or circumstances, sexual harassment is illegal. It includes a range of behavior from seemingly mild transgressions and...
lawsuit against Guccione, Jr. and the magazine, alleging sexual discrimination and favoritism. Farber was a key witness in the ensuing trial, as the prosecution alleged that Farber's relationship with Guccione, Jr. led to her promotion and other job opportunities. Ultimately, the jury found that Spin editors had created a "hostile environment" and awarded $90,000 to the plaintiff; the remainder of the charges, including those of sexual favoritism, were rejected.
In 1999, Farber co-founded the non-profit organization Rock The Boat. The organization's mission was to arrange rock music concerts to stimulate independent thinking about subjects which the organization's proponents believed had been censored by the media.
Farber also worked as a ghost writer on the books How I Helped OJ Get Away With Murder by Mike Gilbert, and The Murder Business: How The Media Turns Crime Into Entertainment and Subverts Justice by Mark Fuhrman.