I am being sued in Germany by American naturopath Colleen Huber for defamation over my opinions about her alternative treatments for cancer and so-called research studies. Huber makes remarkable claims based on questionable findings that I scrutinized, such as her clinic having “better results than any other cancer clinic over the last nine years,” by using oddball methods, including intravenous baking soda and vitamin C. These unproven treatments are not cheap, so Huber leads a charity that is associated with her clinic to help cancer patients pay for naturopathic “care.”
(Just the other day, the Italian inventor of intravenous baking soda for cancer, Tullio Simoncini, was sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison for killing a patient with the treatment. Huber references Simoncini in promoting her “science.”)
I am grateful that Australian Skeptics, Inc., in conjunction with numerous skeptic and science advocates around the world, joined forces to raise funds for my legal defense.
We have raised over 35,000 euros
More than €35,000 (A$54k / £31k / $43k) in less than four days have been raised.
I am overwhelmed with gratitude. Over 1250 individuals have donated. We reached over A$10,000 after six hours of the campaign’s launch. The A$20,000 mark was crossed after sixteen hours.
I still need your support
We hope this lawsuit will be over before the end of the year. However, lawsuits are costly and protracted affairs. The internationally-coordinated campaign hopes to raise at least A$80k (€50k). We are close.
Extra funds will be put to good use
If funds remain, they will either be donated to Sense about Science, an independent science advocacy charity, or parlayed into a general skeptics legal defense fund. An advisory committee, consisting of Michael Marshall from the Good Thinking Society, Steven and Jay Novella from The Skeptics Guide to the Universe, and Claire Klingenberg from the European Council of Skeptical Organisations (ECSO), is overseeing the campaign. Please visit the donation page for more information.
Other ways to help
If you are unable to donate, please consider promoting the campaign on social media and through networks of friends and colleagues.
Thank you
This is a difficult time, and I am deeply humbled by your generosity. Your messages of encouragement and support are heartwarming. Thank you for helping me.
Freedom of expression should not be silenced with SLAPPs.
