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Some agenda-driven online outlets know that adding certain words to headlines will drive traffic to the website. The Zika virus has been in the news quite a bit lately, as the devastating impacts of the mosquito-transmitted virus spread across South America and the Caribbean. Some scientists and organizations, including the WHO, believe that the virus may be a cause for increased cases of microcephaly, a birth defect that causes a baby to have a smaller-than-normal head and may cause abnormal brain development.
A group of Argentine doctors, Physicians in Crop-Sprayed Towns, an activist-oriented organization, released a report on Feb. 10 that claims, instead of the Zika virus, a product called pyriproxyfen — a larvicide added to drinking water to stop the development of mosquito larvae in drinking water tanks — has caused microcephaly. Outlets that reported on the claim also stated that the producer of pyriprozyfen, Sumitomo Chemical Company, is a subsidiary of Monsanto.
First, Monsanto does not own Sumitomo Chemical Company. We are business partners in the area of herbicides. We’ve had a business relationship with Sumitomo since 1997.
Second, Monsanto does not produce or sell larvicides. A simple search of our website would reveal that. For the conspiracy theorists out there, who may say, “So what? You can be hiding it!” we have an obligation to our shareowners to be transparent in our product portfolio.
Read full, original post: The curious case of how activists are misleading people about Monsanto, Zika and microcephaly
