"Dangerous Falsehood"

September 15, 2011
Anderson Cooper: Michele Bachmann Spreading 'Dangerous Falsehood' On HPV Vaccine (VIDEO)


The Huffington Post | Jack Mirkinson First Posted: 9/15/11 -- 08:31 AM ET Updated: 9/15/11 -- 08:57 AM ET

Anderson Cooper highlighted what he said were the "dangerous falsehoods" that Michele Bachmann has been pushing on the campaign trail.

Cooper has often used Bachmann as a target for his daily "Keeping Them Honest" segment, debunking her statements about everything from American history to the cost of President Obama's foreign trips to her denials that her clinic runs so-called "ex-gay" therapy services.

On Thursday, he turned to her recent crusade against rival presidential candidate Rick Perry, whom she has attacked repeatedly for mandating that young girls be given the HPV vaccine. Cooper played footage of Bachmann on the "Today" show, where the Minnesota Republican said that a woman told her the HPV vaccine gave her daughter "mental retardation." He didn't mince words when describing what he thought of Bachmann's decision to relay that story, calling it "incredibly irresponsible."

As Cooper (and many others) pointed out, the Centers for Disease Control has found that there is absolutely no evidence that the vaccine causes any kind of mental disability.

"Bachmann is spreading all-out falsehood here," Cooper said. "A dangerous falsehood at that. And it is not the first time she's done this by any stretch of the imagination." He then played a series of clips of what he called "just flat-out factually incorrect statements." After the clips played, he wondered if the misstatements would have any effect on her campaign.

"Do voters care about the truth?" Cooper asked.

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