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TV presenter slammed for fuelling ‘turbo cancer’ conspiracy theory-Pierra Willix-Entertainment – Metro

‘Ofcom, do your job.’

TV presenter slammed for fuelling ‘turbo cancer’ conspiracy theory-Pierra Willix-Entertainment – Metro

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A GB News presenter has come under fire for pushing claims that a so-called ‘turbo cancer’ exists.

Former BBC historian turned GB News commentator Neil Oliver was previously best known for presenting documentaries on archaeology and history, including A History of Scotland, Vikings and Coast.

He is also an author of popular history books and historical fiction and was the president of the National Trust for Scotland from 2017 to 2020.

However, in recent years he has become known for pushing conspiracy theories, with his latest being widely criticised.

On a recent episode of his self-titled show, Oliver claimed a condition known as ‘turbo cancer’ existed and pharmaceutical company Pfizer was buying companies working on treatments for the disease which experts say does not exist.

His comments came as he offered his opinions on Pfizer’s acquisition of Seagen, a biotechnology company focused on cancer treatments.

GB News presenter Neil Oliver has been slammed for claims he’s made about a so-called ‘turbo cancer’ (Picture: GB News)

‘While young people drop dead and otherwise healthy people of all ages are harvested in hitherto unheard-of numbers by heart disease and turbo cancer, our old friend Pfizer has been spending some of its recently acquired massive wealth buying companies that develop drugs to treat heart disease and turbo cancer,’ he began.

‘I don’t know about you, but until just a few months ago, I’d never heard of turbo cancer…fuel injected, maybe with a bottle of nitrous oxide on the side for the sudden terrifying burst of speed across the line to unexpected death.”

He continued: ‘[Pfizer CEO Albert] Bourla has been all over the media predicting turbo cancers will affect a third of the world in the years ahead, even declaring that entire families will be affected.’

However aside from the fact no such cancer even exists, his comments about Bourla were also completely unfounded.

Instead, when commenting on his company’s takeover of Seagen, Bourla had said that ‘cancer remains a leading cause of death, and one in three people in the US will receive a cancer diagnosis in their lifetime’.

Back in 2022 Reuters published a piece that also cited five medical experts rubbishing claims that the coronavirus vaccine could cause ‘turbo cancer’.

Dr Gigi Gronvall, an immunology expert and senior scholar at the John Hopkins Center for Health Security in Baltimore was quoted as saying: ‘This is completely made up and none of it is true.’

Unsurprisingly many were outraged watching Oliver’s unsubstantiated claims.

The historian previously presented a series of documentaries (Picture: BBC)

‘Right now, anti-vax conspiracy theorist Neil Oliver is ranting on GB News about the rise of a disease called “turbo-cancer”, which he implies is caused by the vaccine. This disease does not exist. It is a fiction invented by conspiracy theorists. This is pure misinformation,’ Matthew Sweet posted on X.

‘Just another normal day on GB News, Neil Oliver has invented turbo cancers which are going to kill us all. Why does Ofcom let them have a broadcasting licence?’ account Blade of the Sun shared.

GB News Spin Room added: ‘Neil Oliver peddled yet more anti-vax nonsense, this time about so-called “turbo-cancer” in which he linked vaccine “injectables” to this fictitious disease.

‘Meanwhile, Measles cases are at a 30-year high thanks to vaccine hesitancy, fuelled by loons like Oliver. Ofcom do your job.’

Many people were critical of his comments (Picture: X)

He was called out for the blatant misinformation (Picture: X)

This person sarcastically joked about Oliver’s medical credentials (Picture: X)

Back in 2021 Oliver also faced backlash online for stating that he would ‘cheerfully risk catching Covid’ in the name of personal freedom.

At the time he suggested that people who were criticised for not taking the Covid vaccine were living under ‘tyranny’.

He went on to say: ‘If your freedom means I might catch Covid from you, then so be it.

‘If my freedom means you might catch Covid from me, then so be it. That’s honestly how I see it.’

He previously said he would ‘cheerfully risk catching Covid’ in the name of personal freedom (Picture: GB News)

Despite GB News being found to breach Ofcom rules five times last year, the watchdog was then slammed for its ‘lenient’ punishment.

The controversial news channel, which was set up in 2021, was found to be in breach of impartiality laws over a ‘Don’t Kill Cash’ campaign, which was a petition started by the broadcaster that called on the government to ‘protect the status of cash as legal tender’ until at least the year 2050.

It gathered over 300,000 signatures but, by encouraging people to sign a branded petition, GB News broke Ofcom’s impartiality rules.

But instead of being handed a fine, sanction, or even forced to issue an apology, Ofcom instead said its ruling was that it simply expected GB News to ‘take careful account of this decision in its future programming’.

Metro.co.uk has contacted GB News and Ofcom for comment.

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