Posted by Tabitha on August 1, 2016, at 19:31:01
In reply to Re: mercola, posted by Hello321 on August 1, 2016, at 14:58:11
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> I never notice any advertisements trying to get folks to buy products from Mercola.I see three links to his shop on every article. The "Shop" tab and the "Shop for Health Products" link at the top, and a picture ad saying "Celebrating our 19th Anniversary, take 10% off sitewide plus receive a FREE organic cotton bag with purchase" at the side. I also get two invitations to add myself to his mailing list-- one at the top of each page, and one that appears frequently as a pop-up. When I click over to his shop, it's a full-fledged store with hundreds of items for sale. It's very clearly a commercial site.
I also notice a link labeled "why am I seeing these ads?" which links to an article and video in which he tries to justify his selling of products. (No doubt he is aware of the ethical problems with physicians selling health products, which is why he feels a need to justify it.)
There were also a couple of Amazon affiliate links in the first article I read. I don't have a problem with sites (such as this one) using affiliate links for income, particularly when they have a disclaimer about it, but here we have someone recommending popular books as health interventions in place of standard medical care, using the weight of his credential as a doctor. That is a whole different thing and IMO highly unethical for a physician.
Besides the Amazon links, the article included a link to another site promoting EFT. It's a commercial site offering some free content mixed in with sales of books, DVDs, consultations with practitioners, and practitioner training. Most likely he's financially affiliated with any other commercial sites he links.
poster:Tabitha
thread:1090994
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20160713/msgs/1091062.html