Dr. Mehmet Oz will question the credibility of critics who sought to have him removed from his position at Columbia in a segment on his show on Thursday, a spokesman for the show said.
Why is this important, and why does MCNTalk care? Dr. Oz has noted on his Facebook page, “I bring the public information that will help them on their path to be their best selves. We provide multiple points of view, including mine which is offered without conflict of interest. That doesn’t sit well with certain agendas which distort the facts.”
But in the multi-billion dollar world of celebrity and supplement endorsement, is there such a thing as “without conflict of interest?” And, as we noted in 2013, “In medicine there is a continuum between hard science, that which can be objectively observed and tested, so-called ‘art,’ and unsubstantiated beliefs masquerading as science.”
There is certainly no harm in being a good person and given the nature of many illnesses, conveying warmth while the body heals itself may be more than enough. But promoting amulets, strange foods, and other hocus pocus presented by charlatans does a disservice to society. Oz appears to personally promote unproven products and their promoters in his show – conveying an irresponsible and unearned aura of legitimacy. It appears he has embraced celebrity at the expense of credibility and his millions of fans are none the wiser.
Leave a Reply