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Quackery: A Comic

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Hello all. For today’s blog post, we’re sharing a comic from one of our reference librarians, regarding quackery. Enjoy! 

Quackery: An Introduction to Fakes, Frauds, Forgeries and Other Falsehoods.
Image: A librarian, Rebecca, stands in the middle of the panel, one finger raised. She is a woman with pale skin, curly brown hair tied back in a ponytail, a pair of glasses, and she wears a purple short sleeved polo shirt. Narration: Quackery: A term that refers to the practices of fraudsters and conmen, often in the field of medicine. Rebecca, Dialogue: “And let me tell you, history has a lot of quacks!”
Image: A pop up is shown, with bright outlandish colors. The ad states “You Won! Miracle Acne Cream. Buy now!! $19.99.” A mouse icon hovers over the “buy now” text. Narration: Folks have tried to scam each other…
Image: A man with light brown skin and short brown hair wears a toga and stands in front of a sales booth. He is yelling, gesturing to his wares. The sales booth has some coins and a bowl on it, and on the front, a sign says “100% effective, no refunds” Narration: Probably as long as lying was invented. Greek Salesman Dialogue: “Plague B-Gone charms! One silver a piece!”
Image: Rebecca shrugs her shoulders, rolling her eyes, as she stands in the center of the panel. Rebecca Dialogue: “There tends to be some trends when it comes to health fraud and fakery.”
Image: A radioactive warning sign is in the center of the panel, surrounded by four objects, text and a small version of Rebecca. The text states “We put radium in everything!” The following products are shown, each labeled: toothpaste, hair cream, water (with the text “oh god why don’t” on the label”) and pottery (a small goblet). The chibi Rebecca says “I mean everything.” Narration: Trend 1: A new substance is discovered or an old one becomes trendy and someone decides to sell it for its “health benefits.” (1)
Image: Three different examples are shown. The first is the drawing of a class of water with the label “raw water” and the description: “free dysentery in every bottle.” The second is a drawing of a vaccine shot with the label “anti-vax solutions” and the description “Diphtheria: the comeback kid!” The third is a small picture of the sun wearing sunglasses with the label “types of sun bathing” and the description “skin cancer? Never heard of her.” The drawing of the sun says “aw no.” Narration: “Trend 2: Folks have been arguing that “All Natural” solutions are the golden ticket- for a pretty penny of course.
Image: A light skinned homeopath with a vest and a beard stands in front of a table with a snake and a bottle on it. The homeopath’s eyes are closed, and he speaks to the snake as if lecturing it. The snake replies. Narration: Trend 3: Some strands of quackery just won’t die even when they fail to work. Homeopathy for example, keeps on kicking. (2) Dialogue, Homeopath: “If I dilute your venom dozens of times, I can treat-” Dialogue, Snake: “Abssssoultely nothing.”
Image: Rebecca stands in the middle of the panel, looking serious. Rebecca Dialogue: “As silly as some of these remedies sound, quackery is dangerous.”
Image: Small cartoon drawings of measle viruses fill the panel. Narration: Both on an individual level; patients can die from preventable/treatable conditions. (Measles, for example, has made a big come-back in the US with the rise of the Anti-Vax movement). (3)
Image: A diagram of a cartoon human is in the center of the panel, with lines dividing their brain into different color coded sections with numbers. On the right, there is text identifying a trait to correspond with each part. It reads as follows: “1. Prophecy 2. Intimidation. 3. Immortality 4. Mirth. 100% B.S) Narration: But also at a societal level where it can uphold harmful ideas. Phrenology for example was used to uphold and codify scientific racism.
Narration: People have combatted quackery for ages and it’s easy to join their ranks. Here’s some ways to help. Image Description: A duck wearing a lab coat floats in a body of water, Dialogue, off screen: “...I don’t think that duck has a medical degree.”
Narration: 1. Be skeptical! Anyone can fall for quackery regardless of intelligence. Never assume you’re “too smart” to fall for fraud. Image: A picture of Garfield on a computer screen appears. It is just his face looking straight forward. A cursor is a few centimeters away. Under Garfield text states as follows: “you are not immune to propaganda) Narration: 2. Warn friends and family about fake treatments. Don’t shame people but be honest and clear about your concerns. Image: A women with dark hair in moon buns and brown skin speaks to a man with light skin and freckles. She looks concerned, and he looks confused, holding a tablet in his hands. Behind them is living room furniture.
Narration: 3. The modern medical system has its problems but if anyone tries selling you something that “doctors are hiding from you” it's probably quackery. Image: Rebecca wearing the same outfit as Fred from scooby doo, holds a mask in her hands. She faces a human sized duck, who is tied up and glaring at her, wearing the rest of the costume to which the mask belongs. Rebecca Dialogue: “Just as I suspected…”
Narration: 4. If you see an obvious scam online, report it! Or draw it into your comic on medical scams. In parentheses under the box, text reads as follows: “no really, this is based on a real tiktok” Image: A phone is pictured showing tiktok. On the screen is a woman with light skin and red hair hugging a large oak tree. The text says “tree vibrations for health” at the top and “health secrets at the bottom”

Citations:

  1. Kang L, Pedersen N. Quackery : A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything. Workman Publishing; 2017.
  2. Dotinga R. The lethal legacy of early 20th-century radiation quackery. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/the-lethal-legacy-of-early-20th-century-radiation-quackery/2020/02/14/ed1fd724-37c9-11ea-bf30-ad313e4ec754_story.html. Published February 14, 2020. Accessed March 29, 2024.
  3. The worrying return of a nasty virus: Better awareness and access are needed to rebuild measles vaccination rates. Financial Times. January 29, 2024:22.
  4. Rogers K. Phrenology | History, Theory, & Pseudoscience | Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Published March 14, 2024. Accessed April 8, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/topic/phrenology

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