Denying AIDS

Paralleling the discovery of HIV and the rise of the AIDS pandemic, a flock of naysayers has dedicated itself to replacing facts with medical misinformation. Denying AIDS returns in a radically revised second edition at a moment when denialism has moved from the margins to the center of political and institutional power. In this uncompromising new edition, psychologist and public-health researcher Seth Kalichman exposes how AIDS denialism adapts to new crises, new audiences, and new technologies. The COVID pandemic did not invent denialism -- it legitimized it. Arguments once dismissed as pseudoscience and conspiracy theories are amplified by political leaders. Denialism is now embedded in the broader anti-science movement that shakes the foundations of public health.

This is not a neutral accounting of competing ideas. It is a psychological autopsy of denialism and why it persists. Kalichman shines a bright light on the destructive appeal of denialists – from professors and politicians to celebrities and rock stars. He exposes the threats posed by denialists -- from discredited quacks to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

Denying AIDS is for anyone interested in public health. It is a deep dive into the psychological and sociopolitical forces that drive denialism. Buckle up, it’s a wild ride.

“AIDS denialism is destructive and rides on the back of mistrust in science and public health through our social media world. Seth Kalichman brilliantly uses a psychological lens to expose a world that creates and maintains its presence despite the untold numbers of deaths and suffering it has caused... whether from AIDS, COVID or Measles. This book is a wakeup call to policy makers and scientists everywhere that denialism must be confronted head on if we want to bring it under control. A must read for those who want to know more about the power and influence of pseudoscience.”

-       Michael Merson, MD , Professor Emeritus of Public Health and Medicine, Duke University, and Former Director of the World Health Organization's Global Programme on AIDS