🔥The US government-funded a ‘private social network’ which posts personal attacks on pesticide critics 🔥

In 2017, two United Nations experts called for a treaty to strictly #regulate #dangerous #pesticides, which they said were a “global human rights concern”, citing scientific research showing pesticides can cause cancers, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s and other health problems.

Publicly, the pesticide industry’s lead trade association dubbed the recommendations “unfounded and sensational assertions”.
👉 In private, industry advocates have gone further.👈

⚠️Derogatory profiles of the two UN experts, Hilal Elver and Baskut Tuncak, are hosted on an online private portal for pesticide company employees and a range of influential allies.

Members can access a wide range of #personal #information about hundreds of individuals from around the world deemed a threat to industry interests,
including the US food writers Michael #Pollan and Mark #Bittman, the Indian environmentalist Vandana #Shiva and the Nigerian activist Nnimmo #Bassey.

🆘 Many profiles include #personal #details such as the names of family members, phone numbers, home addresses and even house values.

The profiling is part of an effort – that was
💥financed, in part, by #US #taxpayer #dollars
– to #downplay pesticide dangers, #discredit opponents and #undermine international policymaking, according to court records, emails and other documents obtained by the non-profit newsroom Lighthouse Reports
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/sep/26/government-funded-social-network-attacking-pesticide-critics?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other