Gillian McKeith Exposed By Twitter

Anyone familiar with Ben Goldacres "Bad Science" will know about his concerns about "Dr" Gillian McKeith (since 2007 she cannot use the "Dr", in advertisements for her stuff, after she "volunteered to take it off after complaints to the regulators about the validity of her doctorate.) His research into the correspondence course in the US where she got her PhD, and Goldacre got his dead cat made a professional member for 60 pounds. (non accredited college) which can't be read in the public domain like ones from credited colleges. To her propensity to threaten legal action against pretty much anyone who questions her methods and qualifications. That is not even taking into account the iffy science she uses (she was once challenged by a scientist, who has a doctorate from a college which DOESN'T make small mammals professional members - about her research methods, and would she be willing to reproduce them under scientific conditions with him. She threatened to sue him.) in her nutrition advice, some of it even dangerous; -such as putting very obese people on crash diets. (In depth analysis of her "methods" on her wikipedia article here.) And the fact that her show largely seems to consist of her prodding fat peoples turds in a lab with tweezers (why she is known as the poo lady.) and bollocking the overweight to tears by telling them, unless they submit to her regimen, they will absolutely die in two months by bursting, because that's her scientific opinion.)

Yes it seems there is a school of thought that the poo lady is nothing more than a showbiz quack, bullying the fat for entertainment. A women who claims to be a "scientist" but is totally wrong to do so. Who just uses some commonsense nutrition guides, with a huge dollop of bullshit to promote herself as an expert. And who hides behind the threat of litigation, if you point this out.

However she seems to have come unstuck on twitter as this transcript of a run in with Goldacre on that networking site shows. I won't quote any here, but just post the link. It is much better to see it all on glorious display. It is a rare display of the poo lady exposed, without that shield of lawyers. Her ridiculous straw man about her American based pretend degree, being just anti Americanism, in response to a critic. She then calls Goldacre a liar and "in the pay of big pharma" (who else of course!). These are genuinely serious claims, and Goldacre takes her up on asking her to provide evidence of this. But how can the poo lady be not seen as anything full of shit, when she pretends that she isn't really the real McKeith by starting to write in the third person, and deleting stuff (badly) that could prove that she set up the original account. This has just so spectacularly backfired on her. Worse than that X factor performance.

Hopefully it will become a bit of a twitter legend and dent the profile of a woman who has made a lot of cash riding on the coat tails of a discipline she doesn't understand, but pretended she was at the forefront of. Even if it doesn't, (there seems an unending market for this kind of bunk, in the face of a lot more sturdy evidence.) it made my day.