MIT Has an Anti-Vaccine Problem

Mar 21, 2026

When you think of anti-vaccine misinformation, why does MIT or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology pop in your head?

Let’s all remember that Stephanie Seneff predicted that half of all babies born in 2025 would be autistic. They aren’t… Folks should ask MIT about her prediction.

Maybe it’s because, believe it or not, some of the most popular anti-vaccine influencers are associated with MIT!

MIT Has an Anti-Vaccine Problem

Which anti-vaccine influencers?

Before being appointed to ACIP, Retsef Levi had published two papers about vaccines and they were both published a few months before his appointment. As part of the AAP lawsuit against RFK Jr, lawyers successfully argued that Retsef Levi’s experience “likely does not rise to the level of “expertise” called for under ACIP governing documents.”

Oh, you know who I’m talking about!

“MIT remains a puzzle for allowing Seneff to claim she is an “MIT Senior Research Scientist” bleating corporate conspiracy fables about agriculture and vaccines when she is only a programmer who works on ‘communication’ between humans and computers.”
Viewpoint: MIT turns blind eye to misinformation on agricultural biotechnology and vaccines promoted by ‘infamous crank’ computer scientist Stephanie Seneff

Neither Stephanie Seneff nor Retsef Levi can seem to miss adding that they are associated with MIT to their names each and every time they appear anywhere to push misinformation about vaccines.

And even though we haven’t heard from him in a while, let’s not forget about Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai!

Most people know Shiva Ayyadurai as the guy who continues to claim that he invented email, even though email was already in active use when he ‘invented’ it as a high school student in the 1970s…

Makes you wonder just what they are teaching folks at MIT, doesn’t it?

How could I forget about Steve Kirsch when we are talking about anti-vaccine influencers that are associated with MIT?!?

Maybe they can add a course on skeptical thinking…

It also makes you wonder why they all go out of their way to make sure people know that they are associated with MIT, doesn’t it?

That one is easy!

It’s because they believe it lends credibility to their claims, and it gives them a bigger platform to help spread misinformation and propaganda about vaccines.

“MIT’s culture is built on merit, problem-solving, and real-world results. We believe in progress driven by data, discipline, and the pursuit of excellence — and MIT always strives to be better.”
Understanding MIT

Of course though, all of that comes at the cost of besmirching the reputation of everyone else at MIT, which makes you wonder why neither MIT nor any of their alumni have done nothing to stop them…

After all, other schools have acted in these situations to censure or separate themselves from bad actors that promote misinformation about vaccines.

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Christopher Hickie MD PhD

Mar 21

Thank you for this article showing MIT's role in spreading anti-vaccine propaganda. I've written to MIT several times and have not received any response when I bring up people like Senedd and Levi. It's very discouraging.

Dr. Peter Hotez is speaking at MIT on April 2nd (https://x.com/PeterHotez/status/2030047480113435052?s=20). I'd like to think he would call them out on this group at MIT who are quite literally using MIT to hurt and kill infants and children.