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Time to crowdfund the very excellent Dr David Tuller again, Folks!

Countrygirl

Senior Member
Messages
5,429
Location
UK
It is time to crowdfund the very excellent Dr David Tuller again. He has proved to be worth his weight in gold. Thank you David for all you do which you undertake with courage and integrity.

Let's get David fighting for us again, folks!


https://crowdfund.berkeley.edu/proj...KKs59LYtVvrmMYnLHxGOpl31lTgHac3Cq4Y4_YuVcV-8A


So it’s been a year since the last crowdfunding campaign for Trial By Error--my investigative reporting and public health project. While Trial By Error began 3+ years ago as an in-depth look at the PACE trial, it has expanded to include other research from the GET/CBT ideological brigades and some of the controversies around the illness or cluster of illnesses known variously as ME, CFS, ME/CFS, and CFS/ME.

In the last three years, I have seen patients’ suffering and their courage. I am in awe of their analytical skills and scientific smarts. This project has been and continues to be such a moving and rewarding experience for me. I had no idea it would last this long, but my work seems to be helping to push events forward. That’s why I am seeking another round of support through Berkeley’s crowdfunding platform. The funds I raise through April 30th will go toward covering my position for the fiscal year from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020.

As many know, I initially worked on this project for more than two years on my own, without funding from anyone. But after a grant supporting my half-time position at Berkeley ended two years ago, I decided to crowdfund so I could continue working on Trial By Error. The money goes directly to the university, not to me. Pursuing this project is now my primary responsibility as a senior fellow in public health and journalism at Berkeley’s Center for Global Public Health.

Through my crowdfunding campaign last April, Berkeley received $87,500 to cover my position for the fiscal year from July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019. Here’s an accounting (in rounded numbers). My half-time salary is $50,000. Another $20,000 goes toward employment benefits--which in the U.S. is mostly health insurance. Berkeley takes 7.5 % in crowdfunding and gift fees--in this case $6500. A small amount was used to cover a shortfall in my first year’s crowdfunding. I will also get $5,000 in reimbursement for some of my project-related travel expenses. Anything left over will be bumped forward into the next fiscal year.

For this year’s crowdfunding, my goal is $95,000. I spend significantly more than half my work-time on Trial By Error. Raising $95,000 would allow Berkeley to increase my position from 50% to 60% time for the 2019-2020 fiscal year. I will definitely continue this project for another year even if I don’t make that target, although in that case I might decide to crowdfund again sometime next fall.

If you’re reading this, you’re likely already familiar with my work. But by way of background, my initial 15,000-word investigation of the PACE trial was published in October, 2015, on Virology Blog--a science site hosted by Professor Vincent Racaniello, a microbiologist at Columbia University. Since then, the Trial By Error series has focused international attention on the study’s methodological and ethical lapses and on the similar failings of related research. I have now written 150+ posts on Virology Blog as well as articles for The New York Times and other publications. My investigation has been covered in Science, The Guardian, Slate, The Wall Street Journal, STAT, BMJ, and elsewhere.

I have been subject to attacks. Most recently, in March, Reuters published a biased "investigation" that slammed patients for their purportedly belligerent behavior and me for my willingness to engage in forthright criticism of bad research. In the past few years, I have been accused of libel, defamation, causing reputational damage with inaccurate and misinformed reporting, engaging in behavior warranting police intervention, unleashing social media abuse, and so on. The vice-chancellor at Bristol University has complained multiple times to Berkeley about me. These people obviously would like me to stop what I'm doing.

But I've kept going, with Berkeley's continued support. Based on my investigation, I have organized a series of open letters to The Lancet, Psychological Medicine, and other journals, all posted on Virology Blog. With their high-profile signatories, the letters have received widespread attention. Last August’s open letter to The Lancet, which referenced the PACE trial’s “unacceptable methodological lapses,” was signed by more than 100 scientists, physicians and other experts, 10 members of Parliament, and many dozens of patient and advocacy organizations. The Times (UK) and BMJ both ran articles about it.

In the last year, I have also kept up with the Cochrane situation. I met last summer with Cochrane editors and pressed them to address the problems with the 2014 review of exercise therapies. In addition to posting several analyses of developments, last October I organized a letter of support for Cochrane’s decision to temporarily withdraw that review. The letter was signed by more than 40 experts. (Unfortunately, Cochrane ultimately did not implement that decision.)

I have sustained my criticism of research conducted by Professor Esther Crawley of Bristol University. After reviewing my expressions of concern, the National Health Service's ethics oversight arm requested that Bristol University conduct an independent investigation of some of these studies. That investigation is ongoing. How independent it will ultimately be and whether it will examine the issues honestly remains to be seen, but the fact of the investigation is itself a modest victory, given the incredible resistance to scientific accountability that has marked this saga.

In U.S. news, I took on Danish psychiatrist Per Fink’s appearance at Columbia University last fall--an invitation to speak that appalled not just patients but also leading scientists in the ME/CFS research field. I also wrote about the Mayo Clinic's stubborn refusal to acknowledge changes in the international and national approach to the illness. I recently broke the news about Kaiser Permanente’s decision to change how it handles ME/CFS. I hope this year to follow up with other major US medical institutions and track their progress. And I plan to keep trying to hold the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to account; as I have noted repeatedly, the agency refuses to acknowledge that it dropped the PACE/GET/CBT paradigm because the science cannot be defended. Maintaining pressure on the CDC and other US agencies on issues related to this illness is essential.

I have also started looking into the "medically unexplained symptoms" (MUS) model being promoted by the biopsychosocial cabal. This construct is linked to the troubling effort in the UK to shunt ME/CFS patients and others with so-called MUS into mental health care through the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies program. I will deepen my investigation into these issues in the upcoming year. I also hope to examine the struggles over the ICD (International Classification of Diseases) codes used for the illness and the diagnostic controversies that continue to roil the field. In addition to keeping up with events in the UK and US, I hope to be able to track developments in the Netherlands, Australia, Scandinavia, Germany, and elsewhere.

I have traveled a lot since last summer and plan to again over the next year. I spent most of September and October in England, with side trips to the Netherlands and Northern Ireland. In November I took a five-day trip to Norway, and early this year I visited England again, with a stay in Finland as well. I gave public talks and/or recorded video interviews in Amsterdam, Newry in Northern Ireland, and Sheffield in England, as well as in Oslo, Helsinki and Boston. Collectively, these clips have been viewed online many thousands of times. In London and Oslo, I met with members of parliament, health officials and others to lobby them on the various issues.

I am currently planning a trip to New Zealand for late summer/early fall. I will also spend more time in Europe--again to cover issues in the UK but hopefully also to visit other countries grappling with related concerns, like Germany. And if I don’t manage to get to Canada before this fiscal year ends on June 30, I will definitely make up for it after that.

I know I won't get to every subject I'd like to. I’m sure things I haven’t anticipated will come up, as they always do. One way I hope to deal with all this is by posting updates or short comments on an upcoming Trial By Error/News page. That way I can keep up with events but not clog up the main Virology Blog site with items that have more specialized appeal. (I'm still trying to figure this out.)
**********

One final note: Berkeley takes a 5% share as the university's standard fee for gifts, plus 2.5% as a crowdfunding/credit card fee. Therefore, adding 7.5% to your donation will ensure that the full amount you intend is going toward the project itself. The donation is tax-deductible (for US taxpayers at least).

Thanks so much for your support. I really, really appreciate it. This whole situation is just unbelievable. I’d like to be able to see it through.
**********

For those who want to review my work, here are some links:
Virology Blog's 15,000-word expose of PACE: http://www.virology.ws/2015/10/21/trial-by-error-i/
All Virology Blog posts on ME/CFS: http://www.virology.ws/mecfs/
My New York Times opinion piece (with Julie Rehmeyer): https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/18/opinion/sunday/getting-it-wrong-on-chronic-fatigue-syndrome.html

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Last edited by a moderator:

Seven7

Seven
Messages
3,444
Location
USA
Is there a direct donate from PayPal or whatever really, I am afraid if I revive a letter on mail will be tossed as junk.
 

Mary

Moderator Resource
Messages
17,335
Location
Southern California
Is there a direct donate from PayPal or whatever really, I am afraid if I revive a letter on mail will be tossed as junk.
@Seven (formerly lnester7) - I'm not sure what the problem is here. You can pay by credit card, I did last year. Just click on one of the amounts shown above, and it will take you to a page where you can choose a preset amount or put in the amount you want to pay,, and then it will take your credit card information.
 

NelliePledge

Senior Member
Messages
807
Shared this to our local ME group to raise awareness. Suggesting others also share to groups theyre involved in. David's work is contributing a lot to pushing back on the status quo around the world. It is important that as a community we give as much support as possible to his work.
 

Countrygirl

Senior Member
Messages
5,429
Location
UK
http://www.virology.ws/2019/04/01/t...TCOy65FD7tq2V1DkRUk-5MykdTUqxLSg26bH4XqjzHYpc

Trial By Error: April is Berkeley Crowdfunding Month!
1 APRIL 2019
By David Tuller, DrPH
Today is the official “hard launch” of Berkeley’s month of crowdfunding. The “soft launch” phase began last Wednesday, when the site actually went live. I posted the Trial By Error page that day on Facebook. As of this posting, I’ve already reached 27% of my goal, with almost $26,000 in donations!
Things started with a burst and have of course slowed down. So far there are 225 donations, with 92 from the UK and 38 from the US. (Two of the US donors share my last name, so those people had no choice but to donate; I assume there are more than 36 non-Tuller Americans who support my work!). Norway and Australia come next, with 29 and 15 donors, respectively. In the last two years, there were around 1000 donations each time. It would be great to overshoot that total this year. Every donation helps, and I think it is important to demonstrate strength in numbers.
Last year, Professor Sharpe gave a great boost to my efforts when he whined on twitter about what researchers like him have to put up with and then linked to a blog endorsing my crowdfunding. That blog of course included a link to the crowdfunding site, so my donations shot up in the next few days. Many thanked Professor Sharpe profusely on twitter for reminding them it was time to donate. I myself thanked him publicly, although he did not respond.
 

Mary

Moderator Resource
Messages
17,335
Location
Southern California
Ok, donating now. (I read about this and then promptly forgot it!) - I love David Tuller's t-shirt above - Paceman! :lol: I remember Michael Sharpe's tweet - it actually inspired me to join twitter so I could thank him. (It was my first and last tweet, though if I get inspired I might try to do another one to remind him it's fundraising time again :D)

$46,027 - 48% and 21 days left --
 
Messages
7
I also read 2 of David’s excellent articles about Mayo Clinic. As someone who lives fairly close to the main campus and has all of my local physicians influenced by Mayo and their woefully behind the times website, I was grateful to see him writing about it. I think the Mayo Clinic website is influencing public perception of me/CFS more than we realize.
I think it’s vitally important that we continue to fund Dr. Tuller. We are incredibly lucky to have someone with his capabilities and “heart” doing investigative work in our disease field. Please donate today if you can! Thanks everybody!!
 

Countrygirl

Senior Member
Messages
5,429
Location
UK
I have been trying to donate to David's fund but my card keeps getting rejected although the info is correct. I have also purchased a book with it in the last few hours and there was no problem.

Has anyone found this problem, please?
 
Messages
7
My card went through the first time but it is from a US bank. Have you tried calling your credit card company to see if they have any ideas about why it’s not being accepted for a US based institution?
 

Roy S

former DC ME/CFS lobbyist
Messages
1,376
Location
Illinois, USA
$64,297, 67% of target, 11 days left

623 donors
UK: 237
US: 129
Norway: 69
Aus: 46

Thanks to all who donate.

Whoever donated $5000 yesterday... THANK YOU!