Submission 5,712

About

Miracle Mineral Solution is a controversial drug which has been pushed as a cure for major diseases such as HIV, autism, and cancer, among others. Chemically, it is chlorine dioxide, an industrial bleach made by mixing sodium chlorite solution with an acid. The chemical can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and life-threatening low blood pressure due to dehydration. Despite the debunked claims of Miracle Mineral Solution being a miracle cure and the denouncement of the drug by health and drug industries, it has been pushed on YouTube videos for several years.

Origin

Miracle Mineral Solution (MMS) was originally pushed by former Scientologist Jim Humble in his 2006 book, The Miracle Mineral Solution of the 21st Century.^[1] Humble claimed MMS could cure HIV, malaria, hepatitis viruses, the H1N1 flu virus, common colds, autism, acne, cancer, and many other diseases, though there were no clinical trials done to support his claims and he only used anecdotal evidence. In a May 2010 interview, Humble claimed MMS could be used for any illness (shown below).

Spread

MMS has been debunked by scientists quickly after it began being peddled. A 2010 piece in The Guardian called it "extremely nasty stuff, and the medical advice given is that anyone who has this product should stop using it immediately and throw it away."^[2] The USFDA, Canada, and the UK Food Standards Industry all issued warnings against the consumption of the chemical.^[3] One of the major promoters of MMS as a cure for autism was Kerri Rivera, an Illinois woman who promoted the substance in the state. She was banned from pushing it in the state of Illinois by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who stated "You have a situation where there are people, complete quacks, that are out there promoting a very dangerous chemical being given to young children… Ingesting what amounts to a toxic chemical--bleach--is not going to cure your child."^[4]

In May of 2019, Business Insider^[5] reached out to YouTube to investigate a swath of videos promoting MMS on its website, which the article claimed had reached "millions." YouTube deleted most of the videos and few videos supporting MMS remain. Videos that do remain explain the story behind MMS and the false claims made about the product. These include videos by The Chapman Family (shown below, left) and Jeff Holiday (shown below, right).

The topic was also covered in a video by Philip DeFranco on May 22nd, 2019 (shown below).