Gage Skidmore
At the height of the coronavirus pandemic, the leaders of pseudoscience group America’s Frontline Doctors (AFLDS) became stars on the right for their willingness to connect COVID patients with prescriptions for bogus treatments like hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin.
The group hit a new level of prominence after Donald Trump retweeted one of their videos. Trump’s endorsement boosted their profile, a triumph that soured only somewhat after the video’s lead doctor was exposed as a believer in the idea that dreaming about sex with demons can cause real medical conditions.
Since November, though, the group has been torn apart as its founder, Dr. Simone Gold, faces off against the group’s board over what each faction says is the lavish spending of donor money. Now, in a newly reported court ruling, a judge has torn into both sides for possible violations of nonprofit ethics, singling out the group’s spending on a $3.6 million house for Gold’s personal use as “simply absurd.”