The Austrian EU Member of Parliament Gerald Hauser (FPÖ) receives the „Golden Blockhead“ 2026. The Society for Critical Thinking (GkD), also known as the Vienna Skeptics, awards this negative prize to individuals and organizations they accuse of spreading particularly problematic pseudoscientific claims. The jury justifies their decision with Hauser’s repeated statements on COVID-19 vaccinations, conspiracy theories, and scientifically refuted claims. The prize for lifetime achievement, awarded for the first time in 2026, goes to the former federal spokesperson of the Greens, Madeleine Petrovic.

The jury accuses Hauser of spreading numerous conspiracy theories over the years. Particularly in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccinations, he has repeatedly made scientifically unsubstantiated connections. As an example, the organizers cite his statements about an alleged connection between COVID-19 vaccinations and particularly fast-growing cancer, referred to in certain circles as „turbo cancer.“

There is no reliable scientific evidence for the claim that COVID-19 vaccinations trigger such a form of cancer. The question raised by Hauser about a possible connection between childhood vaccinations and autism also concerns a claim that has been refuted by extensive scientific studies.

The Vienna Skeptics also criticize Hauser for promoting the deworming drug Ivermectin as a remedy against COVID-19 and portraying pandemic simulation exercises as evidence of an allegedly long-term planned pandemic. His statements about the World Health Organization (WHO) and alleged plans to establish a world government are also mentioned in the justification.

According to the jury, the decisive factor for the decision was not only the multitude of criticized statements but also their dissemination. Hauser uses his political functions, social networks, press releases, and books to make his positions accessible to a broad audience.

The organizers also refer to his statements on wind turbines, particularly regarding alleged health hazards from infrasound. Here too, the jury criticizes the use of scientifically untenable claims.

Particular attention was drawn, according to the announcement, to a headline published in the summer of 2026, in which Hauser linked an alleged „heat panic“ with a „vaccination disaster“ of the established parties. The article in question was later removed.

The negative prize for lifetime achievement goes to Madeleine Petrovic, the former federal spokesperson of the Austrian Greens. The Vienna Skeptics justify the decision with her decades-long public advocacy for medical positions they classify as pseudoscientific.

The jury is particularly critical of Petrovic’s previous support for the German doctor Ryke Geerd Hamer and his so-called „Germanic New Medicine.“ Hamer claimed that serious illnesses like cancer are essentially due to emotional conflicts. This doctrine is not scientifically recognized and can be dangerous if those affected therefore forgo effective medical treatments.

The organizers also recall in this context the case of the then seven-year-old cancer patient Olivia Pilhar, which attracted great public attention in the 1990s. Petrovic had advocated for a review of Hamer’s theses at that time.

Petrovic’s later stance on the Corona measures and COVID-19 vaccinations also plays an important role in the reasoning. The jury criticizes, among other things, that she referred to mRNA vaccinations as „gene therapy“ and spread unfounded fears about long-term dangers.

In 2022, Petrovic participated in the founding of an alliance that called for the immediate cessation of Corona protective measures and vaccinations. At the founding event, according to the Vienna Skeptics, she also made unfounded allegations about alleged funding of a government commission by Pfizer or the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The jury sees this as a decades-long continued public positioning against evidence-based medicine and justifies the awarding of the Lifetime Achievement Award with this.

The „Golden Board in Front of the Head“ is awarded by the Vienna Skeptics. The Society for Critical Thinking is part of the Society for the Scientific Investigation of Parasciences (GWUP), a German-speaking skeptic organization.

With the negative award, the organizers want to draw attention to the public dissemination of pseudoscience and scientifically unproven claims. The award is expressly intended as criticism and not as a scientific or judicial judgment on the awarded individuals.

(Red)

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