Update: Florida’s surgeon general speaks at a conference with a Hitler-promoting antisemite

Written by Eric Hananoki

Published

Updated

Update (10/21/24): Ladapo and Northrup both spoke at the conference. Ladapo was also pictured with Northrup in a post on conference emcee Stephanie Locricchio’s social media page. 

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo is set to speak at a conference this weekend with Christiane Northrup, a health misinformer who has repeatedly promoted pro-Nazi and antisemitic material.  

The 2024 “Back to Basics Conference: Summit on Family, Food and Healthcare” will be held in Waltham, Massachusetts, on October 19. The event claims to bring “together renowned experts in the fields of medicine, agriculture, parental and legal rights.” The conference's listed schedule as of today includes Ladapo and Northrup, who have each confirmed their attendance on social media. 

Ladapo, Florida’s top health official, has gained notoriety for spreading misinformation as he openly criticizes and recommends against vaccines. Northrup is a discredited health commentator who has frequently promoted health misinformation and pushed the QAnon conspiracy theory.

The event will also feature Mary Holland — the CEO of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s anti-vaccine group Children's Health Defense — and anti-vaccine commentators Ryan Cole, Meryl Nass, and Leah Wilson, among others.  

Back to Basics Conference

From the Back to Basics Conference's website, accessed 10/17/24. 

As Media Matters previously documented, Northrup has repeatedly promoted antisemitism: 

  • In December 2021, Northrup shared a link to the film Europa: The Last Battle. The film is pro-Nazi propaganda that portrays Jewish people as the real villains of World War II and Hitler as someone who “ensured racial security for the people,” battled against supposed Jewish subversion, and actually wanted peace. It also features rampant Holocaust denial. 
  • In February 2022, Northrup also shared a clip from Europa: The Last Battle and wrote: “The Bolshevik Revolution. Substitute the word Jew in here with Khazarian. These are not the Hebrews of the Bible.” The clip is virulently antisemitic and states near the beginning: “The fact that we will never learn in school is that communism actually was a Jewish totalitarian ideology invented by Jews, funded by Jewish bankers, and economically manifested by Jewish Bolsheviks.” 
  • During an August 2022 interview, Northrup shouted out the antisemitic text Protocols of the Elders of Zion as the “playbook” of people she opposes.
  • Northrup has repeatedly promoted the antisemitic “Khazarian mafia” conspiracy theory, which essentially claims that a group of fake Jewish people stole Jewish identity centuries ago and now hides behind Judaism to control world affairs. 

Northrup has also spoken at events with other prominent Republicans, including Eric Trump and Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump. 

Ladapo has previously appeared with QAnon conspiracy theorists to push health misinformation. In October 2022, he was also a guest on the show of Stew Peters, a far-right conspiracy theorist who has become a pro-Hitler commentator.