The vaccines and autism debate originated from the studies of a British medical researcher named Andrew Wakefield. Wakefield had claimed to have discovered a connection between measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination and the development of autism and gastrointestinal diseases in young children. (Hansen) He published his findings in a British medical journal and this started a major controversy among many scientists, doctors and citizens across Europe. Many of them insist that there is no relationship between the disease and vaccination, while others stand firm behind Wakefield's beliefs. This dilemma soon spreads from the UK across the ocean and into North America. The decision whether or not to have your child vaccinated has become very difficult for many parents with conflicting beliefs on the topic. As medical researchers continued to study the topic, many concluded that the link between vaccinations, autism, and intestinal diseases was false. While at the same time many were convinced that the relationship was so clear that no child should be exposed to the vaccine. It was soon discovered that the data Wakefield had used in his study was false and there was actually no link between vaccinations and autism in young children. After years of debate, many convinced supporters of this link will not accept that the information they trusted was a lie. The sources I used in my research on the debate include several newspapers such as the Times, Sunday Times, US Newswire, The Guardian, The Week, Salon, USA Today, CBS News, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gauzzette. I also used the online news station CNN. The search terms I used during my survey ranged from things like sp...... middle of paper ......m, 30% were unsure and 18% were sure they were related, ha published a poll taken after the CNN article. (Gardner) The myth that vaccinations cause autism in children was created by a British man for a small profit and then quickly turned into a global debate. The science behind his theory has been presented to the general public by many different forms of media, primarily through newspapers, and has scared many parents into vaccinating their children against potentially deadly diseases. This is an obvious downside to the debate and puts many children at risk of getting sick and even dying due to the publication of false information. Even after everything was corrected, much of the public reaction was incredulous and they no longer trusted science or the government and wanted to think that vaccination was actually related to autism and intestinal diseases..