#counterfeits

Important Context ‘Experts’ Cited By RFK Jr. to Justify mRNA Vaccine Funding Cut Have Ties to Anti-vax Supplement Company Four authors of the non-peer reviewed, anti-vax bibliography cited by Kennedy’s HHS are involved with The Wellness Company. Walker Bragman Aug 17, 2025 The 181-page document, “COVID-19 mRNA ‘vaccine’ harms research collection,” which is hosted on an open website, is a bibliography of misrepresented studies—the overwhelming majority of which have nothing to do with the vaccines. It originally appeared in an independently published 2024 anti-vax book “Toxic Shot: Facing the Dangers of the COVID ‘Vaccines,’” according to its opening page. Co-authored by Canadian immunologist Bryan Bridle, a professor at a veterinary college in Ontario and one of the authors on the bibliography, the book featured a foreword from Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Naomi Wolff—both of whom have promoted conspiracy theories about the mRNA vaccines.

Deregulation of supplements has funded the right-wing greatly, so much so some think that regulating it would go a long way toward defeating the far right.

Supplements need regulation! Defeat the right-wing step 2 according to It Could Happen Here podcast… Chloe Humbert Sep 18, 2024 Even if this doesn’t defeat the right-wing, it’s the right thing to do, because for pity’s sake I am so exhausted by overpriced products that have no standards, and might be adulterated or counterfeit. And especially the sheer volume of pseudoscience quackery involved in selling all and sundry products. It’s bonkers level, and I’m not even listening to the right-wing shows that really hammer people with ads for this stuff…

My letter to reps:

Supplements need to be regulated. It’s ridiculous that the supplements and rogue alternative medical products industry is billions and even more than prescription pharmaceuticals. And there’s no guarantees you even know what you’re getting, if it’s counterfeit or if it’s adulterated or if it’s harmful, or whether it’s useful at all.

Since the dawn of time, video games have been copied illegally and sold on the second hand market without the endorsement of license holders. However it was pretty easy to tell the difference between a legit copy of a game and a bootleg. You couldn't fool anyone that this was a legit copy of Super Mario Bros. 3, right?

They were often sold for cheap, or in some cases were able to be rented. However as console gaming moved from cartridges to discs these bootleg cartridges slowly started to fade away in western markets. They didn't completely disappear but the prominence of them dwindled up until the 2000s. Then slowly but surely, we started to see cartridges pop up that look like the real deal but are actually counterfeit.

These are often called "Reproductions" or "Repros" for short. Despite the new name, the purpose of these cartridges still serve the exact same purpose as those bootleg cartridges from decades ago. Except this time these repros were made to look real to the point where it can fool people who don't know any better. Sure the hardcore collector can easily tell which is real or counterfeit, but everyone else?

But wait! There are also cases of "reproductions" being made of games that technically don't exist. Here we have a copy of Kid Dracula on NES which... hang on a minute! This was a Famicom game that never left Japan which never saw an NES release. This also seems to contain an English fan translation which I doubt the manufacturer of this cartridge got permission to use that for this cartridge. So wait why even call this a reproduction to begin with? This isn't mimicking anything that exists, it's no different to any other counterfeit cartridge.

There's also folks who consider modern cartridges such as this to be "reproductions". This is not trying to replicate anything that exists. It's a bootleg multicart, it's also not a "fake" game. The games on this cartridge are very real but the cartridge itself is worth next to nothing due to it being counterfeit.

There's also a huge issue with "reproductions" being sold for an absurd markup. Even if its not trying to replicate an existing game, why would you spend around $40 for what is essentially an unlicensed cartridge that realistically is worth dirt. If your argument is because this allows you to play these games on original hardware then invest in a flash cartridge or anything that lets you run rom files on original hardware which negates ever considering purchasing any of this.

I'm not a huge fan of calling all these newly manufactured cartridges reproductions when there are many which clearly do not fall under the actual definition of a reproduction. For something to be labeled as a reproduction it must replicate the original such as this EarthBound cartridge.

It's clearly based on the real thing and without further inspection looks close enough to the authentic cartridge. Compare that to other cartridges such as this seemingly innocent North American cartridge of Animal Crossing. The thing is that this never left Japan at least on the N64. So would you call this a reproduction?

Going by the actual definition it does not qualify due to it not replicating the original cartridge but instead mocking up what an American copy would look like. Since its distinct from the original cartridge I find it hard to call it a reproduction when it isn't even reproducing anything outside of the core game within (with a stolen fan translation might I add). If you were to give it a label it's simply a counterfeit or unlicensed cartridge despite the fake ESRB and Nintendo seal on the cartridge.

Via @OgLakyn on Twitter.

Mmmmmhm.

This thread is a great example of why "affordable luxury" doesn't exist, and how grossly entitled people are.

I recognize the nuance in a hobbyist remaking a piece they like, but can't afford, so they can still have it for themselves in some way. But...that's still theft of the original designer's work, well-intentioned or not.

I remember once hearing of someone on TikTok or YouTube who filmed how to remake the Lirika Matoshi strawberry dress when it went viral. To their surprise—yes, their genuine surprise—some people who watched their vid used it to sell counterfeits of the dress... (They originally intended to help other hobbyists make the dress for themselves to keep. Sigh.)

I think the hobbyists that do this are thief-adjacent. 🤔 Honestly, thinking on it a bit more, I wouldn't ever want this done with one of my designs. I'm already scared stiff of putting my work out there because I know that if it catches even a slight wind, fast fashion sites and AliExpress listings are going to steal my pictures and "sell" my pieces. 😐 And I don't want a kind person to get caught in me lashing out against those instances. I also just...don't want people to get my designs from anyone but me. Not even from themselves. That'd honestly spit on all the work I put in from conception to execution to delivery. 😞🤧

It really, really bothers me how quick people are to seek out counterfeits or dupes of something outside of their price range, rather than letting the thing pass by and seeking out something they can afford. I'll say it again because it's been a while: there are great things to be found at any and every price. (Relative, relative, be realistic.) Check yourself on when you want to live above your means.

A little PSA because I see counterfeit decks. A lot. Like, a lot a lot of them. I see you using them on social media, I see people selling them on Etsy and consignment sites like Depop and Mercari trying to pass off a $4 counterfeit for a $40 deck. I see it, and some of you may not necessarily know it when buying a tarot deck.

If you’re buying a deck from one of these sites, or Wish, Aliexpress, etc. it’s easy to spot. If you want to save a few bucks for a cheap deck because you’ve never used one before, no one’s going to stop you from buying them. This message is for those who do want to support the creators and have unknowingly considered or bought counterfeit decks. (Or, more especially, for those trying to sell counterfeit decks bought off these sites to unknowing people “because you just didn’t have a connection with it”)

How are they different?

Other than not having the regular bells and whistles of the original decks, most of them come in plain cardstock tuck boxes, often times without booklets and paired with a QR code for the booklet download. The ones above are all fakes. If the box doesn’t have the original author or publisher on it, it’s almost guaranteed a fake. The fakes range from decent 300gsm stock to little more than coarse construction paper. 

Why is it a problem? The publishers aren’t losing money right?

It’s not really about the publisher, since the big house publishers like Llewellyn and U.S. Games make pretty good stock and money regardless; With regards to decks from these manufacturers it’s usually pretty rare to find counterfeits (with exceptions). The people that counterfeit decks hit the hardest are smaller independent artists: Britt’s Art (Britt’s Third Eye Tarot), James R. Eads (Prisma/Light Visions), Trungles (Star Spinner Tarot), Rann (Mystical Manga Tarot), Stasia Burrington (Sasuraibito), Amrit Brar (Marigold Tarot) among several others. These decks are easily some of the most common decks that I see in counterfeits. 

Still deciding if I am a misfit or a counterfeit.