Misquoted Scientist Calls on Apple to Drop Exodus Application

Speaking of liars, University of Minnesota researcher Dr. Gary Remafedi (pictured at right) has called on Apple to drop its application for ex-gay myth marketer Exodus International. Professor Remafedi is incensed because he maintains that Exodus and the application distorts his research as supporting the argument that homosexuality is a behavior that can be changed. It is actually a common accusation made over and over against the "ex-gay" industry. When legitimate research doesn't support the religious based agenda of these "ministries," they simply twist and misquote actual research to make it sound like the "change myth" and "cure myth" are based in scientific fact as opposed to solely religious belief. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune has details. Here are highlights:
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Dr. Gary Remafedi, director of the Youth and AIDS Projects and a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota, sent a letter Monday to Apple founder Steven Jobs and its interim CEO, Tim Cook, about the Exodus International app.
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In his letter to Apple's top executives, Remafedi wrote that the app "erroneously cites my research in support of claims that homosexuality can be changed. ... Associating my work with that of the ex-gay ministry and other unfounded treatments is professionally injurious and grievous."

Remafedi, in a telephone interview Monday afternoon, said Exodus' app falsely cites his research as saying the young people are "confused" about their sexual orientation. He said he has challenged many misrepresentations of his work over the years and has had "100 percent" success in doing so.
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One can only hope that Apple will value its image sufficiently to make it drop the foul Exodus application. Here is the text of Dr. Remafedi's letter to Apple via Truth Wins Out:
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Dear Messrs. Jobs and Cook,
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This message serves as a request to remove the Exodus International application from Apple’s iphone offerings because the website content is objectionable. It erroneously cites my research (Remafedi 1992) in support of claims that homosexuality can be changed.
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Various professional organizations, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, have taken the position that homosexuality is not a mental or physical condition. Programs which aim to change sexual orientation have been opposed because they are unwarranted, ineffective, unethical, and harmful.
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Exodus’s website features an article (Buchanan 2010) which makes erroneous statements and conclusions and attributes them to Remafedi (1992). Statements were made to the effect to that many teens are confused about their sexual orientation and that sexual orientation is amenable to change. Further, associating my work with that of the ex-gay ministry and other unfounded treatments is professionally injurious and grievous.
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As a savvy consumer, I understand that corporations market phones both by offering a wide array of applications and by appealing to niche audiences like Exodus’s. In turn, Exodus applies the Apple “4+” smartphone application rating to its own website as an imprimatur (see http://exodusinternational.org/).
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From my perspective, the risk of offending and harming consumers by providing a platform for erroneous information about an important health and social topic far outweighs the potential financial gain. Arguably, corporations have no affirmative responsibility to vendors under the First Amendment of the Constitution, but they are accountable for the quality and consequences of their products.
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For the aforementioned reasons, I ask Apple to revoke the 4+ rating and delete the Exodus application from the iphone’s menu of applications.
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Respectfully,
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Gary Remafedi, M.D., M.P.H.