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Note that the term 'online' appears eight times in the news report. The link between online herp sales and hospitalized babies ("less than one year") is not going to be lost on those people who already have irrational fears of reptiles and their prominence online.
Note also that the article fails to mention that most cases of salmonellosis are caused by eating undercooked meat, eggs or unpasteurized milk. Neither does it point out that the identified vendor is not representative of all the members of the irrationally feared group.
The article is, I think, a good example of how isolated bad behavior (selling baby turtles with no attempt whatsoever to make sure they get into responsible hands) combined with the push to demonify some group or other can make the group all look pretty bad, at least to people who want the group to look that way.
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