Sir

Richard Smith in Correspondence (“Milton and Galileo would back BMJ on free speech” Nature 427, 287; 2004) defends the rapid-response website section of the British Medical Journal (BMJ) — despite its use by those who deny that HIV is the cause of AIDS — on the grounds that free speech should always be allowed.

That's not the real issue, however. The ‘HIV denialists’ exploit the reputations of any bona fide scientific journals that publish their opinions, in whatever form. Will a member of the public always be able to appreciate the subtle distinction between a peer-reviewed publication in a journal and an informal posting on the same journal's website? One can readily imagine a layman (or even a head of state) being steered towards a BMJ rapid-response posting and thinking “It's published in the BMJ — it must be accurate information”.

The denialists crave respectability for their maverick opinions, and anything that energizes them to continue their efforts to damage science and public health is to be deplored. Let them exercise their right to free speech on their own websites, not on one run by a respected medical journal.