USA Today is the biggest selling newspaper across the United States. It sells about two and half million copies a day. On page 11 of today's edition there's a full-page spread from an organization called Generation Rescue, formed in 2005 by parents of a child with autism.

The headline is stark. Are We Poisioning Our Kids In The Name Of Protecting Their Health?. On the left of the page is a syringe containing ten vaccines recommended for children in 1983. On the right, another syringe with 36 vaccines recommended today. Then the claim. The autism rate has gone from one in 10,000 in 1983 to one in 150 today.

The advert, sponsored by Hollywood