Meryl Dorey #conspiracy theguardian.com

More venues have cancelled appearances from a US anti-vaccination campaigner, prompting a supporter of the seminars to compare opponents to the gunmen who targeted French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

At least five venues have now ditched bookings for Sherri Tenpenny, who is due to visit Australia in February and March.

An online network opposing her visit, the Stop the Australian (Anti) Vaccination Network (SAVN), has called for venues to refuse bookings and is demanding that Peter Dutton, the immigration minister, reject her visa.

Meryl Dorey, a former president of the Australian Vaccination Skeptics Network, drew a comparison with Wednesday’s attack on French magazine Charlie Hebdo, which left 12 people dead.

“The organisation that is pushing this censorship is a hate group and they are very much like the groups in France that have been carrying out these actions,” she told 3AW.

“No one is forcing people to attend but when you say in a democratic country that you can’t discuss an issue, that’s a problem. There’s an imbalance – 99% of what appears in government brochures is the benefits of vaccination, but not the risks. When someone talks about the risks they are downplayed or ridiculed.”

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