Infodemic: Conspiracies abound in the global anti-lockdown movement and can camels get Covid-19?
Welcome. We are tracking how disinformation is shaping the world during the Covid-19 pandemic. Today, conspiracy theorists are becoming increasingly visible at anti-lockdown protests, from New Zealand to Hungary, and how a Covid-19 propaganda war in Myanmar fuels real conflict.
Anti-coronavirus lockdown protests in Melbourne, Australia turned violent as police arrested over 70 people who came out to demonstrate against government restrictions. The protests were organized after the state of emergency and disaster in the country’s southeastern Victoria state was extended until at least October 11, amid surging Covid-19 cases. Fueling the tensions were Facebook rumors that the government ramped up testing, in order to blame the spike on anti-lockdown protesters.
Meanwhile, police in New Zealand chose a different approach. Thousands of protesters who came out in Auckland over the weekend were reminded to wear masks — which most didn’t do — and allowed to express their doubts, not only about the new lockdown measures but also vaccines, 5G and Covid-19 in general. Many claimed the virus is a hoax. Despite New Zealand’s success in battling the pandemic, coronavirus-related misinformation and conspiracy theories are rising so fast that some people fear that they could derail the country’s response. A new study has also found that New Zealand’s minority groups are especially susceptible to conspiracy theories and disinformation.
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Europe is not immune to anti-lockdown demonstrations, either. In Germany, thousands took to the streets of Hanover and Munich, while leaders of Poland’s anti-vaccination movement organized a rally in Warsaw. Then there’s bodybuilder turned medical influencer György Gődény, who led a protest in Hungary. Gődény has a degree in veterinary pharmacology, which, he says, qualifies him to dispense his thoughts on the pandemic to more than 100,000 Facebook followers. He refers to Covid-19 as seasonal flu, discourages the wearing of masks and promotes a dietary supplement that he claims protects people against the virus.