Coronavirus conspiracies are kids’ stuff now
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The United States’ decision to roll out Covid-19 vaccines for children as young as five has sent parents, doctors and teachers into a frenzy of either attacking or defending the move. It also unleashed a new wave of disinformation that targets not only grown ups but, increasingly, kids themselves.
Take this video, which has generated tens of thousands of views on Twitter over the past few days. Its origins are relatively obscure and have nothing to do with the pandemic. In 2017, a Brazilian company decided to experiment with virtual reality to make children less scared of routine injections.
The concept is simple: young participants put on VR glasses and watch a cartoon about a rather cute (in my view) creature with a golden helmet that inserts an object into the viewer's arm and destroys a monster. While watching, the child receives an injection without even noticing.