The global coronavirus pandemic continues to delay travel, see cities thrust back into lockdown and see spikes in cases numbers just when everything was starting to feel normal again.
Yes, the Delta variant of the virus spreads fast, but not nearly as quickly as conspiracy theories and theorists, who are not only causing problems with what they are spouting but putting people in serious danger at the same time.
Research conducted at the University of Kent said that conspiracy theories have a tendency to arise in moments of crisis. They tend to bloom in periods of uncertainty and threat, where we seek to make sense of a chaotic world.
It’s also more likely that those who endorse conspiracy theories will not self-isolate, even if symptoms are present, and will not follow the proper hygiene rules like washing their hands or wearing a mask. And don’t even think about asking them to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
In 2021, Lizzy Rose, an anti-masker, became famous for berating Bunnings staff after they asked her why she wasn’t wearing a mask inside their store.
In a video posted to social media, Rose said that she had a “medical exemption” for not wearing a mask inside the store. According to the woman, she was asked to leave and the staff had “threatened” to call police on her.
“Because as far as they’re concerned, my medical exemption is irrelevant. And it’s actually not. As we know, I have every legal right to protect my health and myself, and I am exempt and I have all the documents to prove it. So let’s see what happens,” she said into her camera.
Rose then proceeded to say how “sad” it was that “so many people are so fearful.”
“It’s so sad that people are just so fearful of what they’re told, what they’re programmed. It’s really, really sad,” she said.
Oh come on pic.twitter.com/u4g3XV04TA
— cam smith (@sexenheimer) July 26, 2020
This video, of course, is problematic for so many reasons.
At the time of publishing, Victoria had recorded 723 new coronavirus cases and 13 deaths in the past 24 hours. A very good reason for masks to be worn.
Former Australian Labor Party leader Bill Shorten took to Twitter after appearing on Channel 9’s Today show, calling out Rose and other anti-maskers for being “selfish attention-seeking whack jobs” who “should not detract from the excellent work almost all Victorians are doing keeping other safes.”
A few selfish, attention-seeking whack jobs should not detract from the excellent work almost all Victorians are doing keeping other safe. #auspol pic.twitter.com/JWlLHaKXaF
— Bill Shorten (@billshortenmp) July 28, 2020
While we do not condone his use of the word “whack-job”, we do agree with the sentiment.
“COVID-19 is real, it’s not a conspiracy, it’s not a made-up rumour,” he said before adding, “Why do people take cameras into Bunnings to film themselves deliberately going looking for trouble?
“It’s selfish. The rest of us in Melbourne are wearing our masks, we’re doing our social distancing, people can’t go to funerals, the year 12 kids are, you know, doing it hard, everyone’s doing it hard and you just want your 15 minutes of whack job fame.”
Celebrity chef and former My Kitchen Rules host Pete Evans also came under fire multiple times in 2020 for saying there was “no pandemic”.
Evans even threw it to his followers, asking them if “this was the biggest “‘scamdemic’ in history”. We’re not talking about a few thousand followers either. We’re talking 258k on his Instagram alone.
In May 2020, he spruiked a $15,000 light machine on his social media, claiming that it could help fend off the coronavirus — only to be hit with a $25,200 fine by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.
In the post, Evans promoted a three-hour-long video by a British conspiracy theorist, David Icke, who claimed that COVID-19 was “a fake pandemic with no virus” and linked infections to 5G antenna installations.
Then in June that same year, he appeared on Channel 9’s 60 Minutes, profiled as part of a wider story about conspiracy theories surrounding the coronavirus, with some of his more prominent views on the matter kept mum.
He also alluded to the fact that Bill Gates was behind the coronavirus, saying when asked about the theory: “I don’t know. I don know. Because what Bill is suggesting, and every single interview that he has done recently is suggesting that the world will not become safe until every single person on the planet has been vaccinated for this.”
Medical professionals have also said the same thing — the world is safer if there is a vaccine.
Especially now more than ever, and during a time of crisis, it’s important to listen to the professionals and not those who endorse conspiracy theories.