The Coronavirus outbreak is a good time to reflect on anti-science falsehoods promoted by people who deny atrocities in Syria, especially on the issue of Chemical Weapons. From a safe distance it’s easy to reject crucial scientific consensus. Let’s examine some of their views 1.
2. One of the most vocal proponents of the idea that the 2018 Douma Chlorine attack was a false flag is @ClarkeMicah - The former @Newsweek employee @Tareq_Haddad resigned after vouching for Hitchens credibility on Douma. Hitchens believes climate change + evolution r hoaxes. 
3. Hitchens is also a proponent of the idea that cannabis is linked not only to violence but also to violent extremism. There is no scientific basis for this and it flys in the face of established scientific consensus.
4. @21WIRE is a website that also platformed @Tareq_Haddad after his @ClarkeMicah related resignation from @Newsweek - not only does this website promote “satanic Hollywood” theories but they promote Chemtrail + Syria CW conspiracy theories + claim school shootings r staged.
5. Another example is @PhilipWatson_ who runs a blog called “Hidden Syria” which makes dubious claims about violence in Syria being staged. In one particularly odd long blog post he claimed video of a very real child who can be seen moving was a doll.
6. Speaking of @PhilipWatson_ - it would be easy to dismiss him as a lone kook in the cottage industry of atrocity denial if individuals like @PiersRobinson1 distanced themselves from this fellow + his odd claims but they promote him, as recently as today. Well get back to Piers!
7. Another widely shared promoter of debunked conspiracies about CW in Syria is also a proponent of the idea that man made climate change is a myth. His twitter handle is quite telling - @ClimateAudit - again rather than distancing themselves people like @Tim_Hayward_ promote him
8. The Coronavirus also gives us a chance to observe human behavior in unfamiliar situations. Mocking Syrian civilians who live in fear is a favorite pastime for people who r paid to spread disinfo. Wearing a DIY face mask may have seemed unusual 2 weeks ago, not so much now.
9. One of the worst offenders spreading disinfo about Syria is the Grayzone Project where @aaronjmate hosted @MaxBlumenthal who deliberately lied + claimed that White Helmet’s advocate James Le Mesurier ran an Israeli prison. In reality he worked w the Jericho Monitoring Mission.
10. Grayzone has frequently hosted Ted Postol who has authored several discredited theories about Chemical Weapons in Syria. In this clip he falsely claims a dead animal was the only source of evidence for Sarin use in Khan Shaykoun.
11. While Postol is well-versed in understanding of rockets he does not have a background in chemistry + has promoted contradictory theories regarding the 2017 Khan Shaykoun Sarin attack. He even allowed a pro-Assad youtuber who claims Ebola is a bioweapon to contribute research.
12. Postol originally promoted the idea, echoing Sy Hersh, that the deaths in Khan Shaykoun had been caused by plastic + fertilizer mixing, he subsequently claimed there was Sarin present, but claimed it had been planted by the opposition w/o evidence. bellingcat.com/news/mena/2019…
13. Ted Postol was doing a study for @SGSJournal in which he essentially doubled down on his prior claim that “Chemical IED” had been planted + detonated. Despite the obvious ethical violation that he was on the SGS board his computer model was proven false + he resigned from SGS
14. In typical anti-science fashion Postol claimed that rescuers w/o full protective gear would have been unable to visit the scene of the Sarin attack in Khan Shaykoun. This is contradicted by the simple scientific fact that Sarin reacts w the environment + dissipates quickly.
15. The Postol debacle was a major embarrassment for @SGSJournal but rather than admit fault w the failure of his computer model or his misunderstanding of the persistence of Sarin in open environments he doubled down + despite his multiple screw ups Grayzone platformed him again
16. Grayzone is known the world over as a go-to propaganda source for authoritarian governments. This is not exactly well hidden as Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro presented Grayzone staff w the same sword that he gave noted democrat Tayyip Erdogan.
.17 It should come as no surprise that Grayzone has been eagerly trying to downplay the very credible reports that China is running internment camps targeting the Muslim Uyghur minority. They have even described the pogram, in positive terms google.com/amp/amp.abc.ne…
.18 The Chinese government policy of internment against indigenous peoples is well documented and has been referenced by everyone from Mehdi Hassan to Bernie Sanders.
.19 It should come as no surprise that Grayzone has become a favorite outlet for Chinese officials trying to whitewash their well-documented crimes. @zlj517 and @SpokespersonCHN have both shared Grayzone’s whitewash of their state’s war against indigenous rights.
.20 It’s easy to dismiss this as niche propaganda for officials of a corrupt state but the disinformation that has been shared by these state officials in the wake of the Coronavirus should give anyone who takes Grayzone seriously pause. Grayzone has even praised China’s response
.21 These same propaganda officers of the Chinese state have been sharing a doctored video of Italians supposedly “thanking China” for their response to Coronavirus. They have also been sharing wild conspiracy theories from Global Research + claiming the US is behind the outbreak
.22 A key lesson I’d draw from this is that it’s lazy to dispute the authenticity of human suffering from afar, this is the purpose that outlets like Grazyzone + @21WIRE serve. When the crisis is suddenly closer to home it should be a wake up call for whose Bullshit u can trust
.23 if u take the kind of claims made against Syrian civilians for inadequate DIY masks or responding w confusion to terrible circumstances seriously, then u should take this as a chance to stop treating them as test subjects + start disregarding mainstream reports on Coronavirus
Here is the correct screenshot
.24 It’s painfully obvious from recent events that the knee-jerk anti-science pro-authoritarian content produced by @TheGrayzoneNews is laughable + flies in the face of scientific consensus + historical fact. These people r wrong about literally everything axios.com/timeline-the-e…
.25 Surprise Surprise, @ClarkeMicah - who @Tareq_Haddad vouched for as a legitimate authority on the Douma Chlorine attack is engaging in his own pseudoscientific “analysis” of the corona spread. Remember he doesn’t believe in Evolution or Climate Change.
.26 @OANN is one of Trump’s favorite outlets. Notorious for unhinged softball questions at White House press conferences, they claimed there was no 2018 Chlorine attack in Douma + were praised by Russia. They r spreading dangerous COVID19 disinformation.
.27 Disinfo coming from @OANN apparently includes the notion, referenced by Okeechobee County Commissioner Bryant Culpepper in Florida, that a blow dryer can be used in ur nose to cure COVID19 he, specifically references OANN as a “pretty reliable source.”
.28 It turns out that @OANN has also been spreading a widely debunked conspiracy theory that the disease originated in a US lab. Also a screen grab from their segment on this claiming to show a “source” is from 2001 a Space Odyssey for some reason 🤷♂️
.29 Finally after wading through a mind-numbing torrent of other bullshit we can talk about @PiersRobinson1 + @Tim_Hayward_ + the “Working Group on Syrian Propaganda”
.30 the Working Group served as a conduit for a bafflingly inaccurate memo authored, w/o authorization or access to full evidence, by former OPCW liaison officer Ian Henderson. The memo got simple measurements + info on explosions + corrosion wrong
.31 The Working Group greatly exaggerated Henderson’s role at OPCW as he only had access to very limited evidence, wasn’t a Fact Finding Team member, + didn’t work at the OPCW throughout most of their Douma investigation. Here’s a link to OPCW’s response opcw.org/media-centre/n…
.32 The Working Group also leaked claims from a 2nd OPCW employee that Chlorine in Douma was naturally occurring. This thesis is completely undermined by an interim OPCW Douma report leaked by Wikileaks that clearly implies Chlorine was used as a weapon
.33 This brings us to what Working Group members have been saying about COVID19. It seems @PiersRobinson1 supports @ClarkeMicah + his deranged claims that self-quarantine is a threat to western civilization. He’s also sharing a dubious clip from a doctor against quarantine.
.34 @Tim_Hayward_ retweeted @TheOliverStone w an absurd bioweapon Corona theory. He seems to take Dr. Sucharit Bhakdi + his “air pollution caused this do don’t quarantine” talk seriously... yikes 😬
.35) Moving along we have @Thomas_Binder - an actual practicing doctor who incorrectly claimed Syrian medical staff used an EEG incorrectly, his tweet got 12,000 retweets. He admitted his error which garnered him 22 retweets. This guy is a major purveyor truly bizarre theories
.36) Binder claims to be currently working as a doctor in Switzerland, which I think is likely true. This makes it even scarier that he’s been sharing videos that promote conspiracy theories about COVID19. Specifically he shared James Corbett’s video implying it’s a bioweapon.
.37) In case you don’t know who James Corbett is, he’s a well-known conspiracy theorists who claims Hitler was Jewish and a member, as well as an agent for, the Rothschild family. 🤦♂️
.38) It’s unclear what Binder is trying to imply w his frantic conspiracy Tweeting but he seems to think COVID19 is some kind of bioweapon/conspiracy. He’s appears critical of social distancing. It’s hard to make sense of what he actually believes but he’s an MD spreading disinfo
.39) Moving back to @TheGrayzoneNews Instead of hosting a scientist or a doctor @BenjaminNorton + @MaxBlumenthal hosted Pepe Escobar on their @Moderate_Rebels podcast. Escobar recently wrote an absurd piece implying COVID19 is a US bioweapon based on debunked claims + disinfo
.40) Beyond the stupidity of implying COVID19 was deliberately deployed by the US, Escobar even went so far as to include a conspiracy theory linking Bill Gates to the global pandemic because medical professionals funded by Gates have tried to model pandemic responses.
.41) Needless to say the “Bill Gates has a hand in COVID19” theory is complete BS. It’s been circulating on Qanon message boards + is so idiotic that it’s been identified by @mmfa as a right wing disinfo. Still @MaxBlumenthal + @anyaparampil ran w it 🤷♂️ mediamatters.org/coronavirus-co…
.42) Galaxy-brained attempts to link COVID19 to Bill Gates r like blaming firefighters for all fires because the coincidence that they know things could catch fire “is too exquisite.” Ironically @MaxBlumenthal once wrote for @mmfa that identified his latest theory as horse shit.
.43) It’s noteworthy that Blumenthal once mocked 9-11 truthers on @mmfa yet today he is copying Qanon conspiracy theories. He also couldn’t resist taking a swipe at Syria’s White Helmets, claiming their attempts to fight COVID19 + disinfect camps r a “regime change” plot.
.44) Speaking of the idiotic theory that Bill Gates created COVID19, here’s a cartoon from the racist paranoiac Ben Garrison promoting this idiotic notion along w several other MAGA accounts promoting it.
.45) Speaking of @TheGrayzoneNews Ted Postol + @aaronjmate - here is the far right pro-Assad Youtuber Maram Sulsi, an infowars contributor who appeared on David Duke’s podcast promoting the “Bill Gates Theory.” This is the person Ted Postol trusted to do Ghouta Chemistry research
.46) It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that @21WIRE - a website that endorses Chemtrail theories + claims Taylor swift is part of a satanic mind-control plot currently promotes outliers claiming COVID19 isn’t dangerous. Realities on the ground have quickly debunked their BS
.47) Sadly I’m updating this yet again as @ClarkeMicah continues to push COVID19 disinfo, insisting social distancing is Orwellian + unneeded as the pandemic kills hundreds per day in my home city of NY. Good on @DrHilaryJones for calling out his BS!
.48) Looks like @Tareq_Haddad is still pushing for scientific consensus to be ignored in the midst of astonishing casualties. It’s really hard to picture this level of callousness as I sit in my apartment listening to sirens wailing all over NYC + hear horror stories from doctors
