Thread by @dburghart

Wondering where the anti-mask fervor is generated? The lastest @IREHR data on far-right groups opposed to #COVID19 restrictions found 227 groups with 254,534 members explicitly dedicated to the anti-mask cause.

irehr.org/covid19updates…

This includes Facebook groups like "Masks Are A Choice - Orange County", "MASKS ARE FOR THE SHEEP AND THE SLAVES OF THE ZIONIST JEWS!" and "People against wearing masks! AKA, we're not sheep!"

Of 1114 groups on the list, 227 are explicitly anti-mask focused. They incubate much of the anti-mask propaganda that gets pumped into the larger constellation of "#reopen" groups (814 groups, 2.5 million members), then fed into the mainstream.

The #COVID19 deniers play a similar role, though on a smaller scale. @IREHR tracked 15 different groups that focus on #COVID19 as a hoax, with 6,172 members. These groups have pushed denialist propaganda into the "#Reopen" groups which then flows to the mainstream.