Thread by @gorskon

Yep. This is exactly what I’ve been saying since the pandemic began. Anyone who’s followed the antivaccine movement can immediately spot the similarities between #COVID19 denial and antivax disinformation.

https://twitter.com/rmcarpiano/status/1328736654283051008

The only change I’d make is one of emphasis. The antivaccine movement is based at its heart on a conspiracy theory that vaccines are harmful/don’t work but “they” (CDC, medical profession, big pharma, etc.) are “suppressing” that forbidden knowledge.

#COVID19 denial is based on a similar conspiracy theory that COVID is engineered/not that deadly/plot to impose vaccination, but that “they” (CDC, deep state, public health infrastructure, etc.) are “suppressing” that knowledge.

The examples in the antivax world are numerous. Indeed, @delbigtree and @DrWakefield’s VAXXED was based on the #CDCwhistleblower conspiracy theory, which claimed that the CDC was covering up evidence that MMR increased the risk of autism in African-American boys.

Before that, in 2005, @RobertKennedyJr promoted the Simpsonwood conspiracy theory that claimed that—you guessed it!—the CDC covered up evidence that thimerosal in vaccines caused autism.

Indeed, pretty much all science denial is rooted in conspiracy theories in which scientists are portrayed as “suppressing” evidence supporting their denial. /end

Oh, one other thing. I don’t know if I I could’ve subjected myself to so many hours of @delbigtree without risking alcohol poisoning from the amount of scotch that would’ve been required to endure his ranting. So kudos to @doritmi and @aetiology for their constitutions.😂

And I say this as someone who watched @vaxxedthemovie and both @plandemicseries movies.😂