Thread by @karamballes

1/ The day mass testing in schools was announced I started raising concerns.

The government knew this wasn't an appropriate use and was actually dangerous, we know they'd been warned about this, yet they decided to continue

amp.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan…

2/ SAGE NERVTAG said no
The manufacturer said no
The regulator said no
NHS said no to this as a replacement to isolation
Experts working in testing said no

So why did the DfE say yes?

3/ Original thread here.
This was more PR exercise rather than PH initiative.

DfE prioritised reducing isolation in exchange for increasing the risk of isolation.

Some really twisted logic going on here, whats the thought process going on behind this?

https://twitter.com/karamballes/status/1338951923089764355?s=19

4/ in December the government
was panicking, the false platitudes
they gave the public that schools
were safe and weren't contributing
to transmission were falling apart.

The disruption from outbreaks and isolations in education were becoming impossible to ignore.

5/ DfE still refusing to answer FOIs on education worker sickness and death figures

The release of attendance figures for the final week of term was delayed until this week when they planned to have schools fully back.
The report shows increasing disruption from outbreaks.

6/ That's why I think this is PR not PH, Hancock had just said school age students were driving transmission in the South East, they needed a way to keep up the pretence that schools are "covid secure" when they clearly aren't.

LFTs were an imaginary magic bullet, a dud one

7/ So far every government minister has dismissed concerns about the reliability of LFTs, Labour didn't raise any concerns for best part of a month, even now they arent strong enough on this issue, finally more of the media this week have started pushing this up the agenda.

8/ We all need to seriously question the governments attitude and motives to schools and covid.

Gross negligence, corporate manslaughter, organisational abuse are all potential charges against their total disregard for the safety of the school population and our communities

9/ We also need to question those who tried to gaslight us on risk, transmission and LFTs in schools.

Why would anyone willfully ignore genuine concerns raised by the medical community?

No suprise who the DfE cheerleaders were⬇️

https://twitter.com/karamballes/status/1341766657866391561?s=19

10/ The DfE values the perception of safety more than the reality. Considering the cost of using LFTs across education for 6 months+, it would probably be cheaper to invest in better ventilation which is one of the most effective measures available.
Why invest in PR not safety?

11/ Unwillingness to admit a mistake?
Incompetence?
Pandering to skeptic lobbyists and backbenchers who don't want any safety measures in schools?

Most the world is still trying to work out why we don't have masks in classrooms

Did party politics overide public safety?

12/ Today I saw a story saying Johnson had been warned of a leadership challenge if lockdown doesn't end in February, preferably earlier.
Powerful group the paper said, which ones?

The Covid Recovery Group

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID_Rec…

13/ Just like the ERG was the parliamentary wing of Vote Leave, a party within the party, the CRG is the parliamentary wing of the Covid Skeptics, where the interests of corporate lobbyists overlap with alt-right culture warriors

They've embraced the GBD
cityam.com/fifty-rebel-to…

14/ Although Covid shouldn't be politically Left or Right, the alt-right has sought to sieze on and exploit skepticism and denial, division and distrust is what they thrive on.

In April I explained how they would develop a narrative, full thread here⬇️

https://twitter.com/karamballes/status/1247678149778866178?s=19

15/ In summary, generate alternative facts,promote their own alternative experts, exploit the kind of media balance that portrays the opinions of Toby Young as equal to an experienced scientist, create a fog of disinformation sowing division until trust is emotive and tribalised.

16/ Create a hydra of organisations to give their voice a hundred mouthpieces which are amplified by trolls and bots,
The messaging repeated by client journalists and the ever reliable shock jocks.

And plenty of astroturfing with interesting links

https://twitter.com/UptonAndrea/status/1344978016741560320?s=19

17/ So we know Johnson originally went for "herd immunity" and was forced into a lockdown, they originally intended to keep education regardless of infections.
Skeptic experts spring up, CRG, meetings with lobbyists,media, its clear there's great pressure on him to follow GBD

18/ The corruption around covid contracts alone would be bad enough, but the methods and nature of the skeptics secretive backroom lobbying and public disinformation campaigns are pretty damn sinister.

Corporate skeptics are just putting their wealth above our health

19/ Its how the far right seeks to exploit skepticism that's more worrying, though you have to question the wisdom of the shock jocks and lobbyists who have decided to climb aboard this run away train.

Dark money is being spoken about again
bylinetimes.com/2021/01/12/lbc…

20/ If you have seen the conspiracy theory mentioned above, it sounds like Qanon, Byline is reporting about dark money, definitely a whiff of Bannon just like other new skeptic

Very detailed look at the letter, those involved and the fall out⬇️

https://twitter.com/sundersays/status/1348412619858849792?s=19

21/ While electorally Bannons efforts to support groups has failed, I think the past year has been a success at trying to franchise out Qanon via skepticism and denial

euractiv.com/section/politi…

22/ Seeing exactly the same strategy being used in Germany.

https://twitter.com/karamballes/status/1344983739911327745?s=19

23/ Quite a few people are digging up interesting things whilst much of the media gives these groups and individuals a platform without proper scrutiny.

https://twitter.com/HBertinelli1/status/1344995624027119621?s=19

24/ I know people working in education who feel like their safety concerns have been systematically gaslit.

What does worry me is that there will be those around Johnson who have pushed for "Herd immunity"/GBD, and schools are essential to that strategy

https://twitter.com/PolitWare/status/1349758236531027970?s=19

25/ The Netherlands, schools to aid transmission?

https://twitter.com/DrZoeHyde/status/1321017142578352129?s=19

26/ The lack of any strategy, the inability to answer simple questions, the choice of language, does seem to suggest to many that the government isn't paying much attention to SAGE and and being influenced by those pushing for GBD

https://twitter.com/karamballes/status/1347637327376609286?s=19

27/ So you can see why I question the governments decision to give us LFTs which theyve been warned repeatedly might increase transmission, whilst still refusing to allow the basic safety measures most countries have like masks in classrooms and investment in ventilation

28/ As I was writing this the thread below popped up in my feed.

READ IT

Can we trust this government to be honest with us?

https://twitter.com/dgurdasani1/status/1349810736390955008?s=19

29/ And this is the greatest threat of dishonesty and corruption in parliament and media disinformation, eventually it undermines democracy,division and distrust creates fertile ground for the far right to plant their conspiracy theories.

Learn from the US's mistakes

29/29

As if to prove the gaslighting will continue, take a look at the DfEs choice of witnesses and evidence collection on the science of schools being included in lockdown.

Feels like they've picked the people who will give the answers they want
#edutwitter

https://twitter.com/karamballes/status/1350093887570898945?s=19