Ben Collins Profile picture
Mar 31 12 tweets 5 min read Twitter logo Read on Twitter
So, as you may know, I've taken some time off and I've come back with an exclusive story — and a sentence I never thought I'd have to write.
She #DiedSuddenly.
New from me:

On the internet, she #DiedSuddenly. In real life, she's very much still alive.

nbcnews.com/tech/misinform…
Every few weeks, #DiedSuddenly trends. It tries to attach every public medical event to the COVID vaccine.

It's great branding for the anti-vaccine movement, tied to the viral film Died Suddenly. It's also not true.
Died Suddenly's trailer alone has just... a bunch of living people in it, whose medical events had nothing to do with the vaccine.

In the trailer of Died Suddenly, Keyontae Johnson passes out shortly after a man says "the dead can't speak for themselves."
Not only is Keyontae Johnson alive, his team just made the Elite 8 and he's projected NBA Draft pick.

Despite what's implied in Died Suddenly, he passed out before the vaccine was even officially available in the US.
The ultimate proof that nothing matters in the Died Suddenly-verse?

The comedian Heather McDonald passed out on stage last February. She was fine within days and cranked out a podcast to let everyone know. It didn't matter to antivaxxers, some of whom still believe she's dead.
Joe Rogan brought up Heather McDonald's fainting spell on his podcast, calling it "Instant Pharma."

McDonald had known Rogan for years and DM'd him asking him to go on his show to clear things up. He just didn't respond.
There's no widespread extinction event attributed to the COVID vaccine, so antivaxxers are now pivoting.

The producer of Died Suddenly is now alleging the vaccine makes your "penis rot off." He also claims Damar Hamlin and maybe John Fetterman have been replaced by body doubles.
All of this sounds stupid, but it has real-life impact.

Rep. Paul Gosar went on Stew Peters' show this month, talking over a scroll about DiedSuddenly.

An Idaho state lawmaker—and fan of Died Suddenly—introduced legislation this month to outlaw administering MRNA vaccines.
The whole story proved to me how futile combatting vaccine lies is.

This woman is old fashioned, Hollywood FAMOUS and people still think she's dead because anti-vaxxers pushing #DiedSuddenly have immense power.

It was a wake-up call. Hope you read it.

nbcnews.com/tech/misinform…
(Also, a fun lil' documentary about this is coming soon on YouTube with @AndrewJStern. You should follow him. He's a lovely young man.)

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More from @oneunderscore__

Apr 1
Ian, that article is about an event at a restaurant at a college. What’s it like having a big ol’ bowl of soup where your brain should be?
It’s possible “community college” means something else in Malaysia, where Ian lives and has lived the entire time he’s been an American right-wing commentator. If so, apologies!
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New from @JoYurcaba + @erikjhortiz + me:

Here's what is ACTUALLY known about the Nashville suspect's motive and gender identity.

After days of the far-right seeking—or inventing—ties to a trans rights campaign, the evidence simply isn't there yet.
nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-ou…
The Nashville shooting suspect left a manifesto that, unlike typical white supremacist mass shooters in the Terrorgram movement, was not posted online.

Many are understandably trying to get Nashville police to unseal it to reveal a potential motive.

nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-ou…
NBC News talked to six people who knew the Nashville shooter and the suspect did not directly come out to them as trans or talk about gender identity.

(It's not uncommon for trans people to come out to only certain people in their lives—or at all.)
nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-ou…
Read 8 tweets
Mar 24
New and exclusive from me + @jonathan4ny + @ryanjreilly:

We spent the week working with extremism researchers, who warned Alvin Bragg was being targeted with threats to “take him out” on pro-Trump forums.

Bragg just received a letter with white powder.

nbcnews.com/politics/donal…
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nbcnews.com/politics/donal…
Read 4 tweets
Mar 20
I’m at the pro-Trump protest put on by the NY Young Republicans Club. Not a joke, there are more reporters here than Trump supporters.

This was supposed to be the big one.
It’s just a bunch of cameras taking picture of a guy who is putting on a rat suit next to a guitar with the words Hang Fauci on it. This was supposed to start a half hour ago.
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Read 11 tweets
Mar 16
The No. 1 way to permanently and irreparably nuke your chances with the Gen Z electorate is to be the party that takes credit for banning TikTok.

And, remember, they're going to outlive us all.
I don't know how to navigate the TikTok situation in practical terms, which is deeply complicated.

A lot of the security issues are overhyped and tied into a much larger geopolitical game, but the hidden keystroke logging being real made is very bad.
nytimes.com/2022/08/19/tec…
You ban TikTok, or force a sale that effectively neuters the algorithm, you open up a political Pandora's box that you cannot contain or predict. It'd be like if George HW Bush banned MTV x 10,000. You're not gonna hear the end of it, even if it's the right thing to do.
Read 4 tweets

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