Thread by @NateB_Panic

The manipulation of public opinion on covid has been intense & successful. Most ppl I know believe 3-6 of these. They're all lies 🧵

1. Lockdowns weakened immune systems
2. Like a cold/flu
3. Kids don't spread it
4. It's seasonal
5. Masks don't work
6. No one dies of covid now

1. "Lockdowns weakened immune systems." Lack of exposure to viruses cannot weaken an immune system because that's not how an immune system works

https://twitter.com/VickiMahony/status/1621618165242548224

2. "Its like a cold/flu." Covid is a systemic disease. The virus attacks your blood vessels and can therefore invade every organ in your body. It has so many way of damaging your body it could hardly be less like a common cold coronavirus

scitechdaily.com/covid-19-is-a-…

3. "Kids can't spread it." Not only can kids catch it and spread it, more and more research confirms they are actually the primary vector

https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1664717571503927297?s=20

4a. "It's seasonal." Two of Australia's worst death peaks came in summer. The UK's summer 2022 death peak was worse than this winter just gone

4b. A comparison of covid vs flu hospitalisation rates in England from Oct 2022 to March 2023 showing covid peaks in every season

5. "Masks don't work." A lie repeated across the world, especially in right-wing media. Of course masks work. They've been used in a variety of professional settings, including clinical, for decades. But if you need a study, there are plenty

https://twitter.com/CrabbBrendan/status/1532843802997559296?s=20

6. "No one dies of covid now." In May in the UK nearly 1,400 people had covid listed on their death certificate, which means it was deemed a contributing factor in their death

The media enabled these lies and we have to keep calling them out because these lies are not inconsequential. They are literally life or death. Here are some media headlines repeating these lies

Kids are known vectors for every other virus but not covid? This one was always such an incredible con.

From June 2021. The UK has had approximately 7 waves since then, with some of the worst coming in summer

Wrong. There is no innate mechanism that means a virus must always evolve to cause less serious disease.

The article says "for most people, covid symptoms are getting pretty close to other seasonal viruses." The mistake is equating symptoms with the disease

The Guardian's most recent covid article is a minimising affair, scolding those who name new variants, implying covid is not that dangerous any more and suggesting a cost benefit analysis. "We need a conversation about how much to spend to prevent death." theguardian.com/world/2023/may…

Worth saying the reason people believe 6 is the inverse of why they believe they others. There's no media coverage any more of covid deaths, so people assume no one dies of covid

If people are looking for an explanation as to why this is happening, you can check out the link in my bio where I have a few articles. Tldr: capitalist incentives, institutionalised media, cognitive biases, trauma, social constructions of reality, lack of alternatives to normal