I don’t think it’s widely appreciated yet just how much COVID disinformation is an assault on democracy. COVID conspiracy theories were the best recruitment tool for the far right in decades. They’ve left us damaged—undermined faith in our governing institutions, science, and modern medicine. - ThreadSky

walkerbragman.bsky.social • 1 day ago

I don’t think it’s widely appreciated yet just how much COVID disinformation is an assault on democracy.

COVID conspiracy theories were the best recruitment tool for the far right in decades.

They’ve left us damaged—undermined faith in our governing institutions, science, and modern medicine.

Comments

jvipondmd.bsky.social•1 day ago

@caulfieldtim.bsky.social

riemerville.bsky.social•1 day ago

MAGA is horrific, but Biden wasn’t much better publicly. He declared the pandemic over prematurely and barely mentioned Long Covid (20M adults, 5M kids & counting deserved a warning).

Privately, he put some things in place,not enough.

We aren’t even close to being out of the woods🥺

openawindow.bsky.social•1 day ago

He declared the emergency over. That’s not the pandemic.

riemerville.bsky.social•1 day ago

The national emergency was in 2023. ‘Pandemic over was in 2022.
‘Closer than ever in ending the pandemic’ was 2021.
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/19/biden-pandemic-over-covid-team-response-00057649

zarathenurse.bsky.social•1 day ago

Declaring it over at that point was a big mistake. Wasn’t that even before Omicron hit?

riemerville.bsky.social•1 day ago

Sept 2022. I got Omicron in May of 2022 and it disabled me

walkerbragman.bsky.social•1 day ago

First declaration that it was ending was July 4, 2021.

riemerville.bsky.social•1 day ago

Oh, that’s right!

gakoid.bsky.social•1 day ago

Exacerbated by Facebook.

amandalhu.bsky.social•1 day ago

Mark’s experience the other day was a perfect example of this: https://bsky.app/profile/mark-ungrin.bsky.social/post/3ljoenhnbks2z

flannerydean.bsky.social•1 day ago

This is/was such a crucial overlooked insight. The way disinformation discussions also allow cover for a lack of accountability with official sources.

gabrielbauman.com•1 day ago

The worst part is, it turns out public health is mostly about getting people to work with “acceptable” attrition rates, not protecting individuals or eradicating disease

dj1au.bsky.social•1 day ago

It was about ensuring hospitals were able to cope. Nothing else mattered.

gabrielbauman.com•1 day ago

It was more about hiding the real number of cases, limiting data people could use to understand severity and impact of infection, making health a “personal choice” to appease antivaxxer loudmouths, and trying to make masks go away as fast as possible. Zero leadership. The pandemic continues.

walkerbragman.bsky.social•1 day ago

Of course, it’s rooted in the fact that the pandemic demonstrated perfectly and plainly that the conservative project of markets first, disempowered labor, and shrinking government was not suited to 21st Century problems.

COVID relief programs proved government can work.

They want us to forget.

walkerbragman.bsky.social•1 day ago

COVID was the first time the balance of power between labor and capital shifted—even slightly. Bc the “essential” workers weren’t those in C-suites.

They want us to forget.

walkerbragman.bsky.social•1 day ago

Accurately recalling the pandemic, rejecting conspiracy theories and innuendo, is a radical act of solidarity today.

It shouldn’t be.

andrearovenski.bsky.social•1 day ago

agree completely except for the past-tense language. the ongoing ignorance as measles and bird flu ramps up that things are getting worse by the week is a big hurdle to overcome, but we shouldn't stoop to saying things like "recalling" or "was".

jashsf.bsky.social•1 day ago

That anti vaxxer bullshit was enabled by everything that happened during covid. Masking. Closures. Covid vaccines and proof of them. Americans just aren’t capable of caring abbot anyone but themselves. We are the worst people on the planet.

andrearovenski.bsky.social•1 day ago

is enabled by everything that's happening, in my view. but a crucial aspect of the conspiracy's growing was that governments told everyone to get vaccinated and immediately unmask, even though the vaccines require annual upkeep (ideally every 6/mo) to be effective. last year's uptake was 20%.

walkerbragman.bsky.social•1 day ago

I will add here that part of the reason the right was so successful Is the disengagement of the last administration—the unwillingness to go to the mat for public health and science.

Normalization of COVID got us here.

samhalpert.bsky.social•1 day ago

I would love to have a handbill explaining this point to the scientific community generally to distribute at “save our sciences” protests.

walkerbragman.bsky.social•1 day ago

I’m working on a book, but you’ll be waiting a while

k810mt.bsky.social•1 day ago

I've been following you for years on Twitter and can count on you to bring a unique point of view to the conversation that gets people thinking. How refreshing. Thank you for sharing You with the rest of us Walker. Blessings, Kate M.

walkerbragman.bsky.social•1 day ago

If you’re interested, check this piece out that I wrote with Julia Doubleday (whose takes are always worth a read):

https://www.accountabilityjournalism.org/insights/how-covid-helped-trump-win

filipvanevski.bsky.social•1 day ago

Once we oust the fascists I certainly don't want to go back to the status quo. Democrats may not have sought to overthrow our previous government, but they didn't have to in order to prioritize donors over their constituents.

Money has to be removed from politics if we're serious about democracy.

embers7.bsky.social•1 day ago

But all the political spectrum, even labor unions fell into that category of denialism, minimization, and collaboration with bullying-driven unmasking peer-pressure, and against any measure of prevention, globally and even to the core of social healthcare.

jashsf.bsky.social•1 day ago

I have read people posit that ending those programs kept people at home and elected Trump too. As if there was any political will in DC to keep them going.

walkerbragman.bsky.social•1 day ago

I believe that it did. I also think the lack of will in DC is telling

jashsf.bsky.social•1 day ago

Did it ever come up for a vote?

walkerbragman.bsky.social•1 day ago

Relief started expiring in the summer of 2021. There was some effort to extend the eviction moratorium. Also to save the child tax credit after it expired later.

Otherwise relief was allowed to lapse pretty quietly. And then inflation hit.

jashsf.bsky.social•1 day ago

The perfect storm. No incumbent party was going to survive that. Incredible and amazing what Kamala and Harris did to get within 230k votes in 3 swing states.

peptostate.bsky.social•1 day ago

Before they overran the Canadian capital in 2022, the same "convoy" organizers had tried a similar convoy in 2019, organized around pro-pipeline and anti carbon tax sentiments. It was way less successful. COVID conspiracies gave them the boost they needed in 2022.

ohweebeasties.bsky.social•1 day ago

I ran into it on here the other day, someone arguing with me about natural immunity and remedies even though I am a public health researcher. Frustrating.

riemerville.bsky.social•1 day ago

Imagine suffering with Long Covid for nearly three years-barely able to ride in a car-and then someone tells me it’s all a hoax

kathrynmathias.bsky.social•1 day ago

📌 Covid

openawindow.bsky.social•1 day ago

And sick/injured

jeffwaldorf.bsky.social•1 day ago

I agree. So many brains were broken.

mjofla.bsky.social•1 day ago

This and how capitalism works, I think, is the most important thing I can explain to my republican (maga) brother. Can't believe we have the same parents.

manderleygeorgia.bsky.social•16 hours ago

📌

liberalfederalism.bsky.social•1 day ago

46% of the electorate is unpersuadable. There is no magic messaging that will bring them back.

davidmichaelmc9.bsky.social•1 day ago

We understand trends in awareness.

Speeding up quickly.

You are putting powerful truths together in groups and, if it continues, you easily defeat them.

If you don't get nuked, things are looking downfully up.

Their Ai real time monitoring/forecasting pose sincere risk.

Wake up faster.

stanrmitchell.com•4 hours ago

So true. Thanks for making this point.
📌

jashsf.bsky.social•1 day ago

Thank you. Spot. Fucking. On. Brain fog post Covid elected Trump again. They all memory holed their dead relatives from his incompetence.

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