COVID-19 misinformation in Canada

Last updated

This timeline includes entries on the spread of COVID-19 misinformation and conspiracy theories related to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. This includes investigations into the origin of COVID-19, and the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 which is caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2. Social media apps and platforms, including Facebook, TikTok, Telegram, and YouTube, have contributed to the spread of misinformation. The Canadian Anti-Hate Network (CAHN) reported that conspiracy theories related to COVID-19 began on "day one". [1] CAHN reported on March 16, 2020, that far-right groups in Canada were taking advantage of the climate of anxiety and fear surrounding COVID, to recycle variations of conspiracies from the 1990s, that people had shared over shortwave radio. [1] COVID-19 disinformation is intentional and seeks to create uncertainty and confusion. But most of the misinformation is shared online unintentionally by enthusiastic participants who are politically active. [2]

Contents

Overview

The 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum and the 2016 United States presidential election highlighted the way in which digital technologies, such as "social media and microblogging platforms" [3] had changed the way in which people consumed and responded to the news, [3] [4] bringing in the period of post-truth. [3]

Six Canadian researchers who undertook a large-scale detailed case study of Canada based on a "massive data set of Canadian Twitter users" found that most COVID-19 misinformation shared by Canadian Twitter accounts, was retweeted from accounts in the United States. [2] They found that the infodemic of misinformation, disinformation and conspiracy theories, which includes medical advice from unreliable sources, and claims that the severity and spread of COVID-19 had been exaggerated, did not stop at national borders. Canadians who had more exposure to United States-based Twitter accounts, were more likely to post COVID-19 misinformation and misperceptions. [2] [5] COVID-19 disinformation is intentional and seeks to create uncertainty and confusion. But most of the misinformation is shared online unintentionally by enthusiastic participants who are politically active, in what is called the "paradox of participation". [2]

One the early conspiracy theories was that COVID-19 was a United Nations' plan to eliminate about 90% of the global population, [1] which is a variation on the UN Agenda 21 conspiracy theories spread by the John Birch Society, Glenn Beck, Ted Cruz in the 2010s. [6] [7] On his TV and radio broadcasts, Beck cautioned that the 1992 United Nations Agenda 21 sustainability plan was a disguised conspiracy to cut the world population by 85%, and a move towards totalitarian "government control on a global level". [6] [8] [lower-alpha 1]

2019

The Digital Citizen Initiative was launched by Canadian Heritage to combat online disinformation by encouraging critical thinking. [9] In September 2019, CBC/Radio-Canada joined the Trusted News Initiative, intended to develop tools to assist news industry partners in "moving quickly and collectively to undermine disinformation before it can take hold." [10] [11]

2020

In the early months of the pandemic, 96% of Canadians viewed content that they thought was either "misleading, false or inaccurate". [12]

2021

2022

See also

Notes

  1. The United Nations Agenda 21, non-binding action plan of the United Nations with regard to sustainable development was a product of the Earth Summit (UN Conference on Environment and Development) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992.
  2. Grace Church's founder, John MacArthur, is one the "most successful evangelical preachers" in the United States. His megachurch, Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, Los Angeles, has 7,000 congregants. MacArthur, who had followed public health guidelines during the first weeks of their implementation, changed his approach by April 28, 2020. He began to echo the conservative media and President Donald Trump, saying that COVID-19 was just a flu that the media was "overhyping". He said it was a government ploy to control Christians. The data were wrong regarding the number of people who had died from COVID.
  3. MacArthur held indoor services with thousands in attendance in defiance of public health orders. In an August 30, 2020 sermon he told his congregation that Satan was behind a virus of deception that he had let loose in the world.
  4. The anti-vaccine Canadian Covid Care Alliance (CCCA) was founded by Ira Bernstein, Jennifer Hibberd, a dentist and David Ross, who is an accountant in c. May 2021. The CCCA invited doctors and scientists to become new members. The CCCA promotes the use of the drug used on animals to treat parasites, ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19, in spite of "overwhelming research" demonstrating that it does not work. CCCA video containing false claims about vaccine safety, "The Pfizer Inoculations For COVID-19 – More Harm Than Good" was viewed over 800,000 times. By March 2022, the Ontario College of Physicians was investigating Bernstein.
  5. The CBC News article received support from Journalists for Human Rights' Misinformation Project with funding from the McConnell Foundation, the Rossy Foundation and the Trottier Foundation.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Del Bigtree</span> American television producer and anti-vaccination activist

Del Matthew Bigtree is an American television and film producer who is the CEO of the anti-vaccination group Informed Consent Action Network. He produced the film Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe, based on the discredited opinions of Andrew Wakefield and alleges an unsubstantiated connection between vaccines and autism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 misinformation</span> False or misleading virus information

False information, including intentional disinformation and conspiracy theories, about the scale of the COVID-19 pandemic and the origin, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease has been spread through social media, text messaging, and mass media. False information has been propagated by celebrities, politicians, and other prominent public figures. Many countries have passed laws against "fake news", and thousands of people have been arrested for spreading COVID-19 misinformation. The spread of COVID-19 misinformation by governments has also been significant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Media coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic</span> Aspect of viral outbreak

Media coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic has varied by country, time period and media outlet. News media has simultaneously kept viewers informed about current events related to the pandemic, and contributed to misinformation or fake news.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelly Brogan</span> American psychiatrist and alternative medicine practitioner

Kelly Brogan is an American author of books on alternative medicine who has promoted conspiracy theories and misinformation about discredited medical hypotheses.

Plandemic is a trilogy of conspiracy theory films produced by Mikki Willis, promoting misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic. They feature Judy Mikovits, a discredited American researcher and prominent anti-vaccine activist. The first video, Plandemic: The Hidden Agenda Behind Covid-19, was released on May 4, 2020, under Willis' production company Elevate Films. The second film, Plandemic Indoctornation, which includes more interviewees, was released on August 18 by Brian Rose's distributor of conspiracy theory related films, London Real. Later on June 3, 2023, Plandemic 3: The Great Awakening was released on The Highwire, a website devoted to conspiracy theories run by anti-vaccine activist Del Bigtree.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">America's Frontline Doctors</span> Right wing, anti-science political group

America's Frontline Doctors (AFLDS) is an American right-wing political organization. Affiliated with Tea Party Patriots co-founder Jenny Beth Martin and publicly led by Simone Gold, the group is opposed to measures intended to control the COVID-19 pandemic, such as business closures, stay-at-home orders, and vaccination. The group promotes falsehoods about the COVID-19 pandemic and COVID-19 vaccines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 misinformation by governments</span> False or misleading virus information

During the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, many people began to spread false or un-confirmed data and information. This included politicians and other government officials from administrations in several countries. Misinformation about the virus includes its origin, how it spreads, and methods of preventing and curing the disease. Some downplayed the threat of the pandemic, and made false statements about preventative measures, death rates and testing within their own countries. Some have also spread COVID-19 vaccine misinformation. Changing policies also created confusion and contributed to the spread of misinformation. For example, the World Health Organization (WHO) originally discouraged use of face masks by the general public in early 2020, advising "If you are healthy, you only need to wear a mask if you are taking care of a person with suspected 2019-nCoV infection," although the WHO later changed their advice to encourage public wearing of face masks.

The Chinese government has actively engaged in disinformation to downplay the emergence of COVID-19 in China and manipulate information about its spread around the world. The government also detained whistleblowers and journalists claiming they were spreading rumors when they were publicly raising concerns about people being hospitalized for a "mysterious illness" resembling SARS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pierre Kory</span> American physician

Pierre Kory is an American critical care physician who gained attention during the COVID-19 pandemic for advocating widespread off-label use of certain drugs as treatments for COVID-19, as president and co-founder of the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC). Kory testified twice to the U.S. Senate regarding COVID-19. During his testimony in December 2020, Kory erroneously claimed that the antiparasitic medication ivermectin was a "wonder drug" with "miraculous effectiveness" against COVID-19.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ty Bollinger</span> American alternative medicine advocate

Ty Bollinger is an American author and conspiracy theorist who disseminates misinformation about cancer treatments, anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, unproven cures, alternative medicine treatments for cancer and vaccine-preventable diseases. Although Bollinger refers to himself as a medical researcher he has no medical training. Bollinger runs the website The Truth About Cancer and its associated social media accounts, where he sells books, videos, and nutritional supplements.

Claire Ann Deeks is a New Zealand anti-vaccine activist who has challenged the government's response to COVID-19. She was an unsuccessful candidate for the Advance NZ party in the 2020 general election, and set up the group Voices for Freedom (VFF), which distributed pamphlets that have been criticised by experts as containing COVID-19 misinformation about vaccines, lockdown and the wearing of masks. As a food blogger, Deeks promoted the paleo diet and "healthy" lunchboxes for children, and developed a petition to stop the rating system for foods used by the NZ and Australian governments. She is a former intellectual property lawyer.

Robert Wallace Malone is an American physician and biochemist. His early work focused on mRNA technology, pharmaceuticals, and drug repurposing research. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Malone promoted misinformation about the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines.

Kevin D. Jenkins is an American social media influencer and the CEO of Urban Global Health Alliance. He has been identified as a major promoter of misinformation about vaccines, especially targeting the African-American population.

Misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines consists of disinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic propagated by various sources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in the United States</span> Reluctance by those living in the USA to be vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in the United States is the sociocultural phenomenon of individuals refusing or displaying hesitance towards receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in the United States can be considered as part of the broader history of vaccine hesitancy.

The World Doctors Alliance is a pseudo-medical organization of anti-vaccine activists, COVID-19 denialists and conspiracy theorists which was established in May 2020 by Mohammad Iqbal Adil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 vaccine misinformation and hesitancy</span> Misinformation regarding the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and the resulting hesitancy towards it

In many countries a variety of unfounded conspiracy theories and other misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines have spread based on misunderstood or misrepresented science, religion, and law. These have included exaggerated claims about side effects, misrepresentations about how the immune system works and when and how COVID-19 vaccines are made, a story about COVID-19 being spread by 5G, and other false or distorted information. This misinformation, some created by anti-vaccination activists, has proliferated and may have made many people averse to vaccination. This has led to governments and private organizations around the world introducing measures to incentivize or coerce vaccination, such as lotteries, mandates, and free entry to events, which has in turn led to further misinformation about the legality and effect of these measures themselves.

John Lorimer Campbell is an English YouTuber and retired nurse educator known for his videos about the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially, the videos received praise, but they later diverged into COVID-19 misinformation. He has been criticised for suggesting COVID-19 deaths have been over-counted, repeating false claims about the use of ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment, and providing misleading commentary about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines. As of March 2024, his YouTube channel had 3 million subscribers and over 750 million views.

The World Council for Health is a pseudo-medical organisation dedicated to spreading misinformation to discourage COVID-19 vaccination, and promoting fake COVID-19 treatments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disclose.tv</span> German disinformation outlet

Disclose.tv is a disinformation outlet based in Germany that presents itself as a news aggregator. It is known for promoting conspiracy theories and fake news, including COVID-19 misinformation and anti-vaccine narratives.

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