| Planet Lockdown | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | James Patrick |
| Starring | Catherine Austin Fitts |
Release date | December 2020 |
Running time | 90 minutes |
| Language | English |
Planet Lockdown is a film containing misinformation about COVID-19 that was banned on YouTube and Facebook. [1]
The films producers describe it as a documentary.
The 90-minute [2] film was directed by James Patrick, [3] and released online in December 2020. [1] In addition to being shared on social media, the video was released on the Planet Lockdown website. [4] The video's producers describe it as a documentary. [5] A feature-length cut of the film premiered on November 20, 2021 at an event hosted by the Arlington Institute at Coolfont Resort in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia. [6]
Planet Lockdown presents a wide range of falsehoods about COVID-19, including incorrect statements linking COVID-19 and human infertility, and misinformation alleging that vaccines contain microchips. The film also perpetuates myths about voter fraud during the 2020 United States presidential election. [1]
The film includes an interview with Catherine Austin Fitts in which she shares her view that a global committee is engaged in mind control efforts, led by a character she identifies as Mr Global. Fitts also shares falsehoods that COVID-19 vaccines contain unknown ingredients. [1] In addition to incorrectly stating that the COVID-19 is not real, Fitts also shares political conspiracy theories about electoral fraud during the 2020 U.S. presidential election. [2] Other interviewees include QAnon supporting physician Carrie Madej, lawyer Markus Haintz, and COVID-19 herd-immunity supporting epidemiologist Knut Wittkowski. [2]
In late 2020 and early 2021, the video was shared over 20 million times on Facebook and YouTube. [1] [7] Notable promoters of the video include Robert F. Kennedy Jr. [1] [5]
After a February analysis of the video by Media Matters for America, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube started removing the video from their platforms and GoFundMe removed a fundraising page to cover production costs. [1]
Vice News described the video as "almost a carbon copy" of the 2020 conspiracy theory video Plandemic . [2]
New Tang Dynasty Television is a multilingual American television broadcaster founded by adherents of the Falun Gong new religious movement and based in New York City. The station was founded in 2001 as a Chinese-language broadcaster, but has since expanded its language offerings; in July 2020, it launched its 24/7 English channel which now broadcasts nationwide in the U.S. and UK. It is under the Epoch Media Group, a consortium which also includes the newspaper The Epoch Times. The Epoch Media Group's news sites and YouTube channels have promoted conspiracy theories such as QAnon, anti-vaccine misinformation and false claims of fraud in the 2020 United States presidential election.
The Epoch Times is a far-right international multi-language newspaper and media company affiliated with the Falun Gong new religious movement. The newspaper, based in New York City, is part of the Epoch Media Group, which also operates New Tang Dynasty (NTD) Television. The Epoch Times has websites in 35 countries but is blocked in mainland China.
Joseph Michael Mercola is an American alternative medicine proponent, osteopathic physician, and Internet business personality. He markets largely unproven dietary supplements and medical devices. On his website, Mercola and colleagues advocate unproven and pseudoscientific alternative health notions including homeopathy and opposition to vaccination. These positions have received persistent criticism. Mercola is a member of several alternative medicine organizations as well as the political advocacy group Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, which promotes scientifically discredited views about medicine and disease. He is the author of two books.
Judy Anne Mikovits is an American former research scientist who is known for her discredited medical claims, such as that murine endogenous retroviruses are linked to chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). As an outgrowth of these claims, she has engaged in anti-vaccination activism, promoted conspiracy theories, and been accused of scientific misconduct. She has made false claims about vaccines, COVID-19, and CFS, among others.
Big Pharma conspiracy theories are conspiracy theories which claim that pharmaceutical companies, especially large corporations, act in sinister and secretive ways, such as concealing effective treatments, or even intentionally causing and worsening a wide range of diseases, in pursuit of profitability, or for other nefarious reasons. Some theories have included the claim that natural alternative remedies to health problems are being suppressed, the claim that drugs for the treatment of HIV/AIDS are ineffective and harmful, the claim that a cure for all cancers has been discovered but hidden from the public, claims that COVID-19 vaccines are ineffective, and that alternative cures are available for COVID-19. In most cases the conspiracy theorists have blamed pharmaceutical companies' search for profits. A range of authors have shown these claims to be false, though some of these authors nevertheless maintain that other criticisms of the pharmaceutical industry are legitimate.
LifeSiteNews is a Canadian Catholic conservative anti-abortion advocacy website and news publication. LifeSiteNews has published misleading information and conspiracy theories, and in 2021, was banned from some social media platforms for spreading COVID-19 misinformation.
BitChute is an alt-tech video hosting service launched by Ray Vahey in January 2017. It describes itself as offering freedom of speech, while the service is known for hosting far-right individuals, conspiracy theorists, and hate speech. Some creators who use BitChute have been banned from YouTube; some others crosspost content to both platforms or post more extreme content only to BitChute. Before its deprecation, BitChute claimed to use peer-to-peer WebTorrent technology for video distribution, though this was disputed.
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.
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.
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.
Kay Allison "Kate" Shemirani is a British conspiracy theorist, anti-vaccine activist and former nurse who lost her licence to practise in 2020 for misconduct. She is best known for promoting conspiracy theories about COVID-19, vaccinations and 5G technology. Shemirani has been described by The Jewish Chronicle as a leading figure of a movement that includes conspiracy theorists as well as far-left and far-right activists.
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.
Douglas Sayer Ji is the founder of alternative medicine portal GreenMedInfo, a website known for promoting various pseudoscientific publications. He was identified in 2020 as one of the largest promoters of COVID-19 misinformation on social media.
Stewart Peters is an American alt-right internet personality, white nationalist, political commentator, Holocaust denier, and conspiracy theorist. He is known for promoting COVID-19 misinformation and conspiracy theories, as well as anti-LGBTQ, antisemitic, and white supremacist beliefs.
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". 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. 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.
The Light is a self-published, monthly British far-right and conspiracy theory newspaper founded by Darren Nesbitt on 27 September 2020, which claims the COVID-19 pandemic was a hoax. The paper has a sister publication, named The Irish Light, which was launched in Ireland by Gemma O'Doherty and John Waters.
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.
Died Suddenly is a 2022 American anti-vaccination film produced by Stew Peters, a far-right and alt-right anti-vaccine activist. It promotes false claims about COVID-19 vaccines and Great Reset conspiracy theories. The film was released on Rumble and Twitter on November 21, 2022.
The Real Anthony Fauci is a 2021 book by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in which he attacks Anthony Fauci and his three decades of leadership of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. In the book, Kennedy offers disinformation about Fauci's role during the HIV epidemic and the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States and HIV/AIDS denialism. The book was described as "controversial" by The Guardian and Publishers Weekly and a "conspiracy theory extravaganza" by Science-Based Medicine.
