Virus doubters deface statue of naval hero
POLICE SEEK VANDALS WHO SPREAD CONSIPIRACY THEORIES
VANDALS sprayed Tynemouth’s beloved Lord Collingwood statue in graffiti to spread bizarre Covid-19 conspiracy theories.
Yobs covered the war hero’s monuments in claims that the virus – which has killed almost 60,000 Brits – is a “hoax” and a “scam”.
A Nazi swastika was also emblazoned on the 19th Century monument.
A Northumbria Police investigation is under way into the appearance of the graffiti, which was almost identical to some left in Jesmond Dene back in June.
Despite the grim death toll and global economic devastation, a vocal minority of people believe the threat of the virus has been overhyped while some even believe that Covid-19 simply doesn’t exist.
A recent study by Ofcom found that a third of adults are reading ‘fake news’ about Covid-19 on sites like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter each week.
Among the most common examples of this are claims that face masks are harmful, and that flu is killing more people than coronavirus.
There are fears that such misinformation is significantly hampering our efforts to beat the pandemic. As
Britain prepares to start a mass vaccination programme, there are concerns that a growing pool of people – especially younger adults – may snub the vaccine due to concerns sparked by incorrect claims they’ve read online.
“We’re not just battling the virus,” said World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus previously.
“We’re also battling the trolls and conspiracy theorists that push misinformation and undermine the outbreak response.”
But while scientists are battling misinformation, police are targeting the culprits behind the latest act of graffiti in the North East linked to conspiracy theorists.
This time, the target was the Grade II listed statue, erected to commemorate Lord Nelson’s second-in-command and a man often regarded as the forgotten hero of the Battle of Trafalgar having fired the first shot.
A police spokesperson said: “We can confirm we received a report on Saturday morning of graffiti on the Lord Collingwood statue. Inquiries to identify those responsible are ongoing and anyone with information is encouraged to call 101, quoting 1117 28/11/20.”