Report details ‘dangerous’ Covid conspiracy theories
V A NEW report has warned the Jewish community is facing “five dangerous categories of conspiracy theories” aimed at blaming them for Covid-19.
Commenting on Thursday’s publication of the Commission for Countering Extremism’s study into how extremists are exploiting the pandemic, Lead Commissioner Sara Khan warned that “the impact of extremist propaganda and disinformation to our democracy cannot be overstated”.
The report suggests the five conspiracy theories being levelled at the community are that “the virus is fake and part of a Jewish plot to mislead the public, that it’s real and was deliberately created for malevolent purposes, that Jews are the primary spreaders of the virus, that Jewish people are dying in disproportionately higher numbers and posts that incite others to deliberately spread the virus to Jews.”
It also details how the former sports presenter David Icke has played a significant role in spreading antisemitic conspiracy theories linked to Covid-19 - with one of his most popular videos claiming that “the Rothschilds” are key players in a global plot to use the disease to impose a totalitarian world government.
Although Mr Icke has been deplatformed by YouTube and Facebook, the report says the “scale and reach of his antisemitic conspiracy theories remains extremely concerning”.
It also reports on the activities of the far-right British National Socialist Movement, which encouraged users of the online platform Telegram who had Covid-19 to deliberately infect Jews and Muslims.
The CCE noted that extremists often look for someone to blame in times of crisis and that disinformation targeted at different ‘out-groups’ and minorities can be used to incite hatred, justify violence and divide communities.
The report details how Jewish, Muslim and Chinese communities have all been targeted during the pandemic — with conspiracy theories emerging from far-right, far-left and Islamist groups.
Ms Khan – who was appointed by the Home Secretary to lead the CCE in January 2018 - warned that the government needed “to be on the front foot to counter the activity of hateful extremists who seek to divide and undermine everything our country stands for”.