Data leaker has ‘world exclusive’

The Te Whatu Ora worker charged by police over illegally accessing vaccine-related information on work databases has detailed his arrest – and his intention behind the leak – in an interview with prominent US conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

Barry Young, sometimes also known as Winston Smith, was interviewed on Jones’ conspiracy website Infowars. Infowars filed for bankruptcy protection last year after Jones lost high-profile court cases for falsely claiming the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre had been a “hoax”. The massacre saw the death of 26 people, including 20 children, in Connecticut.

Jones’ defamation defeats saw him ordered to pay billionsd in damages, including to victims’ families and an FBI agent.

Websites in the US and NZ have picked up the data and claimed the Covid-19 vaccination caused lmultiple deaths. There have been four deaths possibly linked to adverse reactions following Covid vaccination in NZ to date. Infowars’ interest in the NZ data leak has seen its coverage position Young as a “whistleblower”. Kiwi conspiracy theorist Liz Gunn also been given prominence in the coverage.

It appears the interview between Jones and Young went live yesterday). The conspiracy website touted it as a “world exclusive” and Young’s “first major interview” after the incident that health officials have described as a “gross breach of trust” and an apparent attempt to “spread misinformation”.

Since the initial release of the data on November 30, Te Whatu Ora has filed a police complaint and Young was arrested on Sunday.