Right-wing conspiracy theorists are trying to undermine Dr. Anthony Fauci and his coronavirus assessments by alleging he is working with Hillary Clinton, against President Donald Trump.
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who is tasked with managing the coronavirus crisis, is known for his repeated warnings about COVID-19 and for his (very relatable) facepalm in response to Trump’s deep state joke he recently made at a press conference. Fauci is highly respected among both sides of the aisle and often dubbed the nation’s leading expert in infectious diseases.
Yet, some QAnon-touters believe Fauci is spreading “fear porn” in an effort to tank the economy, ultimately making Trump look bad—oh, and he’s using Clinton’s assistance to do it. Their proof? Some are pointing to two positive, old emails Fauci wrote about Clinton, which were published by WikiLeaks.
Travis View, host of the QAnon Anonymous Podcast, which dissects conspiracy theories spewed by QAnon heads, shared screenshots of said theories about Fauci.
In the tweets, one user alleges Fauci is “deep state” and another argues that as soon as Fauci took the podium at a press conference, the “market tanked.”
One of the main Fauci opponents peddling these theories is right-wing broadcaster Bill Mitchell, who, on one instance, hate-tweeted about Fauci 36 times in 30 minutes, according to BuzzFeed News.
He repeatedly claims that Fauci is creating unnecessary panic, dubbing it “fear porn.” To back up his claim, he pointed to an old Obama-era video, in which he argues Fauci had a much calmer demeanor when talking about H1N1 influenza than the coronavirus.
“I am totally over Dr. #FearPorn Fauci. Dump this guy from the team. 100% negative 100% of the time. Obvious Democrat plant,” Mitchell tweeted on March 20 to his more than 500,000 followers.
The 2009 influenza killed over 12,000 people in the U.S. and 284,000 globally, with a death rate of 0.02%. The coronavirus has already killed more than 1,000 people in the U.S. since the first case was reported in January and currently has a death rate of 0.4%. Those statistics alone likely prove why Fauci appears to be more uneasy about the coronavirus.
Mitchell also isn’t shying away from exploiting the current pandemic panic. He claimed he is “fighting against the lies and hype” surrounding the coronavirus “24/7” before plugging in his personal GoFundMe.
READ MORE:
- A hoax about Oprah trafficking children exploded online
- QAnon followers are starting to doubt that coronavirus is part of Trump’s plan
- The QAnon guide to coronavirus
H/T BuzzFeed News