Since the pandemic began, misinformation and attempts to downplay COVID have varied widely, but there’s a remarkable commonality.
Consider these examples:
“It’s a hoax. No worse than flu. Ploy to cancel Easter. It will magically disappear. Hospitals putting dummies in beds to fool us. They’re exaggerating the death toll by counting fatalities from accidents, etc. There’s a simple treatment the medical community doesn’t want you to know about; it’s [hydroxychloroquine, ivermectin, Vitamin C, Vitamin D]. Kids are immune. Well, ‘only’ xx% of pediatric cases end in death. Sacrifice the weak. Fauci’s part of an evil conspiracy. He misled us. Science isn’t infallible. What about all the kids who die from [other cause of death]? Hugging is too important to me to social distance. Don’t let them put you on a ventilator; it will increase your risk of dying!”
On stay-at-home orders:
“Unnecessary; look at Sweden. Just a plot to crash the economy and hurt Trump; I guarantee you won’t hear about the pandemic after the election.” On masks: “Ineffective. Harmful. Experts are evenly divided for/against them. Mandating them is unconstitutional. This kind of social pressure is how the Nazis took over Germany.” On the vaccines: “They were rushed. They’re only authorized not approved. Ineffective. They make you magnetic. Contain tracking microchips and baby parts. Mark of the beast. Dangerous. Cause infertility. Just trust your immune system. Government is coming to your door like Nazis to force them on you. Restrictions on unvaccinated people in gyms, restaurants, etc. are fascism … and also communism.”
The commonality is this:
A person or devil or foreign power whose goal was to kill as many millions as possible would heartily approve of every one of these claims and arguments, which have been used to resist every effort we make and blunt every tool we have to fight this virus.
This isn't the motive of the vast majority taken in by such claims, or of those exploiting disinformation to advance their political careers. But the end result is the same. A tree is known by its fruit, and this tree produces only suffering and death.