Covid inquiry: First lockdown imposed a bit too late - Whitty
BBC NewsNov 20, 2023
UK: COVID Critic Jailed for Inciting Violence
Above: Police stand outside the UK Covid inquiry which has begun its session at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) on January 16, 2024 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Image copyright: Jeff J Mitchell/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
COVID critic Patrick Ruane was on Monday sentenced to five years in prison for terrorism offenses, after using social media to encourage violence against England's Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty, among others, during the COVID pandemic.
Referring to Whitty, Ruane had said that "whacking" the back of his skull "would turn said target into a vegetable for the rest of its life." About former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, he stated that there was an Irish Republican Army "play book" that "nearly took out Thatcher."
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
Since the COVID pandemic, the UK has seen an alarming rise in harmful conspiracy theories, including those that encouraged the horrific violence in Southport over the summer. To mitigate this dangerous trend, the UK government must better regulate social media, raise public awareness through education, and provide greater support for marginalized individuals vulnerable to this type of content.
Establishment-critical narrative
While the establishment is quick to silence anyone who questions the official line concerning COVID, a host of legitimate questions about its origins and purpose, and the potential relationship between the vaccines and excess mortality rates, remain. A large segment of the public continues to blindly follow the government narrative, much to the disadvantage of the pursuit of answers.