IF you believe coronavirus is a conspiracy...

[OutComeTheWolves]

... do you believe Boris is in on it?

I've read and heard a few people saying the it's a conspiracy to use fear to remove a lot of our freedoms in one fell swoop. But, unless he's a very good actor, Boris Johnson seems to be actually really reluctant to remove our individual liberties. So I was just wondering what people thought?

As a disclaimer I should add that I don't think it is part of a huge plan to do this, but I could maybe believe that it was an accidental leak from a lab or something. I think when something like this happens it's human nature to look for reasons why it happened because the thought that a random quirk of nature could cause these problems worldwide is terrifying.

[midnightstar66]

All the comments I've seen have turned him from hated and incompetent to suddenly being the nations treasure. (Not among my f&f - that's never going to happen but on social media as a whole)

[russetbella1000]

Yes Boris is just ill enough to garner sympathy. FB bringing out all the closet nationalists and likening him to Churchill etc. And I don’t reckon Churchill’s ego was any less than the celebrity politico of today....

[LilacTree1]

I’m sympathetic to the man for being ill

I’m not sympathetic for him imposing a completely ill thought out plan.

[midnightstar66]

I also think it's a convenient timing to absorb him of some of the blame and slow decision making by being out of action as such a crucial time. As I said l, a bit too convenient in all.

[Bearbehind]

I don’t believe it’s a conspiracy theory but I do believe it’s not natural

The lab in Wuhan theory appears to be the most credible explanation

I suppose the next question is ‘what were they producing it for?’

[HerRoyalCarbyLess]

I love a conspiracy theory.

[WomanIsTaken]

Mimi, conspiracies or cover-ups, though? Malpractice, corruption and illegal activity has been covered up as a matter of course to protect individuals, corporations and governments since forever, but conspiracies are kind of coming at it from the other end, I think, with trying to prove something which is not actually happening, through spurious means.
Those reporting the thread are doing others a great disservice, I think. It is good to have a thread that highlights some people's vulnerability to this kind of predatory influence at a time like this. Nobody's a 'useful idiot' here, it's important to have this conversation. At the moment, lots of people are in a dangerous position of
-having a lot of time on their hands
-feeling insecure and struggling with not knowing what is going on
-looking to online platforms for both social connection and advice
and so find themselves bumping into ideas they would normally never come across, in the vacuum of isolation, a format which can allow a person to think "Oh, well, if you look at it like that, then..." The people who spend time engineering conspiracy theories are master manipulators who employ really sophisticated communicatuon and persuasive devices to make their ideas seem plausible, and almost as if you arrived at the conclusion yourself, making it very easy to a) feel 'rewarded' by the content provider, and b) create a sense of investment in the conspiracy you are engaging with, however peripherally. Lots of "It'll come as no surprise that...", "You guessed it,..." "And what does BG say? You got it...", "But we knew that already..."
A number of people I am connected with on various social media platforms, both socially and professionally, are engaging with a range of conspiracy theories at the moment, and it is infuriating that when challenged by just a few quick fact-checks, references to an individual's previously (totally bonkers) publications, or pointing out that a quoted commentator is publishing on a platform funded by a religious right group for instance, you get responses like "Aw, that information has been deliberately placed there to discredit (insert purveyor of conspiracy theory)." People defend their position saying they've 'researched' it, but you can find 'evidence' to support pretty much anything online; if your research consists of typing "Was the moon landing fake?" into Google, you will find information supporting this idea, and that seems to be good enough for many who should know better.

[midnightstar66]

I suppose the next question is ‘what were they producing it for?’

I think the most likely scenario is that it is a natural virus they were studying, that mutated and escaped due to human error/unsafe practice in the lab

[CocoCorona]

The doctor who tried to notify his colleagues of the novel virus was seeing these pneumonia type cases in December. I think it was already circulating in October-November. Perhaps even September. All the Chinese students come back around that time to study again at all the universities around the world. Perfect hosts. Loads of people have reported saying they think they already may have had the virus back in November/December time.

The timing of this was either very unlucky or brilliantly planned.

[Thighmageddon]

I am enjoying reading this so I hope it doesn't get deleted.

A couple of members of my family, who are very intelligent, are actually speaking in conspiracy theorist language and it frightens me that this virus of all things has changed their usual rational thinking.

[starlightgazers]

There are some useful idiots on this thread doing everything to distract from the facts about this virus

Yes - those looking at it logically are the idiots....

[midnightstar66]

Lots of people here think that they had the virus last year because there were viruses and flu that have similar symptoms- the rate of spread and death tolls don't support that however

[EggBaconBeans]

Oh my goodness me.

This thread really needs to be deleted.

😡😡😡😡

[EggBaconBeans]

Yet another attack on Boris?

Haters will always hate.

[LilacTree1]

Thigh that’s really interesting

I’ve had the opposite, a couple of people who would normally cry “conspiracy” are terrified.

Either that, or they don’t want to say anything to me on the phone!

I’ve never entertained conspiracy but I think governments have slowly seen how much they can harness fear, so they will continue to pump it out.

As for cock up - it’s too major to be a cock up. Narendra Modi would have known that four hours notice of lockdown would create chaos in such a large country. It would create chaos anywhere. There’s a whole slew of people who can’t possibly be this stupid? So we end up thinking what we prefer, I guess.

[LilacTree1]

I still don’t understand why the thread needs to be deleted

There’s plenty of threads criticising government or is that banned now?

[adiposegirl2]

suppose the next question is ‘what were they producing it for?’

I think the most likely scenario is that it is a natural virus they were studying, that mutated and escaped due to human error/unsafe practice in the lab

It would appear there was nothing natural about this virus having 'cleavage sites' (like Ebola, Masburg and HIV) that presents as one thing to fool ACE receptors into thinking the entity is ok only to realise once it's in, it shows it real identity but by then the damage cant be reversed.

Please watch this and do your own research
youtu.be/Le_rfTdayLs

[adiposegirl2]

[BeetrootRocks]

So the idea is that Boris and trump have engineered and released this virus somehow in order to profit from the upheaval that follows.

I mean they're both arseholes but that's bond villain level stuff

[ByGrabtharsHammerWhatASavings]

I'm dying at the idea that the virus was created by feminists to kill men 😂😂😂 Please can that poster come back and say they were joking, it's do hard to tell nowadays.

[YetAnotherSpartacus]

I think it is just to distract us from the asteroid that is about to hit.

[ByGrabtharsHammerWhatASavings]

Was it the MN feminists by any chance? We've already been accused of having a "Street violence wing" and millions in funding from the alt right so we may as well add "secret biological warfare lab" to the list 😂

[midnightstar66]

@BeetrootRocks Trump is definitely not smart enough to keep that quiet and pull it off 😆

[starlightgazers]

very unlucky or brilliantly planned

Yes, and I know what I'm going with, as our government and others are not exactly known for genius level brilliant planning now are they? As if they'd manage to outwit some of the world's top scientists/ epidemiologists. Ludicrous.

[starlightgazers]

I think it is just to distract us from the asteroid that is about to hit

Please tell me you're joking - on most threads I would assume you were but not this one!