Misinformation peddlers have shifted gears from the election to coronavirus vaccines.
Sidney Powell, who was a member of President Trump’s legal team, posted on Twitter that “big government” could surveil people not vaccinated against the coronavirus.Credit.Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Dec. 17, 2020
Sidney Powell, a lawyer who was part of President Trump’s legal team, spread a conspiracy theory last month about election fraud. For days, she claimed that she would “release the Kraken” by showing voluminous evidence that Mr. Trump had won the election by a landslide.
But after her assertions were widely derided and failed to gain legal traction, Ms. Powell started talking about a new topic. On Dec. 4, she posted a link on Twitter with misinformation that said that the population would be split into the vaccinated and the unvaccinated and that “big government” could surveil those who were unvaccinated.
But activist groups had raised red flags, saying that policies championed by Ms. Nichols to try to cut carbon emissions ended up having disproportionately negative effects on communities of color.
Mr. Regan would be a leading member of a team tasked with implementing at least parts of Mr. Biden’s $2 trillion plan to combat climate change, to the extent that he gets cooperation from Congress.
As soon as this week, Mr. Biden is expected to officially announce former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm as his pick to lead the energy department and Gina McCarthy, the former EPA chief during the Obama administration, to a White House position coordinating domestic efforts to combat climate change.
Misinformation messengers pivot from election fraud to peddling vaccine conspiracy theories.
Sidney Powell, a lawyer, is making unsubstantiated claims about the coronavirus vaccine on social media.Credit.Ben Margot/Associated Press
Dec. 16, 2020
Sidney Powell, a lawyer who was part of President Trump’s legal team, spread a conspiracy theory last month about election fraud. For days, she claimed that she would “release the Kraken” by showing voluminous evidence that Mr. Trump had won the election by a landslide.
But after her assertions were widely derided and failed to gain legal traction, Ms. Powell started talking about a new topic. On Dec. 4, she posted a link on Twitter with misinformation that said that the population would be split into the vaccinated and the unvaccinated and that “big government” could surveil those who were unvaccinated.
The races are also playing out against the backdrop of a coronavirus pandemic that has left many out of work, struggling to put food on the table and facing the prospect of losing their homes.
Alton Russell, chair of the Muscogee County Republican Party, told The Washington Times it has been “very difficult” to keep voters involved particularly given the lingering suspicion over President-elect Joseph R. Biden’s 12,000-vote victory here in the Nov. 3 election.
Mr. Russell said Mr. Trump and his lawyers know “without a shadow of a doubt” this was not a fair and accurate election.
He said he supports the president’s decision to challenge the results.
But the vaccines are only useful if people take them.
A quarter of Americans are leery about taking the vaccines, and 15% say they “definitely” won’t take it, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey released this week.
Public health experts say it is helpful for doctors and community leaders to vouch for the vaccines by getting immunized on camera.
The White House says President Trump is open to taking the vaccine but he wants to prioritize frontline workers doctors and nurses got the first shots and is a bit of a special case, since he contracted COVID-19 and may natural defenses to the diseases, anyway.