Many Facebook Groups With False Information on Coronavirus and Organizing Protests Run by Pro-Gun, Anti-Abortion Rights Conserva
Thursday, April 23rd, 2020 -- 9:27 AM
(AP) -Hundreds, sometimes thousands, of posts fly in the new Facebook groups daily.The coronavirus numbers are fake, some of the social media videos claim. “Social distancing is the new way to control you, your family and your behavior,” another commenter warns. Others say the pandemic is an overblown hoax. The loose network of Facebook groups spurring protests of stay-at-home orders across the country have fast become a hotbed of misinformation, conspiracy theories and skepticism around the coronavirus pandemic. Launched in recent weeks by pro-gun advocacy groups and conservative activists, the pages are repositories of Americans’ suspicion and anxiety, often fueled by notions floated by television personalities or the President himself and amplified by social media accounts. In a matter of days, the Facebook pages have mobilized protests at state capitols and collectively gained an audience of nearly 1 million followers on Facebook, according to The Associated Press’ analysis of the groups.
There’s little basis in reality for many of the claims on the sites. The coronavirus has infected millions of people worldwide, and the U.S. has recorded more deaths, 43,000, than anywhere else in the world, according to a Johns Hopkins University count. Stay-at-home orders have been used by governments across the world, and the political spectrum, to try to contain the spread, as recommended by the world’s top health officials. And at least some of those Facebook groups are part of a coordinated campaign. Facebook groups in Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New York and Pennsylvania were launched by Ben Dorr and his brothers, who run pro-gun groups in several Midwestern states. The brothers have also registered several websites under the “Reopen” name that directs users to their pro-gun lobbying group and invites them to “donate” to the cause.
The Dorr brothers have spent years raising money off conservative causes like anti-abortion rights or gun rights, said Kurt Daudt, Minnesota’s Republican House minority leader. Daudt believes it’s a scam, saying he once watched them take a video outside the statehouse, claiming they were headed inside to lobby, but they left immediately after filming wrapped. Dorr contends his Facebook groups are part of a “grassroots” movement to protest stay-at-home orders. He wouldn’t say precisely how many pages or websites he and his brothers operate. Their Facebook groups are peppered with posts that predict the government will force people to get coronavirus vaccinations and videos that say health officials are intentionally inflating coronavirus death numbers.
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