Original Article By Ian Miller At Outkick.com:
Anyone who’s spent time looking through COVID discussions on Twitter has inevitably come across influencer “doctors.”
These supposed “experts” always share some of the same characteristics.
They’re terrified of getting COVID, always advocating for the return of restrictions, and they support Ukraine.
Turns out a few of these influential COVID activists were entirely made up.
A new report from the San Francisco Standard uncovered how some of these viral influencers were clearly fake accounts.
One such example was an account called “Dr. Robert Honeyman.”
Honeyman used “they/them” pronouns, and claimed to have lost a sister to COVID in November 2022. That tweet racked up over 43,000 likes and 4,000 retweets.
Sure enough, just a month later, the account claimed that its husband was in a coma with COVID.
“Sad to announce that my husband has entered a coma after being in hospital with Covid. The doctor is unsure if he will come out,” it tweeted. “This year has been the toughest of my life losing my sister to this virus. This is the first time in my life I don’t see light at the end of the tunnel.”
Except the profile photo associated with “Honeyman’s” account was a stock photo.
The supposed husband, Patrick Honeyman, was a photo of an insurance professional who lives in Wayne, Indiana, according to the Standard.
Fake COVID Influencers
The Standard reported that they gained influence by checking every single box on the Twitter liberal wishlist.
“The two fake doctors, whose accounts urged extreme caution about Covid-19, were part of a network of at least four fake accounts that touted their ties to the LGBTQ+ community, vocally advocated for mask-wearing and social distancing, and dished out criticism to those they felt were not taking the pandemic seriously.”
Another one of the fake accounts, Dr. Gerold Fischer, “displayed rainbow, trans and Ukrainian flags next to his name and described himself as ‘an ally for all in the #LGBQT+ Community. #WearAMask.’”
These accounts gained immense traction simply by telling online liberals exactly what they wanted to hear.
“Doctors” were scared of the virus, believed in the correct pandemic principles, and were part of the LGBTQ+ Community. Oh, and they supported Ukraine.
Meanwhile, legitimate credentialed experts like Dr. Jay Bhattacharya from Stanford University were “blacklisted” on Twitter for telling the truth.
Beyond the obvious hilarity of people being duped by fake accounts, there are some legitimate concerns to be raised here.
There are huge numbers of people who are committed to a forever pandemic. Regardless of how much evidence accumulates that masks don’t work, they refuse to stop.
And for so many COVID fanatics, telling them what they’re right to be irrationally scared carries immense weight.
People, especially those who desperately cling to the fake infallibility of their political ideology, will apparently believe almost anything.
Especially when it comes from someone checking the correct boxes on virtue signaling bingo.
