A relatively odd Capitol Hill press conference by a fringe group of self-proclaimed medical experts rapidly ended up being on Monday the most commonly seen propaganda video about the coronavirus because the pandemic started after Breitbart News livestreamed it on Facebook. It got the attention of President Donald Trump and his kid Donald Trump Jr., who had his Twitter account partly suspended for sharing a link to the video.
The video featured a string of conservative talking points that criticized lockdown measures, demonized public health authorities, called for schools to resume and advised Americans not to use face masks. The speakers, who were all portrayed as physicians, frequently stated hydroxychloroquine a “remedy” for COVID-19 (No genuine medical organizations have recognized any “remedy” for COVID-19, and multiple medical trials have actually shown hydroxychloroquine is not helpful in dealing with the virus.)
Among the primary characters in the clip was a spiritual minister and pediatrician who has actually previously alerted against having sex with devils— so initially look, it would be simple to identify the video as just another random conspiracy crank finding a massive audience thanks to Facebook
But in truth, a conservative dark-money group lagged the press event that created this viral propaganda moment. The group featured in the video, “America’s Frontline Physicians,” derived from no place only days ago and appears linked to groups involved in the Conserve Our Nation Coalition, which was a driving force behind the “reopen” demonstrations in April that lobbied for America’s rapid reopening, even as death tolls spike in locations throughout the nation.
As Donald Trump’s reelection prospects diminish amid his administration’s disastrous reaction to the pandemic, conservative politicians and media figures have actually aggressively downplayed the hazard of the infection and echoed Trump’s disproven claims about the efficacy of hydroxychloriquine, an anti-malarial drug. This week’s episode, reinforced by Republican operatives, recklessly amplified by social networks giants and promoted by the president himself, is a flashing warning about their ability to disseminate unsafe propaganda rapidly and widely.
The Save Our Country Union
Monday’s livestreamed occasion including the America’s Frontline Physicians group was organized by Tea Party Patriots, a wealthy Republican donor-backed not-for-profit that, in partnership with FreedomWorks and other right-wing dark money groups, introduced the Save Our Country Coalition in April to push for America’s rapid resuming. Jenny Beth Martin, TPP’s co-founder, spoke at the conference along with the self-proclaimed frontline doctors, urging individuals to call their chosen officials to require access to hydroxychloroquine.
Simone Gold, the founder of America’s Frontline Medical professionals, has actually been a go-to source for Fox News on the so-called risks of rigorous coronavirus steps and has actually spoken at several reopen rallies.
It’s not clear to what extent the Save Our Country Coalition was behind Monday’s press occasion; the America’s Frontline Medical professionals site discloses no affiliation to any other group, nor does it declare itself a 501( c) not-for-profit.
But Tea Party Patriots is plainly associated with both efforts, and the Monday interview was straight in line with SOC’s push to downplay the pandemic. FreedomWorks and Tea Ceremony Patriots did not immediately react to requests for remark.
One of individuals leading SOC’s efforts is GOP operative and Trump financial advisor Stephen Moore, who in 2015 withdrew from factor to consider for a task with the Federal Reserve and signed up with a group of entrepreneurs looking for to develop a cryptocurrency reserve bank.
Moore had actually encouraged lockdown demonstrations earlier this year, mentioning on a conservative YouTube program in mid-April that he spoke with a “huge donor in Wisconsin” who would pay the legal charges for anybody who gets apprehended for rallying versus stay-at-home orders at the State Capitol.
SOC’s honorary chairman is conservative financial expert Arthur Laffer, whom Trump awarded the Presidential Medal of Liberty to in 2015. Laffer has likewise males