Tory leader says comments from ‘likely reputable’ sources such as the BMA were used to support misinformation
Family WhatsApp groups were a greater concern for spreading fake news during the pandemic than social media platforms, Kemi Badenoch has told the Covid inquiry.
The Conservative party leader, who was minister for equalities during the crisis, said experts could easily challenge false information shared on platforms such as X because the posts were public.
Less visible falsehoods were more worrying and ministers had no insight into fake claims shared on private WhatsApp groups, she said. “A lot of false information travels very quickly through those channels … And it’s everything from ‘vaccines will kill you’ to ‘the government is suppressing information.’”
Badenoch said comments from “likely reputable” sources such as the British Medical Association were used to support misinformation, telling the inquiry that BMA representatives “genuinely believed” ministers were suppressing information. “When you see that on a public forum you’ll think: ‘Oh well, if the doctors in the BMA think that, then it must be true.’”
The BMA said government delays in publishing information put people’s lives at risk.
Covid vaccination rates were, and still are, significantly lower in minority ethnic groups than among white people, with racial inequalities, poor access, mistrust and misinformation all contributing, the inquiry has heard.
Ministers came up with a range of measures to...
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), an independent body that reviews scientific evidence to recommend which groups should receive vaccines and when, rarely makes headlines. Bu...