As the omicron variant of COVID-19 loosens its grip on the United States, public health officials and lawmakers are deliberating which rules and restrictions to ease.
But ever-evolving pandemic public health guidance and recent efforts by states to lift restrictions have given rise to social media claims that contend something nefarious is afoot. Scientists and health officials like Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health have been lying about COVID-19 the entire time, they say.
"When the talking heads come out and say that we can ease up on restrictions because ‘The science is changing’ understand that the science never supported any of their measures all along," said one viral post by a chiropractor who has made false claims about the pandemic in the past. "What they’re really saying is that ‘The Narrative is changing.’ People are no longer buying The Narrative as it was and they have to try to sell you something else."
Another Facebook post, in the form of a graphic, categorizes a number of statements as being labeled "conspiracy theories" a year ago and "truth" now. They include "vaccinated can spread COVID" and "3rd and 4th shot."
Among critics, Fauci is the face of that changing narrative. We’ve seen video montages, political ads, and politicians’ social media posts that harken to statements they say he’s made and describe those statements as lies.
At the heart of these claims is widespread misunderstanding about how the scientific method works.
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