The Absurd Reason ‘Covid-19 Is a Lie’ Ended Up Trending on Twitter
It wasn’t because people believed it
On April 17, a protester in Huntington Beach, California, was photographed holding a white sign that said, in ultra-bold capital letters, “COVID-19 IS A LIE.” The protester was clad from head to toe in personal protective gear.
The absurd dissonance between the protester’s words and actions made the photograph a hit on Twitter, where critics of the Trump-backed “liberate” protests circulated it as an example of the movement’s hypocrisy. “Can’t make this stuff up,” tweeted progressive political YouTuber Bryan Tyler Cohen, drawing more than 20,000 favorites. “Okay I’m done,” another viral tweet deadpanned. “Conservatism in 2020: Whatever is smart, we’re against it,” snarked another.
People had such a field day sharing the image that the phrase “Covid-19 is a lie” began to climb the ranks of Twitter’s trending topics, cracking the top five in California. Now the phrase “Covid-19 is a lie,” sans context, was pinned to the Twitter homepage for millions of users. Naturally, many assumed that claim was trending because people were tweeting it in earnest. They added their own exasperated tweets to the pile, driving it further up the charts.
