Read on Twitter
A thread about some of the worst takes on Covid, from UK pundits.
Herd immunity is the strategy: https://twitter.com/Peston/status/1238030855584526336
Herd immunity is the strategy: https://twitter.com/Peston/status/1238030855584526336
It's vital to stop Coronavirus: https://twitter.com/Peston/status/1238038497052762113
But wait - maybe herd immunity isn't such a good idea after all? https://twitter.com/Peston/status/1243081185485557761
If only somebody could have foreseen: https://twitter.com/Peston/status/1251633885252902914
Oh, wait - they did: https://twitter.com/Peston/status/1251633883650678786
Thankfully, the government eschewed the populist measures, of trying to stop people catching Covid. https://twitter.com/BethRigby/status/1238258292167761921
Nobody wants to be populist, like Italy, and impose a lockdown. https://twitter.com/Peston/status/1236739529303830530
The PM was ignoring public opinion, and listening to experts. https://twitter.com/tnewtondunn/status/1238155947526283265
Experts who thought we didn't need to act decisively. https://twitter.com/Channel4News/status/1238573667002523648
Along with experts who thought we should carry on as normal: https://twitter.com/10DowningStreet/status/1237760980450451456
And they were scientists - not people with humanities degrees: https://twitter.com/JenWilliamsMEN/status/1238460251508297733
Let alone hipsters: https://twitter.com/ayeshahazarika/status/1238460692614844416
Or Daves from Wigan: https://twitter.com/haveigotnews/status/1238435204160684034
There's always one person who insists on being different, of course.
Naturally, the responses in the thread under that tweet are a haven of critical thought. https://twitter.com/BBCPolitics/status/1239257257466122247
Naturally, the responses in the thread under that tweet are a haven of critical thought. https://twitter.com/BBCPolitics/status/1239257257466122247
But what is herd immunity?
A helpful explainer: https://twitter.com/DPJHodges/status/1238788830389510144
A helpful explainer: https://twitter.com/DPJHodges/status/1238788830389510144
Just in case that's not clear enough: https://twitter.com/mrjamesob/status/1238384706984579072
Up until that point, the government were hamstrung by their own simple love of freedom. https://twitter.com/jimwaterson/status/1241307428693643266
Better late than never, I suppose.
And besides, who could have predicted where ignoring a pandemic might lead? https://twitter.com/BBCNewsnight/status/1245107871362224132
And besides, who could have predicted where ignoring a pandemic might lead? https://twitter.com/BBCNewsnight/status/1245107871362224132
Alright, well, people did predict it. https://twitter.com/amateuradam/status/1236733713129639940
But in a way, can it not be said that the government are blameless, and we, the people, are really at fault? https://twitter.com/Freedland/status/1241705298668240896
Surprisingly, it also transpired that chronic underfunding of the health service wasn't such a good idea, after all. https://twitter.com/paulwaugh/status/1241135446756921346
There was no shortage of rigorous journalism, however, to ensure that the government would be held to account: https://twitter.com/JenWilliamsMEN/status/1238181488971206657
Completely missed it: https://twitter.com/KevinASchofield/status/1244186031752175616
Even though he tweeted about watching it: https://twitter.com/KevinASchofield/status/1238497938617307136
I, too, would only wish to be kept alive as long as nobody says anything good about Cuba. https://twitter.com/jamesrbuk/status/1242011143499059201
Yes, it was undoubtedly Johnson being too liberal, rather than too incompetent, which was at issue here. https://twitter.com/youngvulgarian/status/1241776147744141318
Still, even if journalists were unwilling to be critical of the government, at least Opposition MPs were robust: https://twitter.com/LucyMPowell/status/1239125208742662145
A government MP, fearlessly holding the Opposition to account: https://twitter.com/JEGullis/status/1239298847999954945
On the one hand: https://twitter.com/DPJHodges/status/1237015466754916358
If memory serves, this had been posted in response to Matt Hancock giving a GMB interview, and blaming doctors/nurses for their own shortages of PPE. https://twitter.com/mrjamesob/status/1242008040146157568
The real heroes of the Covid crisis?
Doctors
Nurses
Carers
Retail staff
Journalists
https://twitter.com/fleetstreetfox/status/1248883484807942144
Doctors
Nurses
Carers
Retail staff
Journalists
https://twitter.com/fleetstreetfox/status/1248883484807942144
Multiply it by 10, and it would still fall short. https://twitter.com/FraserNelson/status/1243266492063461376
People who suggested this assessment might be wide of the mark were 'whitesplaining'. https://twitter.com/sunny_hundal/status/1238799198293803010
NHS staff were asking for PPE, an end to the ongoing pay-freeze, and where applicable, not to be deported; but okay. https://twitter.com/BBCNews/status/1256205212248870913
The Daily Mail - caring about some students, slightly more than others: https://twitter.com/ianvisits/status/1261189008358625286
The last thing anyone wants is the government being held to account, for leaving thousands of people to die needlessly.
I mean, suggest there's room for improvement, sure - but let's not go too far. https://twitter.com/JohnRentoul/status/1247565360431280140
I mean, suggest there's room for improvement, sure - but let's not go too far. https://twitter.com/JohnRentoul/status/1247565360431280140
Sadness in his eyes: https://twitter.com/KayBurley/status/1254714254638399488
That wasn't even the most gauche bit of sycophancy: https://twitter.com/MattChorley/status/1254687034381344769
Various people claiming they couldn't comprehend why the government-supporting media were not highlighting the death-toll.
I don't understand. https://twitter.com/jamesrbuk/status/1248713400588304384
I don't understand. https://twitter.com/jamesrbuk/status/1248713400588304384
I don't understand. https://twitter.com/mrjamesob/status/1248878684670431232
I cannot understand. https://twitter.com/Sathnam/status/1248645532488216576
Difficult to understand. https://twitter.com/IanDunt/status/1248507528322977792
I mean, really, this stuff is just twitter. It's not even including all the terrible articles: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/corbyn-should-be-ashamed-of-his-coronavirus-point-scoring
If there was one person responsible for the actions and failures of Boris Johnson, it was Jeremy Corbyn. https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/health/2020/03/labour-jeremy-corbyn-response-coronavirus-criticised
You can still go to the park. https://twitter.com/10DowningStreet/status/1246779210410143746
Don't go to the park.
(These were posted the same day). https://twitter.com/10DowningStreet/status/1246807303975620609
(These were posted the same day). https://twitter.com/10DowningStreet/status/1246807303975620609
That worked out well.
Thank goodness there's simply no downside to uncritically-regurgitated press briefings. https://twitter.com/tnewtondunn/status/1237066180126486529
Thank goodness there's simply no downside to uncritically-regurgitated press briefings. https://twitter.com/tnewtondunn/status/1237066180126486529
One from the US.
28th February - no need to worry, folks. https://www.bloombergquint.com/gadfly/coronavirus-panic-caused-by-probability-neglect
28th February - no need to worry, folks. https://www.bloombergquint.com/gadfly/coronavirus-panic-caused-by-probability-neglect
26th March - same author/outlet: https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-03-26/coronavirus-lockdowns-look-smart-under-cost-benefit-scrutiny
I'm going to leave this overlong thread there.
But it's maybe worth bearing in mind how the relationship between journalists and politicians played out, in the midst of a pandemic. And whether lives might have been lost avoidably, in consequence.
But it's maybe worth bearing in mind how the relationship between journalists and politicians played out, in the midst of a pandemic. And whether lives might have been lost avoidably, in consequence.
Bloody Corbyn - trying to keep people alive, the bastard. https://twitter.com/mattchorley/status/1238436625782276097?lang=en
Bold prediction. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51858987
Perhaps the REAL virus was social media? https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/11162290/coronavirus-social-media-cheap-shots-boris-johnson/
The URL was more accurate than the article. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/13/questioning-governments-coronavirus-strategy-not-wrong-danger/
Thank goodness journalists worked tirelessly to hold the worried public, and a critical opposition, to account.
People not abiding by confusing, contradictory, and badly publicised instructions? The electorate must resign at once.
People not abiding by confusing, contradictory, and badly publicised instructions? The electorate must resign at once.
