Some asking about who these #COVIDIOTS at the Shrine of Remembrance are, how they've organised this etc. The #AntiMelbourneProtests are planned in closed Facebook Groups. Small thread (and thank you to my wonderful informant)

The groups heavily feature Qanon conspiracy theories, e.g. New World Order, vampire celebrities, kids in tunnels. Recently Facebook has been removing the groups and many are moving underground to Telegram. Telegram is infamous for its use by ISIS to plan and coordinate attacks.

The groups have fetishised about violently attacking and killing Victorian politicians. Media are believed to have members in the groups who monitor chats to get scoops on date/time/locations of protests when they drop, however, the Qanon/violent discussions are never reported.

During #COVID19 Qanon conspiracy groups have massively increased their numbers by working with people who believe Coronavirus is a hoax to boost their numbers. People can be easily sucked in by the theories which purport to be proven.

We're again likely to see the media ignore the story about who these people are and what they believe in to make it appear as if Andrews is genuinely under siege by everyday people, when that could not be further from the truth.

Worth also pointing out that the hairdresser that opened last weekend is also heavily linked to these groups. This was raised with Channel 7 at the time, which made only a very small reference about the groups, but no detail about the Qanon/violent content dominating discussions.