Inside the White Rose: an anti-vaxx, Covid conspiracy theory ecosystem
We have teamed up with other Skeptics in the Pub Groups across the UK to deliver online talks during the pandemic....and we are still going strong! The online talks are less frequent now than they were during lockdowns, and we don't always post them here. However, you can keep up with them on Facebook or on the website (https://sitp.online/). All the previous talks are also up on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/sitponline
Live event link: https://www.twitch.tv/sitp
==================== FEATURING: Announcement of the 2021 Ockham Award and Rusty Razor
When 2020 brought with it a new strain of coronavirus, the world was plunged into confusion and uncertainty. While most people accepted the realities of the virus, little white stickers began to appear in public around the world claiming COVID-19 was a hoax concocted by the governments of the world to instil fear into their people, as a pretext for introducing new, permanent totalitarian laws. The graffiti was part of a co-ordinated grassroots campaign by a group calling itself The White Rose, urging members of the public to join their encrypted messaging channels to learn more about what was really going on. So that’s what Michael Marshall, full-time skeptical investigator and activist, did. After spending months undercover in the messaging app Telegram, he has reported on the various conspiracy theories spread by the White Rose, and how groups used the Covid crisis to radicalise vaccine hesitant members of the public into a dangerous ecosystem of misinformation and extremism. Michael Marshall is the Project Director of the Good Thinking Society, Editor of The Skeptic, and President of the Merseyside Skeptics Society. He regularly speaks with proponents of pseudoscience for the Be Reasonable podcast, and presents investigative reporting on the Skeptics with a K podcast. His work has seen him organising international homeopathy protests, going undercover to expose psychics and quack medics, and co-founding the popular QED conference. He has lectured at universities across the world on the role of the media, and has written for the Guardian, The Times, New Scientist and the New Statesman.
About Skeptics in the Pub Online We are a coalition of UK-based Skeptics groups. Formed as the Covid-19 epidemic brought our country to a standstill, we are working to deliver high-quality online events focussing on Science, reason, and critical thinking. New to Skeptics in the Pub or Twitch or both? We anticipate that Twitch or SitP may be new for some of you so we will have early doors at 6:45 to welcome new attendees and answer any questions you may have. A useful guide to Twitch here: https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-twitch-4143337 You don't need a Twitch account to watch the talk only if you want to take part in the chat. You won't need an account to ask questions in the Q&A though. More details on accessibility, inclusion and safety here: https://sitp.online/online-safety
Safety & Comfort
We aim to be an inclusive organisation, welcoming attendees from all backgrounds, ethnicities, and genders. The directors reserve the right to remove any attendee whose continued presence represents a real or perceived threat to the smooth running of our events, or the security and comfort of other attendees. Anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated.