The Covid-19 pandemic has brought with it an avalanche of misinformation. A number of myths have persisted that suggest Covid isn't particularly dangerous, or that governments shouldn't try to contain the virus with lockdowns and other distancing measures.
We call the people who promulgate these myths even after they have been disproved "Covid Sceptics". This isn't to say that they're necessarily sceptical of the existence of the coronavirus - but they are often sceptical about its effects. Some have claimed that the number of infections is much lower than it really has been, or that health systems were under less strain than they really were, or that the fatality rate and number of deaths were lower than they have been in reality. Some have been sceptical that a population-wide policy response to this virus is needed. Some Covid Sceptics have tended to promote one or two of the common myths; some have promoted them all.
"Sceptics" might be seen as a flattering term: scepticism is often a good thing. But as we detail below, many of the people featured here have made persistently inaccurate forecasts, repeated long-disproven claims, or engaged in faulty reasoning. Indeed, those we discuss have arguably not been sceptical enough about the claims of alternative "experts" who have underestimated the risks of Covid.
The arguments made by Covid Sceptics are frequently misleading, misconceived, or based on misunderstandings of the evidence. We believe these mistaken arguments are often dangerous, since they might lead people—or entire countries—to take fewer precautions against this deadly virus.
This website is dedicated to debunking common Covid Sceptic arguments, and highlighting the track record of some of the most influential and consistently-wrong Covid Sceptics. We mostly focus on UK-based people, since most of this site's creators are UK-based as well. We hope you'll link to our site whenever you see these common arguments appear.
This website is best thought of as being in its beta phase. It will be updated over time. You can sign up for email updates here.
Below is a list of responses to common arguments made by Covid Sceptics.
Each page has a brief quotation or paraphrase of the Covid Sceptic argument in red text, followed by our responses. Links are provided to external sources so you can read further.
Claim: 99.5% survive Covid - we're overreacting
Claim: Covid is only a problem for the elderly and vulnerable
Claim: It's only as deadly as the flu
Claim: 91% of Covid 'cases' are false positives. This is a Casedemic
Claim: PCR tests are not finding real cases