How US conspiracy theorists are targeting local government in the UK

Councillors and Scottish politicians are the subject of a misinformation campaign by the Epoch Times, a website the New York Times has called “one of the most mysterious fixtures of the pro-Trump media universe”.

By Sarah Manavis

AUSTIN, TX - APRIL 18: Protesters gather at the Texas State Capital building on April 18, 2020 in Austin, Texas. The protest was organized by Infowars host Owen Shroyer who is joining other protesters across the country in taking to the streets to call for the country to be opened up despite the risk of the COVID-19. (Photo by Sergio Flores/Getty Images)

Over the past several weeks the Epoch Times, a newspaper that has devoted extensive funding and support to Donald Trump in the US and far-right groups in Europe, has been targetting councillors across the UK with misinformation about coronavirus, the New Statesman can reveal.

Councillors in and around Bradford, Sutton, West Sussex, London and Wigan are among local government officials who have reported receiving emails claiming that the coronavirus pandemic was covered up for six weeks by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The email also makes claims about the origin of the virus, and links to the newspaper’s latest digital issue which calls for Covid-19 to be renamed “CCP virus”. An hour-long documentary about the “hidden truth” behind the global pandemic, which currently has over 1.1 million views, is also linked.