Politics

A George Christensen Hashtag Was Hijacked With Pictures Of Other, Better Georges

After George Christensen claimed that lockdowns and masks "don't work", the #IStandWithGeorge hashtag was flooded with better Georges.

by Michelle Rennex  11 August 2021
george christensen #Istandwithgeorge

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Famously uber-conservative Liberal MP George Christensen has unsurprisingly spoken out against lockdowns and masks, incorrectly claiming they just “don’t work”.

Yesterday, just before Question Time, Christensen stated that the government needs to “stop spreading fear” about coronavirus while he compared COVID-19 to the flu. Christensen claimed that we just “have to accept” that people will die from the virus, calling for Parliament to “end this madness” and “restore our freedoms”.

“It’s time we stop spreading fear and acknowledge some facts: Masks do not work. Fact. It has been proven that masks make no significant difference in stopping the spread of COVID-19,” Christensen incorrectly stated.

“Lockdowns don’t work. Fact. Lockdowns don’t destroy the virus, but they do destroy people’s livelihoods and people’s lives. Studies have shown they can even increase mortality rates.”

“Our posturing politicians, many over there, the sensationalist media elite, and the dictatorial medical bureaucrats need to recognise these facts and stop spreading fear,” Christensen continued. “COVID-19 is going to be with us forever, just like the flu. And just like the flu, we will have to live with it, not in constant fear of it.”

“Some people will catch it, some people will tragically die from it. That’s inevitable and we have to accept it…Open society back up, restore our freedoms, end this madness.”

As expected, anti-vaxxers and anti-lockdown thumpers ate George Christensen’s speech right up.

Soon after Christensen’s anti-lockdown tirade was uploaded online, the hashtag #IStandWithGeorge began to trend as people shared support and praise for the Liberal MP standing up for Australia’s “freedom”.

“Finally some politicians are growing some balls and standing up to this insanity. #IStandWithGeorge,” tweeted one person. “Bloody oath mate. Well said, George Christensen. #ISTANDWITHGEORGE Fair dinkum, the bullshit must stop now,” another sincerely said. 

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“Right on George. If you believe in freedom and what this country once stood for please retweet this,” begged someone else. “This madness must be stopped.”

Even infamous dickhead John Ruddick — the Liberal party candidate and regular Sky News contributor who was fined for breaking stay home orders to attend the Freedom Rally last month — supported Christensen’s anti-lockdown stance.

“George Christensen tells federal Parliament the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the COVID truth. What you don’t see here is that the Libs and Nats combined with Labor soon after to condemn him,” Ruddick tweeted. “One righteous man in a castle of cowards.”

For the rest of the Australians, who were using their brains and actually listening to doctors instead of misguided politicians, the hashtag just left them confused.

Contrary to what Christensen chooses to believe, both masks and lockdowns do work to slow the spread of COVID-19 — a disease that has been proven to be worse than the flu.

“Since December 2019, COVID-19 has killed more people in the US than influenza has in the last five years,” virologist Andrew Pekosz writes for the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “Influenza is a significant burden on the population, but COVID-19 has had a vastly larger effect.”

When it comes to masks, a study conducted by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the US found that “the use of masks was strongly protective, with a risk reduction of 70 percent for those that always wore a mask when going out” because the mask provides a “critical barrier”.

In regards to lockdowns, of course staying home doesn’t “destroy” the virus as the Liberal MP said, but when done correctly they greatly reduce the community spread of COVID-19. We saw that happen in NSW when community spread of the virus stayed at zero for months before the Delta strain leaked from returning passengers entering the country.

A study conducted by The University of Western Australia found that “early and hard response to coronavirus outbreaks significantly reduced the spread of infection, and subsequent hospitalisation and mortality rates” when done fast enough.

So basically, Christensen is talking out of his ass. And in true blue fashion, Australia does what it does best and decided to troll George Christensen and all his anti-lockdown followers by hijacking the #IStandWithGeorge hashtag to drown out the misinformation.

Absolutely flooding the hashtag with the better Georges of the world, #IStandWithGeorge is now filled with men who are infinitely better than Liberal MPs who spread COVID misinformation for millions to see.

In response to Christensen’s outburst, Scott Morrison has shared that his government “does not support misinformation in any way, shape or form”.

“That is not the position of the government and my government will not support those statements where there is misinformation that is out and about in the community, whether it’s posted on Facebook or it’s posted on social media, or it’s written in articles or made statements, whether in this chamber or anywhere else,” the Prime Minister added.

So there you have it. Stan Curious George instead of George Christensen if you want to be free of misinformation.