Former Neighbours star Stephanie McIntosh has joined the ranks of Australian celebrities spreading misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic on social media.
The LA-based actress, 35, who rose to fame playing Sky Mangel on the long-running soap, promoted debunked conspiracy theories on her Instagram stories on Monday.
The mother of two shared three posts that falsely suggested the health crisis was being used to ‘cover up’ other deaths in the U.S., before encouraging her fans to follow disgraced celebrity chef Pete Evans.
Oh dear! Former Neighbours star Stephanie McIntosh (pictured) shared false conspiracy theories that the coronavirus pandemic is a ‘cover-up’ on Instagram on Monday and drove her followers to disgraced celebrity chef Pete Evans’ feed
Stephanie shared statistics which are purportedly from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in America claiming that relatively few deaths are caused each day by COVID-19.
As of Monday evening, there have been a staggering 183,000 deaths in the country caused by the respiratory illness.
She also posted a short clip Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison thanking Coles employees for their service during the pandemic.
Misinformation: In the slides shared by Stephanie, she showed statistical information which is purportedly from the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in America claiming that relatively few deaths are caused each day by COVID-19. As of Monday evening, there have been 183,000 deaths in the country caused by the respiratory illness
‘So why are small businesses closed again?’ she captioned the video, suggesting that large corporations have been given special treatment by the government.
She encouraged her followers to click on a link to view the full video on Pete Evans’ Instagram feed.
The former MKR star is a COVID-19 denier and recently lost a lucrative $800,000-a-year job at Channel Seven because of his dangerous and unscientific views.
She also shared a short clip of a video of Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured) thanking Coles Supermarket employees for their service during the pandemic. To watch the entire video, her followers needed to click on a link which then drove them to a post on Pete Evans’ Instagram feed
In July, Evans claimed that COVID-19 was a ‘f**king hoax’ and that the pandemic ‘doesn’t compare to what is happening in the world on a large scale’.
Among his false claims about the pandemic, Pete has previously declared he’s immune to coronavirus, and blamed the health crisis on 5G technology.
He recently endorsed fellow conspiracy theorist David Icke, a Holocaust denier who was denied entry to Australia last year after protests from the Jewish community.
Disgraced: Pete is a known COVID-19 denier and recently lost a lucrative $800,000-a-year job at Channel Seven because of his dangerous and unscientific views
Twisted: Evans’ central belief is that ‘food is medicine’ and that by following a Paleo diet, people can develop superhuman immune systems that can withstand all illnesses, including COVID-19. There is absolutely no scientific basis for this, and Evans is only spreading this information to make money
It is not suggested that Evans endorses the views of Icke relating specifically to Holocaust denial or the Jewish people. He instead supports Icke’s views on globalist conspiracy theories and media manipulation.
Evans’ central belief is that ‘food is medicine’ and that by following a Paleo diet, people can develop superhuman immune systems that can withstand all illnesses, including COVID-19.
There is absolutely no scientific basis for this, and Evans is only spreading this information to make money. Following a particular diet does not make a person any less likely to contract the deadly respiratory virus.
Meanwhile, several reality stars have also been spreading COVID-19 conspiracy theories on social media during the pandemic.
Hoax: Former Bachelorette Ali Oetjen (pictured) shared posts last month in which she falsely claimed that the COVID-19 crisis was a ‘cover-up’ for atrocities committed against children
Former Bachelorette Ali Oetjen shared posts last month in which she falsely claimed that the COVID-19 crisis was a ‘cover-up’ for atrocities committed against children.
Married At First Sight’s Amanda Micallef recently called for Melburnians to stop wearing face masks after they were made compulsory following a surge in cases.
Her co-star Hayley Vernon has falsely claimed that the deadly respiratory disease is spread through the 5G network.
Past: Stephanie rose to fame playing Sky Mangel on the long-running Channel 10 soap Neighbours in the early 2000s