A prominent GB News presenter has been criticized by a leading Jewish group for spreading a “dangerous conspiracy theory.” The presenter, Beverley Turner, tweeted that the Covid virus appeared to have been bioengineered to be less harmful to some Jewish people. This idea was first popularized by Robert Kennedy Jr, a controversial Democratic presidential hopeful who claimed that the coronavirus was designed to target specific ethnic groups while sparing others.
Turner’s tweet, which has since been deleted, seemed to suggest a connection between this bioengineering and Dr. Anthony Fauci, who was the chief medical adviser to the US presidency during the Covid pandemic and a frequent target of conspiracy theorists.
She wrote, “Sars cov 2 virus causes less harm to certain ethnicities – east Asians, and Ashkenazi Jews (Fauci anyone?) than to European, S Asian & African… Just let that sink in.” Turner also linked the emergence of Covid to laboratory research in Wuhan, China, and questioned why this information was not receiving more media attention.
The head of policy at the Community Security Trust (CST), Dave Rich, condemned the spread of this antisemitic myth, stating that it was both dangerous and insulting to Jewish families who lost loved ones during the pandemic. Conservative MP Nicola Richards, co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group against antisemitism, expressed a similar sentiment, emphasizing that no reputable publisher or broadcaster should promote such conspiratorial fantasies.
Turner is not the only GB News presenter to embrace conspiracy theories, some of which are associated with antisemitic tropes. In February, the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the all-party parliamentary group against antisemitism warned that certain GB News segments and guests were contributing to the spread of ideas linked to antisemitism.
The channel, GB News, had previously stated its opposition to racism and hate, asserting that it would not tolerate such content on the platform. However, no response from the channel has been provided regarding Turner’s tweet.