ThePrint is now blaming groups on Telegram and Instagram for spreading anti-vaxxer rumours among people, after fanning vaccine hesitancy relentlessly for months. Not merely that, after suggesting that vaccinating the whole population could cause great harm, it is now blaming the government for not doing enough to push back against anti-vaccine propaganda.
Rachel John wrote in her article for ThePrint, “With no good rebuttal offered by the government, which at this point is too busy saving face, India could be looking at widespread vaccine distrust. Something that it just cannot afford. Science is our greatest hope against this pandemic.”
In January, ThePrint was singing a completely different tune. It published an article with the headline, “Majority Indians have natural immunity. Vaccinating entire population can cause great harm”.
By the 19th of January, ThePrint had published an article which argued why India will not see a big second wave of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier in the same month, another article called DCGI’s approval for Covaxin a “political jumla”.
Shivam Vij, a columnist for the portal, put out a misleading half-truth about Covaxin when he posted a tweet saying two weeks after taking the vaccine, Anil Vij tested positive for the Coronavirus. The likes of Shivam Vij were indirectly hinting that it was the vaccine approved by the Modi government for carrying out Phase 3 that resulted in the transmission of the virus to the Haryana Minister.
Thus, after fueling vaccine hesitancy themselves, ThePrint is pointing fingers at others. As Tywin Lannister remarked in the Game of Thrones, “Men love to blame demons when their grand plans unravel.” It appears to be the same case here as well
