Conspiracy Theories and Public Health Communication

A New York City billionaire and conservative talk radio host. Two of the most vocally antivax members of Donald Trump's administration. Protesters associated with the "Freedom Convoy" that occupied downtown Ottawa in 2022. What do they have in common?

They all want to save a herd of more than 400 ostriches on a small farm in rural B.C.

Earlier this year, Universal Ostrich Farms was ordered to cull their remaining birds after an outbreak of avian flu killed dozens of them. But the farm has been fighting the government's order in court, claiming the ostriches' antibodies are crucial for research into alternatives to traditional vaccines.

Marc Fawcett-Atkinson, a reporter with Canada's National Observer, explains why the farm's story has spread so widely through the right-wing media ecosystem, finding so much synergy with vaccine skepticism, climate denial, and other conspiracy theories about shadowy bids for global control.