Conservative Thought Leaders Freak Out Over Today Show Explainer on Masks: ‘Evil Propaganda’
The Today Show featured a segment Tuesday morning that was a simple explainer on what are the most effective sorts of masks one can wear to prevent getting infected by Covid-19 and how best to wear them. It was a timely segment as the number of daily Covid-19 cases just reached an all-time high, and many morning show viewers surely are interested in how best to avoid the potentially deadly contagion.
What Today Show producers and reporter Vicky Nguyen probably didn’t account for was just how OUTRAGED the pretty anodyne segment would make many conservatives, as flagged on Twitter by John Whitehouse.
Ben Shapiro called the segment “insane,” while Adam Baldwin said it was “evil propaganda.” Conservative talk show host Buck Sexton derided it by saying “clinging to masks is a mental health issue” while former Trump official Ric Grenell asked “who is the executive producer of the who pushing this non-science.”
To wit:
https://twitter.com/AdamBaldwin/status/1478381161676218373?s=20
https://twitter.com/RichardGrenell/status/1478383853538582530?s=20
It’s not exactly clear why masks trigger these individuals so as if an extra layer of caution somehow impedes their civil liberties. One wonders if someone is wearing a jacket during mild weather also makes them outraged. Curiously, many of these individuals espouse libertarian views that encourage citizens to do as they please, though apparently not when it comes to masks?
Oh, and there is real science behind the benefits of wearing masks to abate the spread of Covid-19, according to not just the CDC but also the Mayo Clinic and virtually every other reputable medical health organization.
