A Quick, Long, Interesting Thread 🧵

A quick thread:⁰

A lot of people have asked me this week: Where did this ivermectin obsession come from? Who could possibly benefit from it?

Most importantly, why did my antivaxx aunt start eating horse goo from the tractor store?

It’s complicated, but here are some answers. pic.twitter.com/fJZBjejN0N

— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) August 26, 2021

Since I was getting blocked (by Twitter) I had to sign up to read stuff like this. So I’m posting the thread 🧵 to make sure you can see it all. Welcome to modern times.

Let's flash back to last year.

Remember those pro-Trump doctors who had an extremely viral video that said hydroxychloroquine “cured” COVID-19?

Then-President Trump retweeted it. It had millions of views before it was pulled from Facebook.

That was America’s Frontline Doctors. pic.twitter.com/LQcoeqgQhq

— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) August 26, 2021

America’s Frontline Doctors was founded by Simone Gold, who spent the last year barnstorming churches and schools, insisting COVID vaccines cannot be trusted.

She’s become wildly influential with antivaxxers in the process. She has over 300k followers on this website. pic.twitter.com/drGmJFU2tG

— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) August 26, 2021

Antivaxx groups on Facebook and Reddit wanted ivermectin. Doctors wouldn’t prescribe it.

Members did whack-a-mole with telehealth providers, trying to get doctors to sign off on scripts.

But one reliably obliged: SpeakWithAnMD, who partners with… America’s Frontline Doctors. pic.twitter.com/m2vfTH30Lc

— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) August 27, 2021

We got a hold of the intake form for a SpeakWithAnMD doctor.

One part of the questionnaire asks: “What medication do you prefer?”

The user is then presented with three options: ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, or not sure. pic.twitter.com/8SkpWmRApB

— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) August 27, 2021

This is how people started eating horse goo. pic.twitter.com/0hpoaoKXjM

— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) August 27, 2021

To evade what they believed to be incoming Facebook and Reddit bans, some ivermectin fans started to ask how much their “horse" weighs, so it didn’t look like they were giving out medical advice. pic.twitter.com/2oPGDcL8uC

— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) August 27, 2021

There is one final plot twist.

America’s Frontline Doctors founder Simone Gold was indicted and is awaiting trial... for her role in the Capitol Riot on January 6th.

Out on personal recognizance, she was on the speaker lineup for an antivaxx rally in LA on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/KDk7UltXm7

— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) August 27, 2021

Anyways, here’s our truly bonkers story on America’s Frontline Doctors and what’s really going on in these private, 25,000-member ivermectin Facebook pages.

It was a lot of work. I hope you read it.https://t.co/4vdX8b5A6X

— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) August 27, 2021

If global warming doesn’t kill us, I’m sure Facebook will.