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Anti-COVID-19 Sentiments:
The initial response to the COVID-19 outbreak became highly politicised and
quickly became intertwined with political ideologies, misinformation, and anti-
establishment backlash.
As evident in the 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer, the public’s distrust in
institutions (including government bodies and health organisations) was
accelerated by the fears surrounding the immense amount of job losses and business closures. 105 Far-right groups such as The Patriot Prayers, Qanon, and
other anti-government militias capitalised on this widely-felt sense of distrust and
framed government responses to the pandemic as overreach and manipulation,
which reinforced the views of those who were already inclined toward anti-
establishment sentiments. Additionally, health measures put in place by the
government, such as mask mandates, lockdowns, and compulsory vaccinations
became highly polarised amongst varying political groups. As depicted in Figure
5, individuals who associated themselves with the Democrat Party were far more
likely to wear masks and to get vaccinations than those who were Republican.
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