German government deployed scientists to increase fear of covid-19

In Germany, a fuss has arisen about a remarkable collaboration between the German Ministry of the Interior and some scientists. According to Die Welt newspaper, they have worked together on a strategy to increase public fear of covid-19. In this way, the authorities wanted to create more understanding for the covid-19 policy during the first lockdown at the beginning of last year.

According to newspaper, they were able to obtain 200 pages of email traffic between State Secretary Markus Kerber and various scientists and researchers. They were asked to think about how public opinion could be influenced. According to the newspaper, several scientists eagerly responded to this. One of the ideas put forward was the use of images of people dying from shortness of breath to produce a shock effect.

We do not know who the scientists are. In the documents that Die Welt obtained, the names are marked in black. On the political side, it is not so much the party less Kerber that is being targeted, but the man who heads his ministry: Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer (CSU). According to Die Welt, he was worried that he was too hasty about the lockdown and, through Kerber, asked the scientists for advice to increase support.

Secret document

The experts involved would have bundled their advice in a secret document, intended only for Seehofer and his faithful at the ministry. After this, the ministry formulated a worst-case scenario involving possibly 1 million deaths. The lockdown was then extended. It is unclear to what extent Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) was aware. During the covid-19 crisis, she always stood for independent science.