The global annual value of this activity is estimated at €935,000,000 paid by the “giants of social media” to around ten thousand activists who seek to discredit the World Health Organisation and accredited national entities. Such lucrative rewards are justified by the need for liberty of expression which may be tenuous, to say the least, regardless of what effect such malware may contribute to a crisis of public safety.

One of the several links to this investigation led me to the web-site of Lions Den Communications which specialises in providing services in public relations for the pharmaceutical and medical industries. It includes in its clientele such names as Pfizer, Bayer, Johnson and Johnson and, of course, Facebook. In addition to providing “one-to-one” courses in web-cam presentations for executives, it provides comprehensive training courses for the dissemination of propaganda in the media. Its CEO, a Mr. John Clare, is a graduate (mass communication research) of Leicester University and his later journalistic experience of twenty years with the Daily Mail and ITN has enabled him to write a revelatory book about the art of telling stories to promote the intentions of his client companies and their cut-throat world of business. Obviously, such an art is assisted by the ability to manipulate by the omission or redaction of the official statistics for healthcare.

The treatment by vaccination or ingested medicine for diseases will continue long after the present spate of Omicron virus has been tamed. Alterations to our environment and climate will make this inevitable. But the spread of misinformation concerning ailment will bring neither comfort nor well-being to the millions of families grieving their losses by death or by long term illness. Organised teams of trained, affluent and cunning prestidigitators should be dissuaded by lawful means from communicating other than proven and factual information concerning our dreadful forthcoming predicaments.

Roberto Cavaleiro,

Tomar, By email