Coronavirus: Melbourne conspiracy group tells people to reject tests and masks

An emerging group of coronavirus deniers is telling its tens of thousands of followers the pandemic is a government conspiracy.

Fanos Panayides (left) and Raphael Fernandez (right) appear in a Facebook post for the 99% Unite group. Picture: Supplied

An emerging and dangerous group of coronavirus deniers is pushing an alarming theory that the COVID-19 pandemic is a government conspiracy, and people should ­ignore social-distancing rules and refuse to be tested.

As Victoria grapples with soaring numbers of the coronavirus, including a record 428 new cases on Friday, The Weekend Australian can reveal that a group called 99% Unite is telling its tens of thousands of online followers the deadly virus is just a cover for the global elite to consolidate their control over the masses.

Led by Melburnians Fanos Panayides and Raphael Fernandez, the group operates across several pages on Facebook in an apparent attempt to evade the ­social media giant’s crackdown on misinformation.

The largest page was started in April and boasts more than 65,000 members.

The 99% Unite follows and promotes a web of anti-public health theories, including that the coronavirus pandemic is a cover for the elite to solidify their power as well as bleeding into existing conspiracies around vaccinations and 5G technology.

The group, which tells its followers not to wear masks and to reject coronavirus tests, is planning a large protest later this month against what it sees as the coronavirus conspiracy.

Academics, community leaders and politicians have all urged people against following 99% Unite’s message, saying it is dan­gerous and ignores science and medical advice around the virus.

In a video posted on Friday, Mr Panayides urged his followers to look out for a smiley face ahead of a demonstration, which he said required half a million people.

“Half a million (people) is what you need standing there in ­silence,” he said.

“What’s going on around the world is just the beginning to mass genocide. Don’t sit there and say I didn’t tell you that something was going on when you see people dropping like flies, when they go and stick people with a vaccine for a virus that your Prime Minister has to lie about the death rate for.”

In a video posted on Thursday night, Mr Panayides questioned whether the Victorian government recommended wearing masks in a bid to weaken the public’s immune system.

“What would be the sinister reason for wanting someone to wear a mask?” he said. “Maybe it’s so your body is constantly being suffocated of oxygen.”

When The Weekend Australian asked Mr Panayides why he was making claims without scientific backing, he replied he had done countless hours of research.

“You do know there are over 10,000 scientific peer reviews which state dangers of EMF radiation on people,” he said.

Islamic community leaders fear the message is being spread through social media and is taking hold within some Melbourne Muslim communities and are pleading for it to be ignored.

An Islamic community elder, who declined to be named, said he was alarmed by the message.

“These conspiracy theorists need to be carefully monitored. Facebook and other social media platforms need to be responsible for the content being put on the net,” he said.

“This particular group who is very vocal are also against health messaging and are asking people to refuse COVID testing.”

Mr Ferndandez along with Mr Panayides and another man visited the public housing in Flemington when nine towers were under “hard lockdown” by the Victorian government.

In a post to one of the 99% Unite groups on July 7, Mr Fernandez said the hard tower lockdowns were the government testing the limits of the public.

“This is a plandemic, hoax and a test to see how much Australians will take and how many resources they need for what’s coming,” he said.

“The great awakening is here and the world has woken up.”

Earlier in July, Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos revealed 10,000 people in hotspot suburbs had declined to be tested, with some stating a belief that the coronavirus was a conspiracy.

La Trobe University research fellow Stanley Shanapinda said misplaced fears around the coronavirus drew on a legacy of different conspiracies, including 5G and anti-vaccination.

“The amplification we see is these various smaller clusters coming together,” he said.

Mr Shanapinda said the influence of the anti-vaxx movement was particularly worrying as it could lead to people refusing vaccinations against the coronavirus if and when one was developed.

“People are refusing to get the test because they think it’s a conspiracy,” he said.

“So if a vaccine is found, you will have the same number of people saying no we don’t want it.”

The warning comes after Richmond AFL star Bachar Houli took to Facebook to urge the Muslim community to undergo testing for the coronavirus.

He also revealed that his mother was battling the disease in intensive care.