'Crisis actor' conspiracy theory: How anti-vax activists targeted a Covid patient

'Crisis actor' conspiracy theory: How anti-vax activists targeted a Covid patient

A man was targeted with hundreds of abusive messages after being featured in a year-end BBC News report. The source? Anti-vaccine activists who falsely believed he was a so-called "crisis actor" pretending to be sick with Covid-19.



A few days after Christmas, Henry Dyne nonchalantly checked his phone while ordering a couple of drinks at a bar. As he unlocked it, he was greeted by more than 600 notifications.

He began to despair - it was something he'd experienced before - but, says the 29-year-old from Surrey, this time was "a hundred times worse".

The messages were nasty, abusive, even threatening.

"Next time you're in a hospital bed," one read, "it won't be with Corona."

A few days after Christmas, Henry Dyne nonchalantly checked his phone while ordering a couple of drinks at a bar. As he unlocked it, he was greeted by more than 600 notifications.

He began to despair - it was something he'd experienced before - but, says the 29-year-old from Surrey, this time was "a hundred times worse".

The messages were nasty, abusive, even threatening.

"Next time you're in a hospital bed," one read, "it won't be with Corona."