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One of the marked features of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the proliferation of fake news about the virus. Although commentary on this issue has generally focused on the dissemination of online material by private citizens and organised groups, politicians have often played a major role as well, exacerbating divisions and impairing the effective implementation of measures against the pandemic. This article examines this issue, focusing on Australian politician Craig Kelly, with references to the cases of Donald Trump (US) and Jair Bolsonaro (Brazil). Despite operating in very different contexts, we find a high degree of similarity in the messages they conveyed, which echoed misleading claims being circulated online, and constituted a form of medical populism. These findings show that the problem of fake news is not simply about the activities of shadowy groups online; it is also enabled by the public comments of populist politicians.

Populist politics, COVID-19, and fake news: The case of Craig Kelly