EVERY MAN A TIGER KING:

Fringe right-wingers have also been fear-mongering around impending martial law, or that lockdowns are the first sign of fascist control. The Pentagon has tried to stay ahead of some of these conspiracies. Last month, they set up a dedicated "rumor control" page on the Department of Homeland Security website to debunk or explain conspiracies through answering FAQs like, "Is FEMA deploying the Military?", "Is FEMA seizing medical supplies" or "Is DHS deploying the national guard."

Still, protesters across the country brought out signs that likened lockdown measures to fascism. At the #OperationGridlock protest in Michigan last week, some protesters had signs that compared Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to Adolf Hitler.

Anti-vaxxers have also played a central role drumming up distrust and confusion around coronavirus. Bizarre claims about 5G causing COVID-19, or that evil government forces (or Bill Gates) will use the crisis as an excuse to launch a mass-vaccination campaign, have made their way from the fringes. A pair of anti-vaxxers were also behind the viral #FireFauci hashtag, calling on Trump to get rid of top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci and replace him with Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai, a conspiracy theorist known for peddling unscientific remedies.

At a protest in Austin, Texas on Saturday, which was organized by Infowars host Owen Shroyer, people chanted "Fire Fauci." One woman held a sign saying "Make Texas great again! Please open everything!" according to the New York Times. Her seven-year-old daughter held a sign saying "Bill gates can keep his poison -- I'm homeschooled! No Mandatory vaccines."

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