Republican Senator Ron Johnson amplified a number of Covid-19 conspiracy theories in a Fox Business Network segment bloated with false claims about the disease amid a growing number of hospitalisations and infections. While public health officials are urging Americans to stay up to date with vaccinations, the Wisconsin senator and Fox personality Maria Bartiromo falsely refuted vaccine efficacy and safety while wrongly stating that ivermectin is an approved treatment. The senator also revived baseless conspiracy theories circulated by anti-vaccine influencers like Robert F Kennedy Jr, who has faced ongoing scrutiny for his bogus suggestion that the virus is a biological weapon used to target certain demographics and spare Jewish and Chinese people. “This was all pre-planned by an elite group of people,” Mr Johnson said on the network on 11 August. “We’re up against a very powerful group of people … We are going down a very dangerous path, but it’s a path that is being laid out and planned by an elite group of people that want to take total control over our lives, and that’s what they’re doing bit by bit.” Mr Johnson and Ms Bartiromo also falsely claimed that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved ivermectin to treat Covid-19. Their bogus claims follow a recent appeals court hearing in a lawsuit from three doctors who have accused the federal agency of overstepping its authority by telling people not to take the drug. A federal judge appointed by Donald Trump dismissed the lawsuit last year. FDA attorneys argued that the agency did not prohibit doctors from prescribing the drug but had issued guidance recommending against its use. Right-wing media falsely interpreted those statements to mean that the agency now is endorsing the drug. Ms Bartiromo also admitted to taking ivermectin – which still is not authorised or approved for use in preventing or treating Covid-19 – before falsely stating that the FDA says it’s “fine” to use. “It was hard to find my doctor to finally, you know, address this and prescribe ivermectin,” she said. “He did, my Covid was gone in a day when I took ivermectin. And now three years later, the FDA says, ‘Oh, yeah, that’s fine. Take ivermectin.’” The FDA has not said that. The segment aired as Covid-related hospitalisations begin to surge across the US, increasing 12.5 per cent over the last week to more than 9,000, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. EG.5, an offshoot of the omicron variant that sparked waves of new infections, has been circulating in the US since April, now accounting for more than 17 per cent of Covid infections, according to the CDC. Last month, Mr Kennedy – a prominent anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist who is seeking an extremely long-shot bid for the Democratic nomination for president – revived an antisemitic conspiracy that blames Jewish people for the emergence of the disease. He baselessly stated during a press event that “there is an argument to be made” that the disease is “ethnically targeted”. The Independent has requested comment from Fox and a spokesperson for Mr Johnson. Read More Everything we know about EG. 5, the Covid subvariant dominating the US Data from pharmacy chain suggests Covid cases in California have nearly doubled since June RFK Jr’s ‘horrific antisemitic and xenophobic views’ detailed in explosive report Fox News promotes conspiracy theory linking Bronny James collapse to Covid vaccine

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Taylor Swift announced last night that 1989 (Taylor's Version) is coming later this year - and Swifties correctly predicted the singer would share this news on this day (August 9) The pop star shared the exciting update with her fans during her last Los Angeles show after playing at the SoFi Stadium for six nights, concluding the US leg of The Eras Tour. "And so now, here we are on the last night of the U.S. leg of The Eras Tour in the eighth month of the year on the ninth day," she said, with the 8/9 alluding to the album title. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter "You might have noticed there are some new outfits in the show. "There's something that I've been planning for a really, really, really ridiculously, embarrassingly long time, and instead of telling you about it, I think I'll just sort of show you," she added as the album cover appeared on the big screen with the October 27 release date. Swifties are of course thrilled at the news, but many in the dedicated fanbase saw this announcement coming with many accurately predicting it would happen on 8/9. "So we all know the tour ends on August 9, 8/9, 89 but I was sitting here curious, how many active weeks of tour would that be or like weeks she's had shows or weekends which would also be the number of she would've played on the whole tour," @amberpunkrose said. @amberpunkrose My sanity is gone #taylorswift #greenscreen #1989 #swiftie #taylorsversion ##erastour##tour##1989taylorsversion ##eastereggs After counting four times, she realised the answer was 19 - "She's ending the tour on 19-8/9, 1989," the TikToker concluded in the video posted last month. A viral TikTok by @swakbeauty asked "Is 1989 TV being announced on 8/9? She [Swift] almost let her out!" as a recent clip from The Eras Tour played of Swift singing 'Look What You Made Me Do' while dancers are dressed in her previous eras stuck in glass boxes. @swakbeauty Will 8/9 be the lucky day? 🔮 #1989taylorsversion #LATSTheErasTour #lookwhatyoumademedo #latstheerastour #tstheerastour #taylorswift #erastour #latserastour #losangeles #sofistadium The clip referred to Swift almost releasing the dancer in the outfit from the 1989 era, teasing the new re-recording. There were also rumours circulating about Starbucks receiving a 1989 (Taylor's Version) playlist this week to play in stores, as @jessicagolich explained sharing a tip from celebrity gossip account DeuxMoi which suggested some news about the re-recording was coming soon. @jessicagolich #greenscreen Rumors are swirling that 8/9 is the day for 1989 TV announcement 👀☕️🍵 #starbucksplaylisttaylorswift #taylorswift1989tv #1989taylorsversion #taylorsversion1989 #swiftienews #taylorswiftnews #sofinight4 #tstheerastourlosangeles While another eagle-eyed fan @alexantonides noticed that Swift had an Instagram post scheduled, believing it to be the album announcement. @alexantonides I am freaking out #1989taylorsversion #fyp #swifttok #tstheerastour #latstheerastour #1989 @Taylor Swift So it looks like Swifties were spot on with their prediction. This new 1989 (Taylor's Version) re-recording comes after Swift released Fearless (Taylor's Version) in April 2021, followed by Red (Taylor's Version) in November 2021, and most recently Speak Now (Taylor's Version) on July 7 this year. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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