A State of Fear Quotes

“From the first night we were told to lock down I realised I was more frightened of authoritarianism than death, and more repulsed by manipulation than illness.”
― Laura Dodsworth, A State of Fear: How the UK government weaponised fear during the Covid-19 pandemic

“Although lockdowns seem to be accepted by the government officials, the media, and therefore the wider public as orthodoxy, the shocking truth is that they are not orthodox. They were specifically not recommended in the UK or the WHO’s pandemic plans”
― Laura Dodsworth, A State of Fear: How the UK government weaponised fear during the Covid-19 pandemic

“From roadside signs telling us to ‘Stay Alert’, the incessantly doom-laden media commentary, to masks literally keeping the fear in our face, we’ve become afraid of each other. Humans are now vectors of transmission, agents of disease. We have become afraid of our own judgement about how to manage the minutiae of our lives, from who to hug to whether to share a serving spoon. Apparently, we even need guidance about whether we can sit next to a friend on a bench. But perhaps we need to be more afraid of how easily manipulated we can be.”
― Laura Dodsworth, A State of Fear: How the UK government weaponised fear during the Covid-19 pandemic

“2017 study How the Chinese Government Fabricates Social Media Posts for Strategic Distraction, not Engaged Argument2 estimated that from 250,000 to two million Chinese people are hired by their government to post approximately 448 million ‘fake’ social media posts per year. These undercover pro-government commentators set out to be ordinary citizens as they steer conversations in the ‘correct direction’ for the Chinese Communist Party. They are referred to as the ‘50c army’ as they are reportedly paid 50c per post.”
― Laura Dodsworth, A State of Fear: How the UK government weaponised fear during the Covid-19 pandemic

“There’s a feeling after a year of restrictions that people will do anything to ‘get back to normal’. But declaring your health status to use businesses and services has never been normal. The introduction of a health status ID to access products and services will cross a rubicon.”
― Laura Dodsworth, A State of Fear: How the UK government weaponised fear during the Covid-19 pandemic

“Would you go along with another lockdown for a run on the banks, an act of terror, or a food shortage? How about regular lockdowns to reduce CO2 emissions? How about every winter to reduce deaths from flu? Would our fear be deliberately elevated again to make us comply?”
― Laura Dodsworth, A State of Fear: How the UK government weaponised fear during the Covid-19 pandemic

“Effectively, nothing is so permanent as a temporary government measure.”
― Laura Dodsworth, A State of Fear: How the UK government weaponised fear during the Covid-19 pandemic

“Lockdown itself is prison terminology. Only wrongdoers are locked down. At least in law you are innocent until proven guilty. In our biosecurity state we are assumed infectious until proven healthy.”
― Laura Dodsworth, A State of Fear: How the UK government weaponised fear during the Covid-19 pandemic

“We destroyed other countries in the war on terror. This time we’re destroying our own.”
― Laura Dodsworth, A State of Fear: How the UK government weaponised fear during the Covid-19 pandemic

“Propaganda, as a heavy blunt instrument, had been used for centuries,”
― Laura Dodsworth, A State of Fear: How the UK government weaponised fear during the Covid-19 pandemic

“The anonymous special scientific advisor also told me they warned at SPAD and senior civil service level that there would be severe consequences for excess deaths if the country locked down. ‘Lockdown was not the way to go,’ they said. ‘Bluntly, you should try and power through an epidemic. Lockdown was obviously going to tank the economy. We have never trained for a lockdown like this. You don’t do it for a coronavirus. I’ve been through all my papers. It’s just not something we do.”
― Laura Dodsworth, A State of Fear: How the UK government weaponised fear during the Covid-19 pandemic

“For every Covid death we would estimate another four deaths over two to five years, and that is how we plan body storage. You see extra deaths for domestic violence and obstetrics, delayed or missed oncology diagnosis, no admission to A&E, sepsis and suicide.”
― Laura Dodsworth, A State of Fear: How the UK government weaponised fear during the Covid-19 pandemic