FRANKIE DeGROOT | News | CONTACT

As Facebook fills up with coronavirus memes and scary graphs, one thing is conspicuously absent – anti-vaxxer memes from that auntie that sometimes shows up at family barbecues, trying to talk about stupid shit like chemtrails and the high-speed rail bushfire conspiracy.

“We do tolerate her, she’s ok until you get here talking” said nephew Boris, 29. “

Last time I made the mistake of striking up a conversation we got into an argument about whether the world was going to end in 2012. She said that the Mayans were so smart that they knew the world would end 5000 years into the future.”

Boris’ brother Kevin said he had immediately noticed the improvement, although it took a while for him to realise what it was.

“Yeah, at first wasn’t sure why Facebook was putting me in such a good mood and then I realised that COVID-19 had almost completely cured my feed of stupid anti-vax shit. Last time Auntie Val posted something like “Mercury is in retrograde but at least it isn’t in my children” with a black and white picture of an antique glass syringe. I had this big argument with her about mercury not being in childhood vaccines anymore and there not being any link to autism and she just laughed and called me a ‘sheep’”.

But while Boris and Kevin are enjoying the peaceful interlude, their opinions are divided on how long the moment will last.

Whilst Kevin is confident that Auntie Val is a changed woman, Boris isn’t so sure.

“I do get worried that she will be back to her old self, posting poorly-researched conspiratorial scaremongering bullshit after this COVID-19 thing blows over,” says Boris.

“I reckon she’ll probably start with the shit-posting again as soon as she gets back from that cruise”.