Sam Bowman on Anti-Virus: The Covid-19 FAQ

The Guardian – ICLE Director of Competition Policy Sam Bowman was quoted by The Guardian about Anti-Virus: The Covid-19 FAQ, a website he co-founded to respond to the “robot zombie army’ of coronavirus skeptics.” You can read the full piece here.

“I think you can see that the government is indirectly influenced by [lockdown sceptics],” said Sam Bowman, director of competition policy at the International Center for Law and Economics and another of those behind the site. He pointed to Boris Johnson’s reluctance to impose Christmas restrictions until the last minute, in part because of backbench Tory opposition. “These arguments begin on the fringes and get into newspapers and then get regurgitated by backbenchers, but the people behind them are not accountable.”

The idea for Anti-Virus was born when Bowman, a friend of Ritchie’s, found himself exchanging messages about the problem with O’Brien (who notes he does not share that view of influence on policy). Both were participants in the same fight, and although they felt they were having some success, their opponents were difficult to pin down.