GB News presenter accused of sharing ‘antisemitic myth’ about Jews and Covid

A GB News television channel presenter has been accused of posting an “antisemitic myth” online after alleging Ashkenzi Jews and east Asians experienced “less harm” from the Covid virus, which “is looking increasingly like a bio weapon to destroy the west.” 

Beverley Turner, who hosts her own weekday show on the channel, tweeted that it should be “on the front pages of every paper” that the “Sars cov 2 virus causes less harm to certain ethnicities – east Asians and Ashkenazi Jews than to European, S Asian and African….Just let that sink in.”

The 49 year-old presenter then wrote:”This is looking increasingly like a bio weapon to destroy the west.” 

Her tweet, posted to her 159,000 followers, was also addressed to ex prime minister Boris Johnson, former health secretary Matt Hancock and professor Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer.

In response to Turner’s claims, Dave Rich, the Community Security Trust’s director of policy, said:”It is both depressing and alarming how easily an antisemitic myth can spread from the cranky corners of the internet into mainstream politics and media on both sides of the Atlantic.

“Not only is this a dangerous conspiracy theory, it is grossly insulting to the many Jewish families that lost loved ones to Covid-19 during the pandemic.”

Writer and broadcaster Dr Matthew Sweet also tweeted:” Bev Turner is literally suggesting that Anthony Fauci engineered Covid as a bioweapon that would spare Jews. On a normal channel this would be a disciplinary matter. ”

The claims about the impact of Covid on the community have been proven false by all official analysis, including that done by the Office of National Statistics which concluded that during Covid’s first wave “Jewish males were at twice the risk of Christian males.”

The British Medical Journal also concluded that even after “controlling for a range of variables there was a large and unexplained increased risk for Jewish males”.

But last week the American Democratic candidate Robert F. Kennedy again made the false suggestion  that Covid-19 was “targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people” and that Jewish people are most immune.

White House, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre denounced the remarks saying;”They put our fellow Americans in danger if you think about the racist and antisemitic conspiracy theories that come out of saying those types of things.”

Turner began her GB News weekday show last November, and has previously suggested vaccines did not protect people from Covid.

She also voiced concern about claims about extreme heat warnings, calling them “weather-fear porn” and once shared fake claims about Labour leader Keir Starmer in relation to Jimmy Saville’s prosecution.

On her Twitter profile, Turner describes herself as “opinionated but willing to listen. “Jewish News approached GB News for comment.