Covid-19: trapped in hidden camera, English antivax activist Piers Corbyn accepts 10,000 pounds to stop criticizing AstraZeneca

Such is taken who believed to take.

Since the start of the Covid-19 crisis, Piers Corbyn has become one of the leaders of the anti-ax movement in the UK.

Strong opponent of health measures, follower of conspiracy theories, the brother of the controversial former Labor Party boss Jeremy Corbyn even launched a campaign called “Stop New Normal” to make his fight heard.

But recently, he seems to have given up his convictions for a while against a nice sum of money ... In a video shot with a hidden camera, two comedians indeed explain how they trapped the activist, by offering him 10,000 pounds sterling (13,000 euros) and by making him believe that this sum came from AstraZeneca.

To read also: Mathieu Bock-Côté: "The antivax or the critical mind gone mad"

“

”said Josh Pieters, South African YouTuber living in London, specialist in hoaxes.

His friend Archie Manners is a British comedian and magician, host of a reality show on MTV International.

The two men have almost 1.5 million subscribers on their YouTube channel.

A cleverly orchestrated scenario

In their video, Josh Pieters and Archie Manners reveal the transaction, but also behind the scenes of their hidden camera. Their initial coverage? The first is the son of an investor who made his fortune in a chain of restaurants in South Africa and who owns shares in the pharmaceutical alliance AstraZeneca. The second is his business advisor. The two young men intend to offer Piers Corbyn a wad of cash, in exchange for which the latter will have to stop his criticism of the Swedish-British firm to concentrate his attacks on his rivals Pfizer and Moderna. First, they contact their target by email, offering them a donation for their anti-tax campaign. "

" Piers Corbyn replies, asking them to set up a date.

Read also: Can antivaxes invoke the Kouchner law against the vaccine obligation?

Monday July 30, Josh Pieters and Archie Manners therefore find their victim on the terrace of a London restaurant surrounded by cameras, with the complicity of the managers.

After the usual formalities, the South African YouTuber gets to the heart of the matter, explaining to him that his family has placed money with AstraZeneca, for strictly professional reasons.

"

," continues the young man, drawing a wad of banknotes in a paper envelope.

“

»Exclaims Piers Corbyn, stressing that he can only accept the offer if he is not influenced in his speech.

The two bogus businessmen ask him, in return, to instead turn his attacks on Pfizer and Moderna.

What the activist accepts, before drawing up on a corner of the table a list of the positive points of the AstraZeneca vaccine, according to the comedians.

"

", we can hear him say in particular.

Monopoly tickets

Then comes the delicate moment for the two comedians. To keep the situation realistic, they show their target a real wad of cash, which they must now retrieve from Piers Corbyn's face and beard. Two actors come into play: Josh Pieters' girlfriend, claiming to be a fan of the activist, asks him for a selfie to distract him. Meanwhile, another man slips, neither seen nor known, behind the two YouTubers to exchange the two kraft envelopes. The small group continues their discussion, and Piers Corbyn ends up leaving with the fake money, not without explaining to his two interlocutors that if one asks him where the sum comes from, he will simply say "

”.

To read also: "Does the principle of freedom justify not being vaccinated?"

If the video does not show his reaction to the discovery of the subterfuge, the activist was quick to react on the site of his “Stop New Normal” campaign. He immediately denounced a montage and a biased representation of the exchange he had with the two comedians. “

, ”he explained in a video. But the damage was done: Piers Corbyn was caught red-handed, accepting money he believed was from AstraZeneca. A gesture seen in three days by more than 460,000 people.