Things hotting up in the Crucible of public opinion
We’re facing the greatest psychological operation in history’: Peter Ebdon reveals his coronavirus conspiracy theory as former snooker world champion claims social distancing tactic to slow infection rate is HARMFUL
Former snooker world champion Peter Ebdon has claimed society is facing ‘the greatest psychological operation in history’ and claims it has been brainwashed by the media regarding the coronavirus.
The 49-year-old, who retired from snooker in April due to a chronic neck problem, claimed social distancing to help prevent the spread is proving to be harmful and encouraged listeners to do the opposite and shake hands in order to ‘build up immunity’.
He also directed listeners to a controversial website, often mentioned by high-profile conspiracy theorist David Icke.
‘There’s an awful lot of brainwashing going on at the moment,’ Ebdon told BBC Radio 5 Live.'We’re facing the greatest psychological operation in history.
‘Is social distancing harmful? Yes, it probably is. People need touch, need to shake hands. They need to build up their immunity.’
The comments were met with bewilderment on social media, with a number expressing their concern at a public figure making such claims.
Ebdon became world champion when he famously beat Stephen Hendry at the Crucible back in 2002.
Ebdon is not the first sportsman to come out publicly with conspiracy theories relating to the pandemic.
Former Arsenal and England defender Sol Campbell claimed that the virus was man-made earlier this month while [boxer Amir Khan suggested] it was linked to 5G phone networks.