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A CHARITY has abandoned an online campaign thanking “Covid heroes” after it was inundated with vile comments and trolling by anti-vaccination extremists.
Covid:aid launched the campaign on Facebook in October, encouraging the public to nominate, thank and pay tribute to “everyday heroes” who helped others to survive the pandemic.
But the charity said that its posts on the social media site had attracted a flood of abuse, including comments comparing charity volunteers to Nazis and mocking a person who had lost his parents to Covid-19.
Covid:aid founder and chief executive Michael MacLennan said: “We intended Covid Heroes to be a positive moment which could bring the country together and show the best of what Britain can be.
“We weren’t pushing any kind of agenda, there was no vaccine talk, we were just trying to promote people who have been a help during a tremendously tough time.
“Despite this, a minority of anti-vaxxers immediately started flooding our posts with hateful comments.
“All we wanted to do was celebrate how great people have been to each other throughout the pandemic, which made this toxicity all the more shocking.”
Gavin Perrett, whose parents died of Covid and was ridiculed and laughed at, said: “There are probably a lot more people out there like me getting attacked by these faceless trolls.
"They’re not alone – the more stories we share, the more we can support each other, which is why we have to step up and talk about this.”