Draft:Died Suddenly

Died Suddenly is a 2022 "documentary" film produced by Stew Peters. If you can't tell what the movie is about just by hearing the title, you've either been living under a rock or just haven't put two and two together yet.

Stew Peters
So what's the producer like? Apparently, Peters is a massive conspiracy nut who runs the Stew Peters Show and has also worked as a bounty hunter. It should thus come as no surprise that his claims range from promoted QAnon, antivax, and Great Reset bullshit. He first gained notoriety for claiming that the COVID-19 vaccine contains snake venom and has referred to it as a "bioweapon." It should also come as no surprise that Mike Lindell and other wingnuts sponsor his show. He also at the America First Political Action Conference advocated for the killings of Dr. Anthony Fauci and Vernon Jones. Due to his promotion of unfounded conspiracy theories, his Twitter account was suspended, and Spotify and iHeartRadio removed his content from his platform. His primary platform is Rumble.

The "Documentary"
Given Peters' personal views, it should come as absolutely no surprise that Died Suddenly is a load of antivax bullshit masquerading as a documentary. In the documentary, Peters claims that the COVID-19 pandemic was orchestrated by "nefarious globalist elites" and the World Economic Forum. He then claims that the spike protein in mRNA vaccines cause excess blood clots, miscarriages, and Bell's Palsy. Testimonies from embalmers and funeral directors allege an excess number of blood clots, which according to cranks like Peters, must certainly be caused by COVID-19 vaccines!

Peters doesn't stop there. He goes on to claim that Bill Gates wishes to kill 15% of the world's population, referencing an out-of-context quote by Gates in a TED Talk in which he claimed that better medicine in poor countries could eventually slow population growth, as it would mean parents would need fewer children. Peters also tries to link the vaccines to an increase in stillbirths since 2021 using graphs. Someone should probably tell this guy that correlation does not imply causation.

Impact
The film was quickly shared amongst opponents to vaccination and has led to harassment campaigns against bereaved families after false or unsubstantiated claims that their loved ones died from the vaccine.

Numerous skeptics left negative reviews, including David Gorski, who called it a "pseudodocumentary" and "propaganda film." More surprisingly, even some anti-vaxxers criticized the film, saying that it was so poorly-researched that it was really trying to discredit the movement. So, maybe this isn't a stopped clock after all.