WEBVTT - Covid Cures and Conspiracies Introducing: The Deadly Cure

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<v Speaker 1>The story I'm about to tell you. It's as old

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<v Speaker 1>as dirt, and yet, like any great story, it perfectly

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<v Speaker 1>explains the moment we are currently in. It's a story

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<v Speaker 1>about a man and a magical potion, something he says

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<v Speaker 1>will save the world for just a few dollars of vile.

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<v Speaker 1>But there's a catch that potion. It might also kill you.

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<v Speaker 1>This is no run of the mill elixir, though it's

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<v Speaker 1>a miracle cure, a cure that people all over the

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<v Speaker 1>world believe in. Factions form for and against it. Spiritual

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<v Speaker 1>warfare has ignited, at least in places like Reddit and Telegram.

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<v Speaker 1>Real damage has been done, Lies spread, lives hang in

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<v Speaker 1>the balance. This is the story of what happens when

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<v Speaker 1>it's hard to sort the facts from the fiction. There's

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<v Speaker 1>this one video I keep coming back to. It starts

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<v Speaker 1>with a black screen, white text. It reads a growth

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<v Speaker 1>negligence of the First Amendment being observed in real time.

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<v Speaker 1>Real time is in all caps. It flashes on the

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<v Speaker 1>screen like a warning. It gives you the impression you're

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<v Speaker 1>about to see some sort of shocking miscarriage of justice.

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<v Speaker 1>You are not, anyway. It's stated April right at the

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<v Speaker 1>beginning of the pandemic. You're crossing property. Okay. The video

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<v Speaker 1>is a grainy handheld recording, probably from a phone. We

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<v Speaker 1>see an officers standing on the front steps of a

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<v Speaker 1>single family home with a front yard covered in dirt

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<v Speaker 1>and patchy grass. It looks like the South. The camera

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<v Speaker 1>is trained on his back about five ft away. He's

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<v Speaker 1>posting a piece of paper to a door, and the

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<v Speaker 1>man in the camera his name is Jonathan Grennan. Jonathan's dad,

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<v Speaker 1>Mark Grennan, is that man with the magical potion. The

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<v Speaker 1>salesman and the cops have just showed up to shut

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<v Speaker 1>them down. What's your name, deputy? Okay? You two. The

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<v Speaker 1>camera swings around two other men who are watching over

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<v Speaker 1>the scene. They're armed, badges hooked onto their belts. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>I got you guys. Guess what. I'm going to the

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<v Speaker 1>sheriff with this. The First Constitute right, the Constitution, the

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<v Speaker 1>First Amendment says there's in the Congress will make no law. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>I I don't have a law, and you are harassing me.

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<v Speaker 1>The cops aren't just here for Jonathan, they're here for

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<v Speaker 1>his family too, because the thing, this miracle product Jonathan's protecting,

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<v Speaker 1>it's a family affair together. They've built a whole business

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<v Speaker 1>empire around it, a church, global following, and a fortune.

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<v Speaker 1>It's no wonder. Jonathan is pissed. The cops are here.

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<v Speaker 1>There's a lot at stake. You guys, you guys, you

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<v Speaker 1>you should search your souls. The three men start to

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<v Speaker 1>walk away. Jonathan follows them, chasing them to the street.

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<v Speaker 1>So guess what. You are going to be followed up,

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<v Speaker 1>and we're going to talk to the We're going to

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<v Speaker 1>talk to the sheriff. You should stay away from here.

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<v Speaker 1>One of the cops gives Jonathan a thumbs up dismissively,

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<v Speaker 1>he gets into his car. You should never be coming

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<v Speaker 1>here again because Jesus Christ's Lord, and he will come

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<v Speaker 1>one day and he's gonna save us from this. You

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<v Speaker 1>have no right here. You are nothing to me. You

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<v Speaker 1>are nothing. But the police on that video did have

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<v Speaker 1>a right, in fact, a responsibility. The piece of paper

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<v Speaker 1>the cop posted to their door it was a temporary

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<v Speaker 1>restraining order signed by a federal judge. For years, the

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<v Speaker 1>family had been hawking their miracle cure around the globe

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<v Speaker 1>and in dark corners of the Internet. It had brought

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<v Speaker 1>thousands of people hope that it would fix any manner

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<v Speaker 1>of things that ailed them. Often, though the so called

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<v Speaker 1>cure did the opposite, It made things worse. The document

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<v Speaker 1>pinned to the door ordered the Grinnin's to stop making

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<v Speaker 1>and distributing their potion, what they called their sacrament. For years,

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<v Speaker 1>the Grinnins successfully shielded themselves from this kind of police intervention.

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<v Speaker 1>Over time, they'd come to believe that certain laws just

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<v Speaker 1>didn't apply to them, would never apply to them. But

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<v Speaker 1>Jonathan's camera captured something different that day. That's what I

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<v Speaker 1>find so interesting about this video. Why keep coming back

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<v Speaker 1>to it. There's this fury, this desperation in his voice,

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<v Speaker 1>almost like he knew the jig was up. Jesus Christ

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<v Speaker 1>is Lord, and he is gonna come back, and he's

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<v Speaker 1>gonna save us from this evil. I'm fire. The camera

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<v Speaker 1>shakes as it follows an unmarked black sedan as it

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<v Speaker 1>slowly rolls past Jonathan and down the narrow suburban street.

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<v Speaker 1>You don't come back on my land again. This is

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<v Speaker 1>the land of the Lord Jesus Christ. You stay away

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<v Speaker 1>from here. They would be back from Neon Media, Sony

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<v Speaker 1>Music Entertainment, and Bloomberg News. I'm Kristen B. Brown and

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<v Speaker 1>this smoke screen Deadly Cure, a podcast about how family

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<v Speaker 1>on the Fringe convinced thousands of people across the globe

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<v Speaker 1>to buy a miracle liquid made of poison. The international

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<v Speaker 1>conspiracy it ignited, and the people who fought to take

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<v Speaker 1>them down aw