Anyone can make an Extinction Rebellion sticker

26 March 2020
What was claimed

A branch of Extinction Rebellion tweeted in support of a flyer saying “Corona is the cure. Humans are the disease.”.

Our verdict

Extinction Rebellion says they are not affiliated with the Twitter account.

Images of a sticker using Extinction Rebellion font and logos that says “Corona is the cure humans are the disease” were shared to Twitter on Tuesday by a group claiming to be affiliated with the environmental activists. The images have since been shared hundreds of times.

Since then, the stickers have provoked outrage for appearing to celebrate the deaths of coronavirus victims. The Twitter account behind the stickers XREastMidlands has been disowned by various other Extinction Rebellion groups, which say the messaging goes against the group’s official stance on coronavirus.

The issue here is that anyone can use Extinction Rebellion fonts and logos to make materials resembling the groups signature messaging. Earlier this year, we reported on a white nationalist group who appeared to have produced stickers that mimicked the climate activist group, but deliberately stirred up racial tensions.

It is also possible whoever is behind these stickers sees themselves as part of Extinction Rebellion. None of the group’s Twitter accounts are verified, making it very easy to start an account if you feel aligned with the group’s message and want to form a branch. However, the group does have an official branch list here which does not list Extinction Rebellion East Midlands.

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