Along South Australia's coastlines, a silent toll is mounting — seals, penguins, and pelicans claimed by an H5 bird flu outbreak that has generated over 11,000 wildlife reports since June. Yet the virus has found a companion in the digital age: a reflexive disbelief, shaped by pandemic-era grievances, that dismisses the deaths as fabrication. As epidemiologists and conservation leaders watch conspiratorial commentary flood the same channels meant to inform, the question before the state is an ancient one — how does a community hold shared truth when trust in its institutions has already been s
'Covid with feathers': Conspiracy theories undermine bird flu response in SA
Multiple wildlife deaths including seals, little penguins, and pelicans; potential for widespread wild bird population impacts.