Do you ever go on the internet and think to yourself, “How is this piece of news real? And when did I end up in one of the weirder timelines in the multiverse?” Well, that was exactly my reaction when I saw the ‘news’ about an anti-vax nurse who tried to prove to the Ohio House health committee meeting that Covid-19 vaccines magnetized her body.

You’d think that someone who firmly believes in a conspiracy theory would at least have (what they consider to be) solid ‘proof.’ Alas! Even that seems to be setting the bar too high. Registered nurse Joanna Overholt tried to ‘prove’ that her body was magnetized by sticking a key and a bobby pin to herself… only they fell off.

It was obvious that the nurse applied pressure when putting both on. Let’s also not forget that most modern keys aren’t even magnetic and that our bodies are slightly sticky naturally. The video is priceless (and be sure to watch the reactions of the people behind the nurse). Many internet users thought so, too, sharing their thoughts about the tragicomic circus performance without any reservations. Check out what some of them had to say below.

Pop culture and entertainment expert Mike Sington, from California, gave Bored Panda his take on the viral video that he also shared on social media as a warning. According to Mike, most conspiracy theorists are supporters of former Republican US President Donald Trump. “Vaccine misinformation is a big problem in the US, with wild conspiracy theories being spread online. It seems to be politically based and fed mostly by Trump supporters. It’s hindering the possibility of the US achieving herd immunity in certain states,” he noted that conspiracy theories are having a dangerous effect on the health of the nation as a whole.

A registered nurse tried to prove a completely bogus conspiracy theory about vaccines and it backfired completely

Image credits: The Ohio Channel

“Nearly all of the states that voted for Trump are lagging in vaccination rates, while all of the Biden states have already achieved a 70% adult vaccination rate. Like most everything in the United States, it comes down to the political divide in the country,” Mike said that it’s a partisan issue. He noted that the only way to truly fight back against misinformation is through education.

“The only way to try and fight against stupid conspiracy theories is to continue trying to educate with the facts. The message just doesn’t get through though if you’re part of a cult living in your own reality,” Mike said. “The ‘magnetic nurse’ legitimately believes what she’s saying. She honestly seems brainwashed to me. There’s no logical reason to continue pushing anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, science has proven that.”

The nurse attempted to prove something that is utterly nonsensical

“Explain to me why the key sticks to me. It sticks to my neck, too. So, yeah, if somebody could explain this, that would be great,” nurse Overholt said, as the nonmagnetic key fell off her neck once she stopped applying pressure to it. The anti-vaxxer believed she proved her point, however, her display backfired.

The nurse’s testimony was conducted in support of one of the biggest Covid-19 vaccine misinformation ‘super-spreaders,’ Ohio-based osteopathic physician Dr. Sherri Tenpenny. Her claims that vaccines magnetize people’s bodies are completely baseless.

As amusing as the performance was, misinformation is no joke. Conspiracy theories about Covid-19, vaccines, and (for some reason) 5G have been floating about since the start of the pandemic. And while most of these can be explained away with a simple search on Google, this doesn’t change the fact that a sizeable number of people are skeptical about getting vaccinated.

Here’s how it all went down!

Wow. An anti-vaccine nurse in Ohio tried to prove the Vaccines Cause Magnetism theory in an state legislative committee. The demonstration did not go to plan pic.twitter.com/0ubELst4E8

— Tyler Buchanan (@Tylerjoelb) June 9, 2021

Image credits: The Ohio Channel

Image credits: The Ohio Channel

Image credits: The Ohio Channel The Ohio Channel

Did we mention that most keys aren’t magnetic?

Image credits: The Ohio Channel

Image credits: The Ohio Channel

Image credits: The Ohio Channel

Image credits: The Ohio Channel

Image credits: The Ohio Channel

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Image credits: The Ohio Channel

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The nurse provided her testimony after vaccine conspiracy theory ‘super-spreader’ Sherri Tenpenny claimed that vaccines make you magnetic (spoiler warning: they don’t)

Testimony going off the rails now.

Tenpenny is claiming there is metal in the vaccine that causes forks to stick to your forehead. She saw videos of it on the internet, you see

Also promoting the 5G cell phone network vaccine theory. This is the anti-vaccine “expert witness” pic.twitter.com/sPpuAqmHba

— Tyler Buchanan (@Tylerjoelb) June 8, 2021

“Public trust in science and evidence is essential for overcoming COVID-19,” Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO Director-General, explained. “Therefore, finding solutions to the infodemic is as vital for saving lives from COVID-19 as public health measures, like mask-wearing and hand hygiene, to equitable access to vaccines, treatments, and diagnostics.”

Of course, this skepticism isn’t binary. It’s more of a spectrum. Far from every person who is having second thoughts is a conspiracy theorist. However, these conspiracy theories do exist and they spread mistrust in the health system, science in general, and public institutions. In short, they’re dangerous because they make it that much harder for each nation (and the world collectively) to reach herd immunity to Covid-19.

The more people get vaccinated, the greater the chance of finally getting the pandemic under control. And the results speak for themselves. For instance, very recently in the UK, where roughly three-quarters of adults have received the first dose of their Covid vaccines, there were zero daily Covid deaths for the first time since March 2020.

Here’s how people reacted to the ridiculous display that made some of us lose a bit of our remaining faith in humanity

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