“People are constantly addressing me on the street,” he says in a response to our editors. “But these kinds of incidents, as you can see in the video in Mechelen, are rather an exception,” he nuances. “Most responses have been very supportive. People raise their thumbs, compliment me or yell ‘well done’.”
Last Thursday, the man who spoke to him on the street was anything but complimentary. “Why are you such a pathological liar?” the videographer yells at the virologist who passes by. “Why do you ask that”, Van Ranst answers calmly as he approaches the man and looks into the camera. “Why were we in a lockdown?” the man poses. “Because that was necessary for health,” Van Ranst responds.
With his hands still in his pockets, Van Ranst wants to run away, but the boy calls out again. “How much did you earn from this?” “Zero euros”, Van Ranst replies. “You are on the news everywhere and you get zero euros?” the video maker replies indignantly. “We’ve seen your video. You get money for this.”
“Of video”
With “the video”, according to the virologist, the boy refers to a video from 2019 that has been circulating on the internet for some time. It is a video of a lecture on the occasion of ten years after the swine flu. Van Ranst explains how he approached communication about this virus in the media. “But they cut it up to make it look like I have a dark plan. The way they cut it would almost make me believe that this is a sinister plan. But what I tell there is simply the basis of crisis communication.”
How does he stay calm while people accuse him of a dark corona conspiracy? “I’m used to it. I get comments like this a lot on the internet so I know how to respond. And sometimes those people suddenly crawl out of the depths of the internet and appear on the street.” But as quickly as they appear, they also disappear, according to the virologist.
It is not the first time that Van Ranst clashes on the street with a corona skeptic. Last year someone on the platform of the station in Mechelen brought a Nazi salute to the virologist. The man began to hurl all kinds of curses at the virologist’s head. “He shouted, among other things, ‘dirty communist’, ‘left rat’, ‘they had to destroy you’. The man was sentenced to two months with a suspended sentence.
ALSO READ: Two months with postponement for Hitler salute to Marc Van Ranst
“I’m really tired of that”
He has more difficulty with the people who actually bring lawsuits against him. “I’m really tired of that, because if someone takes you to court, you are obliged to show up.” He then mentions the costs of a lawyer that are involved.
The Dutch corona skeptic Willem Engel recently summoned him to the criminal court. The Dutchman accuses Van Ranst of defamatory statements. During that case, Van Ranst did his defense himself, but this cost him a few days of his time. Last Thursday, the same day the video was shot, the court ruled that it lacked jurisdiction in this case. But the stocking is not over yet. The virologist has to appear in court again on Monday because Engel has issued a new summons.
ALSO READ: Court incompetent, but on Monday Marc Van Ranst will face judge again: “I’m tired of it”
– .
