Paul Rudd, John Cena Warn Against COVID Conspiracies

Every day scientists and researchers are learning more about COVID-19. Unfortunately, every day the internet is also flooded with more misinformation about the disease. That includes whether or not it’s even real. (IT IS.) And, because of social media, those dangerous conspiracy theories can spread like a virus themselves. They infect people who aren’t investigating the veracity of what are often well-produced lies. But John Oliver has a way to help you reach family members and friends who are falling victim to internet hoaxes. The Last Week Tonight host recruited some famous faces for the cause, as Paul Rudd, John Cena, Catherine O’Hara, Billy Porter, and Alex Trebek recorded videos about identifying fake coronavirus theories.

The latest episode of Last Week Tonight focused on the prevalent problem of fake COVID-19 conspiracies. They’ve led people to take the virus less seriously than they should or to harass those actually fighting it. These hoaxes and wild claims actively undermine our efforts to stop the disease. So getting people to both a) recognize untrustworthy “news” sources and b) verify “information” they come across can be a literal matter of life and death. However, John Oliver knows he’s not always the best choice to spread certain messages. Not everyone trusts him. So he got popular stars to do it for him. They recorded brief messages about what constitutes accurate, real information.

HBO

You can send their videos, found at TheTrueTrueTruth.com, to your loved ones (who might not want to listen to you either). And you can choose the perfect messenger for your target conspiracy-believing audience.

There’s one from beloved ageless wonder and tiny superhero Paul Rudd.

You can also send a message from a very serious, undressing John Cena.

Yes, he and John Oliver do have the exact same birthday. Same day and same year. I know because I verified the claim like the video told me.

One of the greatest people on the planet, international treasure Catherine O’Hara, also offered up some kind, uplifting words of wisdom.

Need someone with more pizzazz? More style? More flair? Well if you need more of all three Billy Porter is here to help.

This whole project is, of course, focused on finding the right answers. And no one is more trustworthy about giving correct facts than Jeopardy‘s Alex Trebek.

No matter which celeb you listen to, they all have the same message: check your sources and use common sense. Simple enough. But it was still nice to hear Paul Rudd say it. He’s just so trustworthy.

Featured Image: HBO