The coronavirus pandemic has changed many aspects of our lives, including our Google searches. This is the first part of a series in which we will be analysing the interests of Brighton residents and the wider UK public since the start of the year in relation to Covid-19.
There will be various subjects we will be covering, such as food & drink, politics, entertainment, and beyond. This week, our topic is people – from Caroline Lucas to Carole Baskin, who have we been searching for during this time of crisis?
All of the dates highlighted reflect significant peaks in the graphs, showing which events made us search for these people the most. There is a link to all of the topics and stories discussed below so you can learn more about those you’re most interested in.
Brighton & Hove centric searches:
First of all, let’s analyse the interest in our local MPs – Caroline Lucas (Brighton Pavilion), Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Peacehaven & Kemptown) , and Peter Kyle (Hove).
Caroline Lucas’ important dates:
- February 12th – Caroline Lucas was absent for a vote on Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) Bill.
- February 15th – The day after Caroline published her open letter to Alok Sharma after he was appointed President of COP26 – a global climate change summit attended by UN countries.
- February 19th – This was the day it was revealed that Caroline Lucas was put under investigation for offering Parliament tours and other ‘prizes’ in exchange for money during the 2019 general election campaign.
- February 26th – Caroline released a post on her website calling for climate and environmental teaching in schools.
- March 11th – Caroline questioned Secretary of State for Work and Pensions about why certain vulnerable group’s extensions of shared accommodation rate exemptions wouldn’t be introduced for another three years.
- March 30th – This was the day of Caroline’s first weekly round-up on her website during lockdown.
- April 11th – Caroline participated in GScene conversation in which she discussed what it’s like to be an MP in lockdown.
- April 21st – Caroline questioned the Chancellor of the Exchequer about what steps he’s taking to ensure the response to the Covid-19 crisis is in line with a number of agreements surrounding the environment.
- April 22nd – This was the day Caroline criticised ministers’ criteria for lifting lockdown, saying there needed to be more stringent contact tracing.
- April 30th – Caroline was a popular search term this day because she wrote an article for Metro about avoiding future pandemics by relieving pressure on nature. It was also the day a Green Party council motion passed that ensures rough sleepers won’t be without accommodation again after the coronavirus crisis is over.
Lloyd Russell-Moyle’s important dates:
- March 18th – Lloyd received his test results and revealed he was positive for coronavirus.
- March 22nd – In a tweet, Lloyd said that Parliament should stay open virtually, and asked businesses to change the way they work to keep people safe. He also stated that he had made a near full recovery and was “just doing [his] two weeks now”.
- April 14th – Lloyd responded to criticism after leaking an 860 page unredacted Labour report which contained confidential complaints of antisemitism (including minors).
- April 26th – This day saw a lot of fury as Lloyd was slammed for a video in which he claimed Tories have conspired to murder British citizens, and vowed to “rout out” Tories in his constituency saying “we know where they live”.
Peter Kyle’s important dates:
- March 15th – In a tweet, Peter expressed the need for regular updates straight from the PM rather than what’s leaked to the newspapers.
- March 25th – During the week’s PMQ’s, Peter asked when care home staff and residents will receive same-day tests and PPE for workers.
- April 8th – During an interview with ITV, Peter called for action for carers, saying social care needs its own minister, after care homes were hit hard by coronavirus due to lack of tests, staff, PPE, and resources to lockdown. He called for support for care home workers and says they need to be stopped from working between different care homes to slow the spread.
- April 9th – Keir Starmer was appointed Peter as Shadow Victims and Youth Justice Minister.
Next, we compared searches for Fatboy Slim, a world renowned DJ who resides in Brighton & Hove, with Steve Walsh, the man known as the ‘super-spreader’ at the centre of the original UK coronavirus outbreak.
Fatboy Slim’s peak:
April 17th – The day after it was announced that Fatboy Slim would hold a free concert for NHS staff and other blue light workers as a thank you for their valiant efforts.
Steve Walsh’s important dates:
- February 11th – Steve’s identity was revealed and he spoke out for the first time after recovering from coronavirus in hospital, sending his thoughts to those still fighting it. At this point, there were only eight confirmed cases in the UK.
- February 12th – After testing negative for coronavirus on two separate tests that were conducted 24 hours apart, he was discharged from hospital as he was no longer contagious or seen as a threat to public wellbeing.
- February 18th – A New York Times article was released that began by talking about Steve and the way his every movement was documented by the local media.
UK searches:
This graph compares how we have been searching for the former Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, vs. the new Labour leader, Keir Starmer.
Jeremy Corbyn’s peak:
- April 4th – The day Jeremy stepped down as Labour leader and the new leader was elected.
Keir Starmer’s important dates:
- April 4th – Keir was elected the new leader of the Labour Party over Rebecca Long-Bailey and Lisa Nandy.
- April 15th – He called for ministers to publish plans for the end of lockdown due to his concern that it will cause inequalities.
- April 22nd – This day marked the first ever virtual PMQ’s and Keir’s first time asking questions as Labour leader.
- April 29th – At his second PMQ’s, Keir criticised the government over the “truly dreadful” death rate in the UK caused by Covid-19. He stated that we were on track to have one of the worst death rates in Europe.
These two graphs represent people in the UK searching for Boris Johnson and his fiancée Carrie Symonds, who share various similar peaks. Boris’ peaks were much higher than Carrie’s relatively when put on the same graph so they have been separated for clarity.
Boris and Carrie’s shared peaks:
- February 29th – This was the day we learned that the Prime Minister had become engaged to Carrie Symonds and that they were expecting a baby.
- March 27th – Boris revealed that he had tested positive for coronavirus and was experiencing mild symptoms.
- April 6th – After being hospitalised for worsening symptoms, Boris was moved to the ICU “as a precaution”. Carrie was still isolating at home with symptoms.
- April 12th – Boris left hospital to continue his recovery at Chequers and said “it could have gone either way,” as Carrie thanked the NHS staff who saved him.
- April 29th – This was the day that Boris and Carrie announced that she had given birth to a healthy baby boy.
- May 2nd – The name of their child was revealed, as well as the fact that the middle name “Nicholas” was a tribute to two doctors who helped save Boris’ life.
Boris’ other important dates:
- March 12th – Boris declared coronavirus the “worst public health crisis for a generation” and that “many more” people would die from the disease.
- March 16th – This was the day of the first daily coronavirus update given by Boris.
- March 18th – Boris announced that all schools would be closing from the Friday of that week (March 20th) and that all A Level and GCSE exams are cancelled.
- March 23rd – This is a date many of us will likely never forget – the day Boris announced that the UK would be going into lockdown, effective immediately.
As you can see from this 12 month graph, the peak in December around the time of the general election is much lower than when Johnson was diagnosed with coronavirus and ultimately treated in the ICU of St. Thomas’ Hospital.
We have been searching for Matt Hancock (Health Secretary), Michael Gove (Minister of the Cabinet Office), and Dominic Raab (Foreign Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister) much more than usual during this pandemic due to their leading roles in the government’s response.
Matt Hancock’s important dates:
- March 15th – Hancock made an appearance on The Andrew Marr Show in which he stated that over 70s would be told to stay home within weeks.
- March 19th – He delivered updates to MPs about the government’s plan to “contain, delay, research, and mitigate the virus.”
- March 27th – This was the day it was revealed that Matt had been diagnosed with coronavirus, saying he was thankful that his symptoms were mild and that he was self-isolating and working from home.
- April 2nd – The day the target of 100,000 tests per day by end of April was set by Hancock.
- April 5th – Hancock made another appearance on The Andrew Marr Show during which he said that unless lockdown rules were followed, outdoor exercise may be banned.
- April 16th – Matt said that it was too early for lockdown to end and that if it were to be lifted, coronavirus “would run rampant” in the UK.
- April 28th – The son of an NHS doctor who died of coronavirus called on Hancock for a public apology, saying his father warned about the lack of PPE before his untimely death.
- May 1st – Hancock announced that the UK had reached his goal of 100,000 tests per day with an alleged 122,347 tests being conducted on the last day of April.
Michael Gove’s important dates:
- March 24th – He attempted to clear up confusion surrounding lockdown including the rules for children with separated parents and which businesses could be deemed essential.
- March 31st – Gove announced that lockdown measures must not be relaxed and that testing must go “further, faster”.
- April 7th – Michael confirmed that he was self-isolating because a family member with whom he had had contact was experiencing symptoms of coronavirus.
- April 13th – People were angered by the fact that Gove’s daughter had been tested after experiencing symptoms over NHS staff.
- April 19th – In response to the Sunday Times article about the government’s failings, Gove admitted that PM Boris Johnson had missed five COBRA meetings but said it was “grotesque” to say that his leadership was inadequate.
- May 3rd – Just three days after it was announced that the UK had reached its goal of 100,000 tests per day, Gove admitted that that number had dropped dramatically to 76,496.
Dominic Raab’s important dates:
- March 27th – With Boris Johnson officially diagnosed with coronavirus, attention turned to Dominic Raab, the man set to take over if the PM got too ill to run the country.
- March 30th – Raab announced the £75m plan to bring Britons who were stranded abroad back home.
- April 6th – Boris remained in charge despite hospitalisation but Raab stood ready to take over at this point due to the PM’s worsening condition.
- April 7th – Raab took over for Boris while he’s in the ICU and leads daily briefing.
- April 9th – With the death toll hitting 7,978, Raab urged the public not to break lockdown rules because doing so would ruin the progress being made.
- April 13th – Raab said the public should not expect changes to lockdown rules during that week as the peak of the virus was still yet to come.
- April 16th – The lockdown was extended by Raab for “at least three weeks”, and he stated that we could no longer be “business as usual” with China and that a review of the outbreak is necessary.
- April 22nd – During the first virtual PMQ’s, Raab vowed to reach the 100,000 testing target set out by Matt Hancock.
- April 26th – Despite some public outcry for less restrictive lockdown measures, Raab refused, and went on to say that UK must find a “new normal” in order to ease it (on The Andrew Marr Show). He also refused to publish who is on the scientific advisory group.
- April 27th – Raab said it’s unlikely a vaccine for coronavirus will be ready within the year, as Boris Johnson returned to Number 10.
- April 29th – On the day of Boris’ son’s birth, Raab announced that the UK coronavirus death toll had reached 26,097.
We looked into at how Britons have been searching for US President Donald Trump and his questionable remarks surrounding coronavirus.
Donald Trump’s important dates:
- February 24th – Trump tweeted that the US had coronavirus “very much under control” and that the stock market was “looking very good to him”.
- March 4th – Sean Hannity interviewed Donald Trump via telephone.
- March 13th – Trump declared coronavirus a national emergency and said he takes no responsibility for failures.
- March 14th – The travel ban that had originally left the UK and Ireland exempt changed to include them as banned countries.
- March 19th – Trump bashed the news coverage of coronavirus in the US, agreeing with one reporter who said the media was siding with China.
- March 20th – Trump called NBC journalist, Peter Alexander, a “terrible reporter” who asked a “nasty question”. The question was: “What do you say to Americans, who are watching you right now, who are scared?”
- March 21st – The Washington Post report on early pandemic warning signs was deemed “very inaccurate” by Trump.
- March 27th – Trump signed a historic $2.2tn stimulus relief package into law.
- April 1st – Trump revealed that the federal stockpile of PPE was almost empty.
- April 6th – Trump mused that the US will reopen as normal “sooner than people think”.
- April 7th – Donald Trump offered to “help” Boris while he was in the ICU with untested drug.
- April 14th – Trump decided to halt World Health Organisation funding over their handling of coronavirus.
- April 18th – At a daily coronavirus briefing Trump went full campaign mode and began to berate the media and gun control.
- April 24th – On the 23rd, Trump said injecting disinfectants and using UV light could be possible cures for coronavirus. On the 24th is when most of the UK found out about these highly questionable and dangerous claims.
- April 29th – Trump rejected the idea that social distancing is the new normal, saying that it will go away soon and that the lockdown measures will fade out as they were set to expire on Thursday the 30th.
- May 1st – The day Trump said he wanted the country to reopen. Some states did reopen, and the US saw it’s deadliest day for coronavirus patients.
To end on a lighter note, we looked at the UK’s searches for the stars of Netflix’s Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness – Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin.
Joe Exotic’s important dates:
- March 22nd – The day the smash hit Netflix original “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness” was released. Joe Exotic, the star, was interviewed from prison on the same day.
- March 29th – Rapper Cardi B vowed to free Joe from prison and said she “stans” him.
- March 31st – A video surfaced of Joe on an outraged rant about the fact that he can’t say the N word.
- April 1st – Cardi B tweeted “feed him to the lions” in response to the N word video.
- April 2nd – It was confirmed by his husband that Joe had been moved into quarantine at different prison amid rumours that he had coronavirus. Joe did not have the virus himself, but others at his original prion did, leading to his transfer.
- April 10th – Tiger King’s return to Netflix for a special episode was confirmed, and Joe was said to be “over the moon” about his newfound fame and how people had reacted to the show.
- April 12th – The day the Tiger King special episode was released on Netflix.
- April 15th – Joe’s husband Dillon Passage revealed that Joe is a big Trump supporter on ITV’s This Morning.
- April 25th – Dillon said that Joe never abused animals and played up “activist hoax” angle.
- May 3rd – Louis Theroux said he liked Joe when he met him while filming a documentary in 2011.
Carole Baskin’s important dates:
- March 22nd – The day Tiger King was released on Netflix.
- April 2nd – Howard Baskin, Carole’s current husband, spoke out in her defence, saying this was not the type of documentary they thought they were making and played down accusations that Carole was involved in the disappearance and suspected murder of her former husband Don Lewis.
- April 5th – An ex-partner of Carole’s from after her husband disappeared said in court documents (which he filed to get a restraining order against her), that she had teased “dead bodies don’t talk” when he asked what she’d do if Don showed up.
- April 7th – It was revealed that Carole would not participate in the special episode set to air on Netflix at the end of that week.
- April 12th – The new special episode of Tiger King was released on Netflix.
- April 13th – Carole Baskin said she feels betrayed by Tiger King creators as she received death threats.
- April 16th – Jeff Lowe, another major player in the Tiger King docu-series, slammed claims that he was Carole’s unknown first husband.
- April 24th – Don’s lawyer said he was definitely murdered because he never would’ve left the cats he loved so dearly.
- April 26th – The same lawyer theorised that Don was strangled and thrown out to sea from a plane.
The next instalment of this series will be released next week. If you have any topics you would like us to look into, please let us know via email ([email protected]) or social media:
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