A self-proclaimed "mystic" who predicted New Zealand would be plunged into lockdown for "a couple of weeks" this month has fallen short with his prophecy, and now experts are rebuking the popular TikToker for fuelling reliance on untrustworthy information.
The supposed psychic, who goes by the name of 'Mystic W', has amassed more than 1.4 million followers and 21.3 million likes on the video-sharing platform TikTok. Popularised by his predictions, which he claims come to him as visions in his dreams, Mystic W recently foretold that New Zealand would enter a two-week lockdown from August 10 to August 23, with community cases emerging on August 8 or 9.
He first claimed New Zealand would enter lockdown "for a couple of weeks" in August, before clarifying in another video that both the North and South Island would be under lockdown from August 10 until August 27. He then changed the end date to the 23rd.
When it was announced on Monday that 11 of 21 crewmen on-board the Rio De La Plata, a container ship docked at the Port of Tauranga, had tested positive for COVID-19 - with 94 port workers stood down as a precautionary measure after coming into contact with the vessel - social media was flooded by excited believers who claimed the news gave Mystic W's claims credibility.
But on Tuesday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed that 109 swabs taken "in and around" the Port of Tauranga had all tested negative, and no restrictions or lockdown measures were announced.
Mystic W's TikTok, which is understood to have been made private a few days ago, currently remains inaccessible to people who do not already follow him.
Now, experts are warning of the dangers associated with putting credence in baseless prophecies and predictions. Giulio Dalla Riva, who leads the Data with Relations research group at Canterbury University, told the New Zealand Herald conspiracy theorists and 'mystics' who make wild predictions are simply distracting people from the real issue at hand - the ongoing pandemic.
"The danger is people only remember the predictions these people are getting right, not the ones they are wrong about," Dalla Riva told the Herald.
"They are creating distractions and people get confused. It's not easy for everybody to understand who is reliable and who isn't. It's quite easy to fall for these.
"All these conspiracies are damaging as they create distractions from the real issues… people get wound up by their claims [in their search for truth] and it nurtures polarisation."
A survey earlier this year, published in a report by Te Mana Whakaatu, the Government's Classification Office, estimated that 50 percent of Kiwis believed in some form of misinformation related to the pandemic, with almost 20 percent holding at least three or more beliefs based on misinformation.
The survey, based on the answers of 2301 people obtained between February and March this year, found almost 60 percent of participants had experienced misinformation in the past six months, with 21 percent noticing it daily or weekly.
And it appears some of Mystic W's followers may now be seeing the light through the trees, with comments on a selection of his videos, shared to YouTube, questioning why the lockdown had yet to be announced.
"Looks like it was a sham! Ah well, was fun to believe in it for a while," one commented on Tuesday - the day the lockdown was supposed to begin.
"Haven't had any announcements of community cases like you said," said another.
"Looking very suspicious, I'm sorry but I don't believe your predictions because it has been proven wrong," another wrote.
"Should really call yourself… the real fake con artist. That is more accurate."
