Director Pierre Barnérías's documentary Hold-Up aimed to expose "lies, corruption, and manipulation" in France's Covid-19 response. While it gained massive online traction, it has sparked intense backlash for promoting expansive conspiracy theories.
For a brief period, the enigmatic Hold-Up documentary circulated widely on social media. Its poster features two masked faces with eyes bearing logos from AFP, TF1, BFMTV, and CNEWS, alongside the tagline: "lies, corruption, manipulations, Covid-19: Back to chaos." Clocking in at 2 hours and 45 minutes, this film by former TF1 and Europe 1 journalist Pierre Barnérías critiques perceived missteps by French authorities, media, and scientists in managing the pandemic.
Critics like essayist Tristan Mendès France swiftly condemned it, tweeting on November 11, 2020, that it "excites conspiracy." The film drew hundreds of thousands—or even millions—of views and shares, funded by crowdfunding on Ullule and Tipeee, where over 5,000 contributors raised more than 200,000 euros.
At its core, Hold-Up posits that the World Economic Forum is exploiting a lab-created Covid-19 virus to control humanity.
Featuring 37 speakers, the film includes clips from figures like midwife Nathalie Derivaux, who emotionally links transhumanist Laurent Alexandre's pre-pandemic comments to Adolf Hitler. Former Pfizer VP Michael Yeadon dismissed evidence of a second wave, citing false positives. Nobel chemist Michael Levitt forecasted the epidemic's end in February 2020—amid over 2,500 deaths in China—and declared it over in the U.S. by August 22.
Central figure Christian Perronne, head of infectious diseases at Raymond-Poincaré Hospital in Garches, criticizes government policy, backs Didier Raoult's protocol, and has long claimed Lyme disease stems from Nazi-engineered ticks. Other contributors, flagged by conspiracy watchdogs, include Valérie Bugault, Ema Krusi, and Silvano Trotta—vocal on YouTube and social media.
The film highlights early statements from Health Minister Olivier Véran and Jérôme Salomon against widespread masking, aligning with initial WHO guidance that later evolved. It overlooks France's depleted mask stockpiles and insists masks are ineffective for the healthy—despite evidence they protect wearers and curb asymptomatic spread.
Since SARS-CoV-2 emerged, conspiracy claims about virus origins, vaccines, and masks have proliferated, alleging hypoxia or CO2 buildup with no scientific backing, as fact-checks confirm.
> Watch: Breakdown of the film's first 15 minutes
Ultimately, Hold-Up weaves a sprawling global conspiracy, piling unconnected claims—from Bill Gates and Rockefellers to 5G, coronavirus lethality, and a "holocaust" on the global poor. An anonymous ex-intelligence operative alleges a biochemical weapon to depopulate Earth, contradicting scientific consensus, though lab-leak theories persist.
Despite its investigative veneer, the film lacks rigor: speakers' quotes go unchallenged and decontextualized. It dwells on fear-mongering, hypes hydroxychloroquine via a retracted Lancet study, and devolves into muddled conspiracism.
