And there were riots over mask laws and lockdowns back then. Try telling that true story and you are likely to get banned from the internet for "fake news misinformation".
My son had to do a covid related school project...it was to put together an informative website. He chose to go the historical route, comparing to other pandemics. Over several weeks he would find something - like the riot stories, and then the next day go to incorporate it and it would be gone...removed from the internet. I had a lot of fun showing him the wonders of the wayback machine.