They have been an issue for a long time. But COVID really gave a boost to these schools of thought and those that opposed COVID quickly found themselves on networks and pages that were and are spreading right wing and Russian propaganda. It is a huge mess and truly arrived in the middle of society. I have people at work in high positions getting ready to fight some boogyman government overreach that was supposed to happen with COVID, but didn't happen. Now it is supposed to happen as part of climate change policies... for a while I have kept the official information on what to do if you encounter a Reichsbürger by our BND at hand. It is ridiculous.