Misinformation
The pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 has caused
a large number of conspiracy theories and misinformation
about where the pandemic started, how serious it is and
the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
Background
According to the World Health Organization, the pandemic
was also an infodemic, with misinformation spreading
like disease. This was because social media let
information spread quickly, because celebrities
sometimes repeated conspiracy theories, and because many
people were locked down at home without much else to
listen to. When doctors or government officials went on
television to say these conspiracy theories were wrong,
that only made people think the conspiracy theories were
important enough for doctors and officials to talk
about. One group of scientists said governments could
use conspiracy theories to distract people from real
problems.
Fake information has been spread through social media,
text messages, and mass media, including the state media
of countries such as China, Russia, Iran, and
Turkmenistan.
It has been spread by celebrities, politicians
(including leaders in countries such as the United
States, Iran, and Brazil), and other important public
figures. Commercial scams have claimed to offer at-home
tests and "miracle" cures.
Other claims include that the virus is a bio-weapon with
a patented vaccine, a population control scheme, or the
result of a spy operation. Many theories say that there
is a link between the virus and Wuhan Institute of
Virology (WIV). They believe that the virus escaped from
the WIV by accident. |
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Origins of the virus
One survey by Pew Research showed 29% of Americans who
answered thought SARS-CoV-2 could have been made in a
lab on purpose and 23% thought it could have been made
in a lab by accident.
In early May 2020, United States Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo said there was "enormous evidence" that the virus
was from a laboratory in Wuhan. but he said it could
have been an accident. Intelligence officials and virus
scientists said it was more likely that the virus had
not come from a lab.
A survey of people in the United Kingdom showed many of
them thought COVID-19 was caused by 5G wireless
networks.
When the leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei, said that
he did not want the United States to help his country
against coronavirus, he named the idea that Americans
had made the virus on purpose to harm Iranians as one of
his reasons: "I do not know how real this accusation is
but when it exists, who in their right mind would trust
you to bring them medication?" |
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