Scientists 'strongly condemn' rumors and conspiracy theories - sciencemag
Fake cures and other coronavirus conspiracy theories are ...washingtonpost
After the initial outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), conspiracy theories and misinformation spread online regarding the origin and scale, and various other aspects of the disease.[1][2] Various social media posts claimed the virus was a bio-weapon with a patented vaccine, a population control scheme, or the result of a spy operation.[3][4][5] weki
In January 2020, the BBC published an article about coronavirus misinformation, citing two 24 January articles from the The Washington Times which claimed the virus was part of a Chinese biological weapons program, based at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV).[1][13] The Washington Post later published an article debunking the conspiracy theory, citing U.S. experts who explained why the Institute was not suitable for bioweapon research, that most countries had abandoned bioweapons as fruitless, and that there was no evidence that the virus was genetically engineered.[14] On 3 March, US Senator Marco Rubio, member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and Committee on Foreign Relations, claimed that "malign actors in Beijing, Moscow, Tehran and elsewhere are exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to sow chaos through conspiracy theories – most heinously, the notion that the United States created the disease".[32]
He claimed that those states are "waging disinformation warfare over coronavirus". AN #APPLE EMPLOYEE at the company’s Cork site has been diagnosed with #Covid-19 , the company has said. Some team members are now being asked to stay at home from the company’s campus which employees over 6,000 people. There have been 24 cases confirmed in the Republic of Ireland so far, and a further 12 in Northern Ireland.
Apple said: “One of our employees in Cork has been confirmed to have Covid-19. “We are closely coordinating with the local health authorities who feel the risk to others is low, and the individual remains in self-isolation. the jurnal apple-cork- #coronavirus -5039771-Mar2020 Population control scheme According to the BBC, Jordan Sather, a conspiracy theory YouTuber supporting the far-right QAnon conspiracy theory and the anti-vax movement, has falsely claimed the outbreak was a population control scheme created by Pirbright Institute in England, and by former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates.[1][55] It was reported that multiple social media posts have promoted a conspiracy theory claiming the virus was known and that a vaccine was already available. PolitiFact and FactCheck.org noted that no vaccine currently exists for COVID-19.
The patents cited by various social media posts reference existing patents for genetic sequences and vaccines for other strains of coronavirus such as the SARS coronavirus.[64][3] The WHO reported as of 5 February 2020 that amid news reports of "breakthrough" drugs being discovered to treat people infected with the virus, there were no known effective treatments;[65] this included antibiotics and herbal remedies not being useful.[66]
