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{{Short description|False or misleading virus information}}
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[[File:Disinfodemic- Deciphering COVID-19 disinformation.pdf|thumb|upright=1.3|page=6|''Disinfodemic – Deciphering COVID-19 disinformation'', published by [[UNESCO]]|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Disinfodemic-_Deciphering_COVID-19_disinformation.pdf&page=6]]
{{COVID-19 pandemic sidebar|expanded=international}}
[[False information]], including intentional [[disinformation]] and [[conspiracy theories]], about the scale of the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] and [[Investigations into the origin of COVID-19|the origin]], prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease has been [[Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social media#Misinformation|spread through social media]], text messaging,<ref name="FTTextMsg">{{cite web |vauthors=Murphy H, Di Stefano M, Manson K |url=https://www.ft.com/content/34b6df5a-ea4a-471f-8ac9-606580480049 |title=Huge text message campaigns spread coronavirus fake news |date=20 March 2020 |work=Financial Times |access-date=25 March 2020 |archive-date=25 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200325214023/https://www.ft.com/content/34b6df5a-ea4a-471f-8ac9-606580480049 |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Media coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic|mass media]]. False information has been propagated by celebrities, politicians, and other prominent public figures. Many countries have passed laws against "[[fake news]]", and thousands of people have been arrested for spreading COVID-19 misinformation. The spread of [[COVID-19 misinformation by governments]] has also been significant.
[[COVID-19 scams|Commercial scams]] have claimed to offer [[List of unproven methods against COVID-19|at-home tests, supposed preventives, and "miracle" cures]].<ref>{{
The [[World Health Organization]] (WHO) declared an "[[infodemic]]" of incorrect information about the virus that poses risks to global health.<ref name="Lowy">{{
{{TOC limit|2}}
==Overview==
{{see also|Media coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic|Deaths of anti-vaccine advocates from COVID-19|Protests over responses to the COVID-19 pandemic}}
In January 2020, the [[BBC]] reported on the developing issue of conspiracy theories and bad health advice regarding COVID-19. Examples at the time included false health advice shared on social media and private chats, as well as conspiracy theories such as the outbreak being planned with the participation of the [[Pirbright Institute]].<ref name="bbc_misinfo">{{
In an attempt to speed up research sharing, many researchers have turned to [[preprint]] servers such as [[arXiv]], [[bioRxiv]], [[medRxiv]], and [[SSRN]]. Papers are uploaded to these servers without [[peer review]] or any other editorial process that ensures research quality. Some of these papers have contributed to the spread of conspiracy theories
According to a study published by the [[Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism]], most misinformation related to COVID-19 involves "various forms of reconfiguration, where existing and often true information is spun, twisted, recontextualised, or reworked"; less misinformation "was completely fabricated". The study also found that "top-down misinformation from politicians, celebrities, and other prominent public figures", while accounting for a minority of the samples, captured a majority of the social media engagement. According to their classification, the largest category of misinformation (39%) was "misleading or false claims about the actions or policies of public authorities, including government and international bodies like the WHO or the UN".<ref name="reuters-institute">{{cite web |vauthors=Brennen JS, Simon F, Howard PN, Nielsen RK |url=https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/types-sources-and-claims-covid-19-misinformation |title=Types, sources, and claims of COVID-19 misinformation |agency=Reuters Institute |date=7 April 2020 |access-date=21 April 2020 |archive-date=7 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307091832/https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/types-sources-and-claims-covid-19-misinformation |url-status=live }}</ref>
In addition to social media, television and radio have been perceived as sources of misinformation. In the early stages of the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United States]], [[Fox News]] adopted an editorial line that the emergency response to the pandemic was politically motivated or otherwise unwarranted,<ref>{{
Misinformation on the subject of COVID-19 has been used by politicians, [[Advocacy group|interest group]]s, and [[state actor]]s in many countries for political purposes: to avoid responsibility, scapegoat other countries, and avoid criticism of their earlier decisions. Sometimes there is a financial motive as well.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/19/america-far-right-coronavirus-outbreak-trump-alex-jones |title=Disinformation and blame: how America's far right is capitalizing on coronavirus |website=The Grenadian |vauthors=Wilson J |date=19 March 2020 |access-date=29 April 2020 |archive-date=13 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210213035523/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/19/america-far-right-coronavirus-outbreak-trump-alex-jones |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://monitoring.bbc.co.uk/product/c201gekj |title=Analysis: Is China finding scapegoats in its coronavirus narrative? |work=BBC Monitoring |access-date=29 April 2020 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308235544/https://monitoring.bbc.co.uk/product/c201gekj |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="buzzfeed_042220_origin">{{cite web |vauthors=Broderick R |date=22 April 2020 |title=Scientists Haven't Found Proof The Coronavirus Escaped From A Lab in Wuhan. Trump Supporters Are Spreading The Rumor Anyway. |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanhatesthis/coronavirus-rumors-escape-lab-china-fox-news-trump |website=
A [[Cornell University]] study of 38 million articles in English-language media around the world found that US President [[COVID-19 misinformation by the United States#Trump administration|Donald Trump]] was the single largest driver of the misinformation.<ref name="Stolberg">{{
==Virus origin==
{{Further|Investigations into the origin of COVID-19}}
{{see also|Xenophobia and racism related to the COVID-19 pandemic}}
The consensus among [[Virology|virologists]] is that the most likely [[Investigations into the origin of COVID-19|origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus]] to be natural [[zoonosis|crossover from animals]], having [[spillover infection|spilled-over]] into the human population from bats, possibly through an intermediate animal host, although the exact transmission pathway has not been determined.<ref name="zoum">{{cite journal |vauthors=Zoumpourlis V, Goulielmaki M, Rizos E, Baliou S, Spandidos DA |title=[Comment] The COVID‑19 pandemic as a scientific and social challenge in the 21st century |journal=Molecular Medicine Reports |volume=22 |issue=4 |pages=3035–3048 |date=October 2020 |pmid=32945405 |pmc=7453598 |doi=10.3892/mmr.2020.11393 |quote=The genomic and bioinformatic analyses of the aforementioned studies, as well as the results of previous studies, confirm that the virus originated in bats and this way put an end to all conspiracy theories regarding this issue.}}</ref><ref name="NatureDivisive" /><ref name=Hakim>{{cite journal |vauthors=Hakim MS |title=SARS-CoV-2, Covid-19, and the debunking of conspiracy theories |journal=Reviews in Medical Virology |pages=e2222 |date=February 2021 |volume=31 |issue=6 |pmid=33586302 |pmc=7995093 |doi=10.1002/rmv.2222 |s2cid=231925928 |doi-access=free |type=Review}}</ref><ref name=barh>{{cite journal |vauthors=Barh D, Silva Andrade B, Tiwari S, Giovanetti M, Góes-Neto A, Alcantara LC, Azevedo V, Ghosh P
An alternative hypothesis under investigation, deemed unlikely by the majority of virologists given a lack of evidence, is that the virus may have accidentally escaped from the [[Wuhan Institute of Virology]] in the course of standard research.<ref name="Hakim"/><ref name="Frutos2021"/> A poll in July 2021 found that 52% of US adults believe COVID-19 escaped from a lab.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/16/politics/biden-intel-review-covid-origins/index.html |title=Senior Biden officials finding that Covid lab leak theory as credible as natural origins explanation |vauthors=Bertrand N, Brown P, Williams KB, Cohen Z |work=[[CNN]] |date=16 July 2021 |access-date=5 August 2021 |archive-date=17 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717235246/https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/16/politics/biden-intel-review-covid-origins/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
Unsubstantiated speculation and conspiracy theories related to this topic have gained popularity during the pandemic. Common conspiracy theories state that the virus was intentionally engineered, either as a bio-weapon or to profit from the sale of vaccines. According to the World Health Organization, genetic manipulation has been ruled out by genomic analysis.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Liu SL, Saif LJ, Weiss SR, Su L |title=No credible evidence supporting claims of the laboratory engineering of SARS-CoV-2 |journal=Emerging Microbes & Infections |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=505–507 |year=2020 |pmid=32102621 |pmc=7054935 |doi=10.1080/22221751.2020.1733440}}</ref><ref name="Hakim" /><ref>{{
The promotion of misinformation has been used by American far-right groups such as [[QAnon]], by rightwing outlets such as Fox News, by former US President Donald Trump and also other prominent Republicans to stoke anti-China sentiments,<ref name="Bannon" /><ref name="TrumpMuddled">{{cite magazine |vauthors=Elliott P |title=How Distrust of Donald Trump Muddled the COVID-19 'Lab Leak' Debate |url=https://time.com/6051414/donald-trump-wuhan-laboratory-leak/ |magazine=Time |access-date=7 June 2021 |archive-date=4 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210604195327/https://time.com/6051414/donald-trump-wuhan-laboratory-leak/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=AP20210215 /> and has led to increased anti-Asian activity on social media and in the real world.<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Alba D |title=How Anti-Asian Activity Online Set the Stage for Real-World Violence |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/19/technology/how-anti-asian-activity-online-set-the-stage-for-real-world-violence.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=19 March 2021 |url-access=limited |access-date=10 June 2021 |archive-date=16 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210616013021/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/19/technology/how-anti-asian-activity-online-set-the-stage-for-real-world-violence.html |url-status=live }}</ref> This has also resulted in the bullying of scientists and public health officials, both online and in-person,{{refn|<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Mello MM, Greene JA, Sharfstein JM |title=Attacks on Public Health Officials During COVID-19 |journal=JAMA |volume=324 |issue=8 |pages=741–742 |date=August 2020 |pmid=32777019 |doi=10.1001/jama.2020.14423 |s2cid=221099095 |doi-access=}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Izri T |title=Winnipeg epidemiologist faces online threats, as concerns about COVID-19 misinformation deepen |url=https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/winnipeg-epidemiologist-faces-online-threats-as-concerns-about-covid-19-misinformation-deepen-1.5163774 |work=Winnipeg |date=27 October 2020 |quote=Experts say the hostility against public health officials is being fueled in part by online conspiracy theories. |access-date=15 June 2021 |archive-date=27 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427213014/https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/winnipeg-epidemiologist-faces-online-threats-as-concerns-about-covid-19-misinformation-deepen-1.5163774 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |vauthors=Marcelo P |title=They were experts in viruses, and now in pitfalls of fame |url=https://apnews.com/article/pandemics-public-health-media-social-media-coronavirus-pandemic-878549db9eb8f2d26eb26a54c2d8c8b2 |access-date=16 June 2021 |website=[[Associated Press|AP News]] |date=20 April 2021 |archive-date=4 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204221717/https://apnews.com/article/pandemics-public-health-media-social-media-coronavirus-pandemic-878549db9eb8f2d26eb26a54c2d8c8b2 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |vauthors=Ryan J |title=How the coronavirus origin story is being rewritten by a guerrilla Twitter group |url=https://www.cnet.com/features/how-the-coronavirus-origin-story-is-being-rewritten-by-a-guerrilla-twitter-group/ |website=CNET |access-date=21 June 2021 |quote=Bostickson has dubbed him a "Chinese puppet," and others have erroneously suggested that Holmes, with researchers working at the Wuhan Institute of Virology including Shi Zhengli, conspired to keep the origins of the pandemic a secret. Holmes has blocked many Drastic members on Twitter because member's tweets have descended into personal attacks. He vehemently denies Bostickson's baseless claims. |archive-date=16 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210616154637/https://www.cnet.com/features/how-the-coronavirus-origin-story-is-being-rewritten-by-a-guerrilla-twitter-group/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Fay Cortez M |title=The Last–And Only–Foreign Scientist in the Wuhan Lab Speaks Out |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-06-27/did-covid-come-from-a-lab-scientist-at-wuhan-institute-speaks-out |access-date=28 June 2021 |work=www.bloomberg.com |quote=One of a dozen experts appointed to an international taskforce in November to study the origins of the virus, Anderson hasn't sought public attention, especially since being targeted by U.S. extremists in early 2020 after she exposed false information about the pandemic posted online. The vitriol that ensued prompted her to file a police report. The threats of violence many coronavirus scientists have experienced over the past 18 months have made them hesitant to speak out because of the risk that their words will be misconstrued. |archive-date=3 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210703120349/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-06-27/did-covid-come-from-a-lab-scientist-at-wuhan-institute-speaks-out |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Achenbach scientists">{{cite news |last1=Achenbach |first1=Joel |title=Scientists battle over the ultimate origin story: Where did the coronavirus come from? |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/coronavirus-lab-leak-theory/2021/06/20/30b10be2-c3d9-11eb-8c18-fd53a628b992_story.html |access-date=9 July 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=20 June 2021 |quote=Perlman, a mild-mannered, grandfatherly virologist at the University of Iowa, didn't know the author of the dyspeptic email and had nothing to do with the emergence of the coronavirus. But he had co-signed a letter to the Lancet in February 2020 saying SARS-CoV-2 was not a bioengineered virus and condemning 'conspiracy theories suggesting that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin.'{{thin space}} |url-access=limited |archive-date=22 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210622181611/https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/coronavirus-lab-leak-theory/2021/06/20/30b10be2-c3d9-11eb-8c18-fd53a628b992_story.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>}} fueled by a highly political and oftentimes toxic debate on many issues.<ref name="NatureDivisive"/><ref>{{cite news |title=Why scientists fear the "toxic" Covid-19 debate |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/coronavirus/2020/10/why-scientists-fear-toxic-covid-19-debate |work=www.newstatesman.com |access-date=15 June 2021 |archive-date=19 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419190840/https://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/coronavirus/2020/10/why-scientists-fear-toxic-covid-19-debate |url-status=live }}</ref> Such spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories has the potential to negatively affect public health and diminish trust in governments and medical professionals.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Islam MS, Sarkar T, Khan SH, Mostofa Kamal AH, Hasan SM, Kabir A, Yeasmin D, Islam MA, Amin Chowdhury KI, Anwar KS, Chughtai AA, Seale H
The resurgence of the lab leak and other theories was fueled in part by the publication, in May 2021, of early emails between National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) director [[Anthony Fauci]] and scientists discussing the issue. Per the emails in question, Kristian Andersen (author of one study debunking genomic manipulation theories) had heavily considered the possibility, and emailed Fauci proposing possible mechanisms, before ruling out deliberate manipulation with deeper technical analysis.<ref name="GuardianNewStudies">{{cite news |vauthors=Spinney L |title=In hunt for Covid's origin, new studies point away from lab leak theory |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/18/in-hunt-for-covids-origin-new-studies-point-away-from-lab-leak-theory |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=18 June 2021 |access-date=18 June 2021 |archive-date=18 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618164516/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/18/in-hunt-for-covids-origin-new-studies-point-away-from-lab-leak-theory |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Gorman J, Zimmer C |title=Scientist Opens Up About His Early Email to Fauci on Virus Origins |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/14/science/covid-lab-leak-fauci-kristian-andersen.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=14 June 2021 |url-access=limited |access-date=18 June 2021 |archive-date=18 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618151000/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/14/science/covid-lab-leak-fauci-kristian-andersen.html |url-status=live }}</ref> These emails were later misconstrued and used by critics to claim a conspiracy was occurring.<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Greenberg J |title=No, emails to Fauci don't show early agreement that virus was man-made |url=https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/jun/02/facebook-posts/no-emails-fauci-dont-show-early-agreement-virus-wa/ |work=[[PolitiFact]] |date=2 June 2021 |quote=The only email that came close to matching that claim noted that while some evidence suggested the virus might be man-made, more work was needed and that opinion could change. The email presented a possibility — a starting point for more research — not a conclusion. The man who wrote that email concluded that the virus developed naturally in a scientific journal article in March 2020. |access-date=18 June 2021 |archive-date=12 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210612224453/https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/jun/02/facebook-posts/no-emails-fauci-dont-show-early-agreement-virus-wa/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Covid: White House defends Dr Fauci over lab leak emails |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57352992 |work=BBC News |date=4 June 2021 |access-date=18 June 2021 |archive-date=14 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614062032/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57352992 |url-status=live }}</ref> The ensuing controversy became known as the "[[Proximal Origin]]".<ref>{{
===Wuhan lab origin===
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====Bio-weapon====
One early source of the bio-weapon origin theory was former [[Israeli secret service]] officer Dany Shoham, who gave an interview to ''[[The Washington Times]]'' about the [[biosafety level 4]] (BSL-4) laboratory at the [[Wuhan Institute of Virology]].<ref>{{cite magazine |vauthors=Polidoro M |author-link=Massimo Polidoro |date=July–August 2020 |title=Stop the Epidemic of Lies! Thinking about COVID-19 Misinformation |url=https://skepticalinquirer.org/2020/06/stop-the-epidemic-of-lies-thinking-about-covid-19-misinformation/ |magazine=[[Skeptical Inquirer]] |location=Amherst, New York |publisher=[[Center for Inquiry]] |volume=44 |issue=4 |pages=15–16 |access-date= |archive-date=12 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112135913/https://skepticalinquirer.org/2020/06/stop-the-epidemic-of-lies-thinking-about-covid-19-misinformation/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Brewster">{{
''[[The Epoch Times]]'', an anti-[[Chinese Communist Party]] (CCP) newspaper affiliated with [[Falun Gong]], has spread misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic in print and via social media including Facebook and YouTube.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |last=Manavis |first=Sarah |title=How US conspiracy theorists are targeting local government in the UK |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/internet/2020/04/councillors-politicians-uk-trump-conspiracy-theory-outlet-epoch-times-coronavirus |website=New Statesman |date=22 April 2020 |access-date=21 January 2021 |archive-date=29 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200429063240/https://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/internet/2020/04/councillors-politicians-uk-trump-conspiracy-theory-outlet-epoch-times-coronavirus |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":11">{{cite web |date=17 April 2020 |title=Viral video promotes the unsupported hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 is a bioengineered virus released from a Wuhan research laboratory |url=https://healthfeedback.org/viral-video-promotes-the-unsupported-hypothesis-that-sars-cov-2-is-a-bioengineered-virus-released-from-a-wuhan-research-laboratory/ |website=Health Feedback |access-date=12 September 2021 |archive-date=3 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203140312/https://healthfeedback.org/viral-video-promotes-the-unsupported-hypothesis-that-sars-cov-2-is-a-bioengineered-virus-released-from-a-wuhan-research-laboratory/ |url-status=live }}</ref> It has promoted anti-CCP rhetoric and [[Misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic#Misinformation regarding virus origin|conspiracy theories]] around the coronavirus outbreak, for example through an 8-page special edition called "How the Chinese Communist Party Endangered the World", which was distributed unsolicited in April 2020 to mail customers in areas of the United States, Canada, and Australia.<ref name=":10">{{
In response to the propagation of theories in the US of a Wuhan lab origin, the Chinese government promulgated the conspiracy theory that the virus was developed by the United States army at [[Fort Detrick]].<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Davidson H |date=20 January 2021 |title=China revives conspiracy theory of US army link to Covid |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/20/china-revives-conspiracy-theory-of-us-army-link-to-covid |access-date=17 February 2021 |archive-date=13 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210313130121/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/20/china-revives-conspiracy-theory-of-us-army-link-to-covid |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{
====Gain-of-function research====
One idea used to support a laboratory origin invokes previous [[gain-of-function research]] on coronaviruses. Virologist [[Angela Rasmussen]] argued that this is unlikely, due to the intense scrutiny and government oversight gain-of-function research is subject to, and that it is improbable that research on hard-to-obtain coronaviruses could occur under the radar.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Rasmussen AL |title=On the origins of SARS-CoV-2 |journal=Nature Medicine |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=9 |date=January 2021 |pmid=33442004 |doi=10.1038/s41591-020-01205-5 |doi-access=free |author-link=Angela Rasmussen}}</ref> The exact meaning of "gain of function" is disputed among experts.<ref name="Robertson L">{{cite web |vauthors=Robertson L |title=The Wuhan Lab and the Gain-of-Function Disagreement |url=https://www.factcheck.org/2021/05/the-wuhan-lab-and-the-gain-of-function-disagreement/ |website=FactCheck.org |access-date=4 June 2021 |date=21 May 2021 |archive-date=8 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210608123024/https://www.factcheck.org/2021/05/the-wuhan-lab-and-the-gain-of-function-disagreement/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Bryant">{{cite news |vauthors=Bryant CC |title=How risky is 'gain of function' research? Congress scrutinizes China. |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2021/0625/How-risky-is-gain-of-function-research-Congress-scrutinizes-China |work=[[The Christian Science Monitor]] |date=25 June 2021 |url-access=limited |access-date=4 July 2021 |archive-date=6 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210706173539/https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2021/0625/How-risky-is-gain-of-function-research-Congress-scrutinizes-China |url-status=live }}</ref>
In May 2020, Fox News host [[Tucker Carlson]] accused Anthony Fauci of having "funded the creation of COVID" through gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV).{{r|Robertson L}}
Citing an essay by science writer [[Nicholas Wade]], Carlson alleged that Fauci had directed research to make bat viruses more infectious to humans.<ref name="Dapcevich GOF">{{cite web |vauthors=Dapcevich M |title=Did Fauci Fund 'Gain of Function' Research, Thereby Causing COVID-19 Pandemic? |url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/fauci-gain-function-covid/ |website=Snopes |date=20 May 2021 |access-date=4 July 2021 |archive-date=8 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210708135413/https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/fauci-gain-function-covid/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
In a hearing the next day, US senator [[Rand Paul]] alleged that the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) had been funding gain-of-function research in Wuhan, accusing researchers including epidemiologist [[Ralph Baric]] of creating "super-viruses".{{r|Robertson L|Kessler flap}}
Both Fauci and NIH Director [[Francis Collins]] have denied that the US government supported such research.{{r|Robertson L|Bryant|Dapcevich GOF}}
Baric likewise rejected Paul's allegations, saying that his lab's research into the potential in bat coronaviruses for cross-species transmission was not deemed gain-of-function by NIH or the University of North Carolina, where he works.{{r|Kessler flap}}
A 2017 study of [[Chimeric virus|chimeric]] bat coronaviruses at the WIV listed NIH as a sponsor; however, NIH funding was only related to sample collection. Based on this and other evidence, ''The Washington Post'' rated the claim of an NIH connection to gain-of-function research on coronaviruses as "two pinocchios",<ref name="Kessler flap">{{cite news |vauthors=Kessler G |title=Analysis {{!}} Fact-checking the Paul-Fauci flap over Wuhan lab funding |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/05/18/fact-checking-senator-paul-dr-fauci-flap-over-wuhan-lab-funding/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=18 May 2021 |url-access=limited |access-date=4 July 2021 |archive-date=6 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210706065130/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/05/18/fact-checking-senator-paul-dr-fauci-flap-over-wuhan-lab-funding/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Kessler Oct 2021">{{cite news |vauthors=Kessler G |title=Analysis {{!}} The repeated claim that Fauci lied to Congress about 'gain-of-function' research |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/10/29/repeated-claim-that-fauci-lied-congress-about-gain-of-function-research/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=21 October 2021 |url-access=limited |access-date=11 February 2022 |archive-date=7 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307181013/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/10/29/repeated-claim-that-fauci-lied-congress-about-gain-of-function-research/ |url-status=live }}</ref> representing "significant omissions and/or exaggerations".<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Kessler G |title=About The Fact Checker |date=1 January 2017 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/01/07/about-fact-checker/ |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=13 July 2021 |archive-date=6 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306013444/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/01/07/about-fact-checker/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
====Accidental release of collected sample====
Another theory suggests the virus arose in humans from an accidental infection of laboratory workers by a natural sample.<ref name="Frutos2021">{{cite journal |vauthors=Frutos R, Gavotte L, Devaux CA |title=Understanding the origin of COVID-19 requires to change the paradigm on zoonotic emergence from the spillover model to the viral circulation model |journal=Infection, Genetics and Evolution |pages=104812 |date=March 2021 |volume=95 |pmid=33744401 |pmc=7969828 |doi=10.1016/j.meegid.2021.104812|bibcode=2021InfGE..9504812F }}</ref> Unfounded online speculation about this scenario has been widespread.<ref name="Hakim" />
In March 2021, an investigatory report released by the WHO described this scenario as "extremely unlikely" and not supported by any available evidence.<ref name=WHOJoint>{{cite web |title=WHO-convened global study of origins of SARS-CoV-2: China Part |url=https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/who-convened-global-study-of-origins-of-sars-cov-2-china-part |publisher=World Health Organization |access-date=21 May 2021 |quote="WHO gratefully acknowledges the work of the joint team, including Chinese and international scientists and WHO experts who worked on the technical sections of this report, and those who worked on studies to prepare data and information for the joint mission." |archive-date=19 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519193603/https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/who-convened-global-study-of-origins-of-sars-cov-2-china-part |url-status=live }}</ref> The report acknowledged, however, that the possibility cannot be ruled out without further evidence.<ref name="Frutos2021"/> The investigation behind this report operated as a joint collaboration between Chinese and international scientists.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Mallapaty S |title=After the WHO report: what's next in the search for COVID's origins |journal=Nature |date=1 April 2021 |volume=592 |issue=7854 |pages=337–338 |doi=10.1038/d41586-021-00877-4|pmid=33790440 |bibcode=2021Natur.592..337M |s2cid=232481786 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Huang Y |title=What the WHO Investigation Reveals About the Origins of COVID-19 |url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/china/2021-03-31/what-who-investigation-reveals-about-origins-covid-19 |access-date=15 June 2021 |date=8 April 2021 |archive-date=3 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603202236/https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/china/2021-03-31/what-who-investigation-reveals-about-origins-covid-19 |url-status=live }}</ref> At the release briefing for the report, WHO Director-General [[Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus]] reiterated the report's calls for a deeper probe into all evaluated possibilities, including the laboratory origin scenario.<ref>{{cite web |title=WHO Director-General's remarks at the Member State Briefing on the report of the international team studying the origins of SARS-CoV-2 |url=https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-remarks-at-the-member-state-briefing-on-the-report-of-the-international-team-studying-the-origins-of-sars-cov-2 |publisher=World Health Organization |access-date=2 June 2021 |archive-date=25 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210425200818/https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-remarks-at-the-member-state-briefing-on-the-report-of-the-international-team-studying-the-origins-of-sars-cov-2 |url-status=live }}</ref> The study and report were criticised by heads of state from the US, the EU, and other WHO member countries for a lack of transparency and incomplete access to data.<ref>{{
Since May 2021, some media organizations softened previous language that described the laboratory leak theory as "debunked" or a "conspiracy theory".<ref name="media face hard questions">{{cite news |vauthors=Swanson I |title=The Memo: Media face hard questions on Trump, Wuhan lab |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/555394-the-memo-media-face-hard-questions-on-trump-wuhan-lab?rl=1 |access-date=2 June 2021 |work=The Hill |date=25 May 2021 |archive-date=3 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603104642/https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/555394-the-memo-media-face-hard-questions-on-trump-wuhan-lab?rl=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> On the other hand, scientific opinion that an accidental leak is possible, but unlikely, has remained steady.<ref>See, for example, the following:
* {{cite news |vauthors=Taylor A |title=Analysis
* {{cite news |vauthors=Beaumont P |title=Did Covid come from a Wuhan lab? What we know so far |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/27/did-covid-come-from-a-wuhan-lab-what-we-know-so-far |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=27 May 2021 |access-date=27 May 2021 |archive-date=1 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210601204151/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/27/did-covid-come-from-a-wuhan-lab-what-we-know-so-far |url-status=live }}
* {{cite news |vauthors=Rogers A |title=The Covid-19 Lab Leak Theory Is a Tale of Weaponized Uncertainty |url=https://www.wired.com/story/covid-19-lab-leak-theory-weaponized-uncertainty/ |access-date=2 June 2021 |magazine=Wired |archive-date=3 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603211840/https://www.wired.com/story/covid-19-lab-leak-theory-weaponized-uncertainty/ |url-status=live }}
* {{cite journal |vauthors=Graham RL, Baric RS |title=SARS-CoV-2: Combating Coronavirus Emergence |journal=Immunity |volume=52 |issue=5 |pages=734–736 |date=May 2020 |pmid=32392464 |pmc=7207110 |doi=10.1016/j.immuni.2020.04.016 |quote="the available data argue overwhelmingly against any scientific misconduct or negligence"}}
* {{cite journal |vauthors=Barh D, Silva Andrade B, Tiwari S, Giovanetti M, Góes-Neto A, Alcantara LC, Azevedo V, Ghosh P
* {{cite journal |vauthors=Adil MT, Rahman R, Whitelaw D, Jain V, Al-Taan O, Rashid F, Munasinghe A, Jambulingam P
* {{cite journal |vauthors=Hakim MS |title=SARS-CoV-2, Covid-19, and the debunking of conspiracy theories |journal=Reviews in Medical Virology |pages=e2222 |date=February 2021 |volume=31 |issue=6 |pmid=33586302 |pmc=7995093 |doi=10.1002/rmv.2222 |quote="There is today no evidence that such an accident had happened with SARS-CoV-2."}}</ref><ref name="NatureDivisive">{{cite journal |vauthors=Maxmen A |title=Divisive COVID 'lab leak' debate prompts dire warnings from researchers |journal=Nature |volume=594 |issue=7861 |pages=15–16 |date=June 2021 |pmid=34045757 |doi=10.1038/d41586-021-01383-3 |bibcode=2021Natur.594...15M |s2cid=235232290|doi-access=free }}</ref> A number of journalists and scientists have said that they dismissed or avoided discussing the lab leak theory during the first year of the pandemic as a result of perceived polarization resulting from Donald Trump's embrace of the theory.<ref name="media face hard questions" /><ref name="TrumpMuddled"/><ref name="UnravelingOrigins">{{cite news |title=Nature-based or lab leak? Unraveling the debate over the origins of COVID-19 |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/nature-based-man-made-unraveling-debate-origins-covid/story?id=78268577 |access-date=16 June 2021 |work=ABC News |quote="Political voices in favor of the lab-leak theory, particularly from President Donald Trump, served to polarize the issue further and largely pushed the scientific community away from a willingness to consider the lab-leak theory." |archive-date=18 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618131343/https://abcnews.go.com/US/nature-based-man-made-unraveling-debate-origins-covid/story?id=78268577 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=There's still no evidence of a Chinese lab leak. But here's what's changed, scientists say. |url=https://news.yahoo.com/science-around-lab-leak-theory-204525152.html |work=NBC News |vauthors=Chow D |date=16 June 2021 |quote="Chan said there had been trepidation among some scientists about publicly discussing the lab leak hypothesis for fear that their words could be misconstrued or used to support racist rhetoric about how the coronavirus emerged." |access-date=17 June 2021 |archive-date=18 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618150916/https://news.yahoo.com/science-around-lab-leak-theory-204525152.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
===Stolen from Canadian lab===
Line 83 ⟶ 81:
Responding to the conspiracy theories, the CBC stated that its articles "never claimed the two scientists were spies, or that they brought any version of [a] coronavirus to the lab in Wuhan". While pathogen samples were transferred from the lab in Winnipeg to Beijing in March 2019, neither of the samples contained a coronavirus. The Public Health Agency of Canada has stated that the shipment conformed to all federal policies, and that the researchers in question are still under investigation, and thus it cannot be confirmed nor denied that these two were responsible for sending the shipment. The location of the researchers under investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police has also not been released.<ref name=nofact>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/china-coronavirus-online-chatter-conspiracy-1.5442376 |title=Online claims that Chinese scientists stole coronavirus from Winnipeg lab have 'no factual basis' |vauthors=Yates K, Pauls J |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |time=27 January 2020 |access-date=8 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200208134329/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/china-coronavirus-online-chatter-conspiracy-1.5442376 |archive-date=8 February 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/中国科学家从温尼伯实验室中窃取-冠状病毒的网络传言-没有事实根据-1.5448165 |title=Chinese scientists have stolen the coronavirus from the Winnipeg laboratory and the online rumors are'unfounded' Chinese translation: 中国科学家从温尼伯实验室中窃取 冠状病毒的网络传言'没有事实根据' |vauthors=Yates K, Pauls J |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |time=27 January 2020 |access-date=8 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200201040447/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD%E7%A7%91%E5%AD%A6%E5%AE%B6%E4%BB%8E%E6%B8%A9%E5%B0%BC%E4%BC%AF%E5%AE%9E%E9%AA%8C%E5%AE%A4%E4%B8%AD%E7%AA%83%E5%8F%96-%E5%86%A0%E7%8A%B6%E7%97%85%E6%AF%92%E7%9A%84%E7%BD%91%E7%BB%9C%E4%BC%A0%E8%A8%80-%E6%B2%A1%E6%9C%89%E4%BA%8B%E5%AE%9E%E6%A0%B9%E6%8D%AE-1.5448165 |archive-date=1 February 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="20200128factcheck">{{cite web |url=https://www.factcheck.org/2020/01/coronavirus-wasnt-sent-by-spy-from-canada/ |title=Coronavirus Wasn't Sent by 'Spy' From Canada |vauthors=Spencer SH |date=28 January 2020 |website=Factcheck.org |access-date=8 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200130160015/https://www.factcheck.org/2020/01/coronavirus-wasnt-sent-by-spy-from-canada/ |archive-date=30 January 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>
In a January 2020 press conference, [[NATO]] secretary-general [[Jens Stoltenberg]], when asked about the case, stated that he could not comment specifically on it, but expressed concerns about "increased efforts by the nations to spy on NATO allies in different ways".<ref name="Shoham">{{cite web |url=https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/china-biological-warfare/ |title=China and Viruses: The Case of Dr. Xiangguo Qiu |vauthors=Shoham D |publisher=Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies |date=29 January 2020 |access-date=23 February 2020 |archive-date=21 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200321212316/https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/china-biological-warfare/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
===Accusations by China===
{{further|COVID-19 misinformation by China|Cyberwarfare by China|Propaganda in China|Chinese information operations and information warfare}}
According to ''[[The Economist]]'', conspiracy theories exist on China's internet about COVID-19 being created by the CIA in order to "keep China down".<ref name="20200208economist">{{
In January 2020, Chinese military enthusiast website ''Xilu'' published an article, claimed how the US artificially combined the virus to "precisely target Chinese people."<ref name=xilu1000010001>{{cite web |language=zh-cn |script-title=zh:武汉病毒4个关键蛋白被替换，可精准攻击华人 |trans-title=Four key proteins of Wuhan virus have been replaced, which can accurately attack Chinese |url=http://www.xilu.com/20200126/1000010001119697.html |access-date=7 February 2020 |work=西陆网 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200211022551/http://www.xilu.com/20200126/1000010001119697.html |archive-date=11 February 2020 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Riechmann D |title=Trump officials emphasize that coronavirus 'Made in China' |url=https://apnews.com/5866bf32d5723402d2df32baa844fff3 |work=Associated Press |date=12 March 2020 |access-date=26 April 2020 |archive-date=9 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309235248/https://apnews.com/5866bf32d5723402d2df32baa844fff3 |url-status=live }}</ref> The article was removed in early February. The article was further distorted on social media in Taiwan, which claimed "Top Chinese military website admitted novel coronavirus was Chinese-made bioweapon."<ref name="tfc_xilu">{{cite web |url=https://tfc-taiwan.org.tw/articles/2508 |title=【錯誤】網傳「代表中國解放軍最高權力機構中央軍事委員會的網站『西陸戰略』發表一篇文章，改口承認（武漢）病毒是人工合成」？ |trans-title=Misinformation alert, rumor that top PLA website Xilu admitted virus is bio-engineered |language=zh |website=Taiwan Fact Checking Organization |date=13 February 2020 |access-date=10 May 2020 |archive-date=17 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200217101642/https://tfc-taiwan.org.tw/articles/2508 |url-status=live }}</ref> Taiwan Fact-check center debunked the original article and its divergence, suggesting the original ''Xilu'' article distorted the conclusion from a legitimate research on Chinese scientific magazine ''Science China Life Sciences'', which never mentioned the virus was engineered.<ref name="tfc_xilu" /> The fact-check center explained ''Xilu'' is a military enthusiastic [[Tabloid journalism|tabloid]] established by a private company, thus it does not represent the voice of Chinese military.<ref name="tfc_xilu" />
Some articles on popular sites in China have also cast suspicion on US military athletes participating in the Wuhan [[2019 Military World Games]], which lasted until the end of October 2019, and have suggested they deployed the virus. They claim the inattentive attitude and disproportionately below-average results of American athletes in the games indicate they might have been there for other purposes and they might actually be bio-warfare operatives. Such posts stated that their place of residence during their stay in Wuhan was also close to the [[Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market]], where the first known cluster of cases occurred.<ref name=szhgh221836>{{cite web |language=zh-cn |trans-title=Why does Wuhan have to rely on the PLA? |script-title=zh:为什么武汉这场瘟疫，必须得靠解放军？ |url=http://www.szhgh.com/Article/opinion/zatan/2020-01-30/221836.html |access-date=21 February 2020 |publisher=红歌会网 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221185358/http://www.szhgh.com/Article/opinion/zatan/2020-01-30/221836.html |archive-date=21 February 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>
In March 2020, this conspiracy theory was endorsed by [[Zhao Lijian]], a spokesperson from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China.<ref name="Taiwan News March 2020">{{cite web |vauthors=Cheng CT |title=China's foreign ministry accuses US military of bringing virus to Wuhan |url=https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3896257 |work=Taiwan News |date=13 March 2020 |access-date=13 March 2020 |archive-date=23 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200323161737/https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3896257 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=thehill487308>{{cite web |vauthors=Budryk Z |title=China, pushing conspiracy theory, accuses US Army of bringing coronavirus to Wuhan |url=https://thehill.com/policy/international/487308-china-pushing-conspiracy-theory-us-army-bringing-coronavirus-wuhan |newspaper=The Hill |access-date=13 March 2020 |date=12 March 2020 |archive-date=20 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200320101054/https://thehill.com/policy/international/487308-china-pushing-conspiracy-theory-us-army-bringing-coronavirus-wuhan |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Tang D |title=China accuses US of bringing coronavirus to Wuhan |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/china-accuses-us-of-bringing-coronavirus-to-wuhan-c9rrfbrs7 |work=The Times |access-date=13 March 2020 |url-access=limited |archive-date=20 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200320143334/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/china-accuses-us-of-bringing-coronavirus-to-wuhan-c9rrfbrs7 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/13/asia/china-coronavirus-us-lijian-zhao-intl-hnk/index.html |title=Chinese diplomat promotes coronavirus conspiracy theory |vauthors=Westcott B, Jiang S |date=14 March 2020 |publisher=CNN |access-date=27 April 2020 |archive-date=18 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200318182148/https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/13/asia/china-coronavirus-us-lijian-zhao-intl-hnk/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In March 2020, the US government summoned Chinese Ambassador [[Cui Tiankai]] to Washington over the coronavirus conspiracy theory.<ref name=20200314alarabiyaB>{{
In March 2020, two spokesmen for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, [[Zhao Lijian]] and [[Geng Shuang]], alleged at a press conference that Western powers may have "bio-engineered" COVID-19. They were alluding that the US Army created and spread COVID-19, allegedly during the [[2019 Military World Games|2019 Military World Games in Wuhan]], where numerous cases of [[influenza-like illness]] were reported.<ref name="CNN 2020-03-18">{{
A member of the U.S. military athletics delegation based at Fort Belvoir, who competed in the [[Road bicycle racing|50mi Road Race]] at the Wuhan games, became the subject of online targeting by netizens accusing her of being "[[#Patient Zero|patient zero]]" of the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, and was later interviewed by CNN, to clear her name from the "false accusations in starting the pandemic".<ref>{{
In January 2021, [[Hua Chunying]] renewed the conspiracy theory from Zhao Lijian and Geng Shuang that the SARS-CoV-2 virus originating in the United States at the [[United States biological weapons program|U.S. biological weapons lab]] [[Fort Detrick]]. This conspiracy theory quickly went trending on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, and Hua Chunying continued to cite evidence on Twitter, while asking the government of the United States to open up Fort Detrick for further investigation to determine if it is the source of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.<ref>{{
According to a report from [[Foreign Policy]], Chinese diplomats and government officials in concert with China's propaganda apparatus and covert networks of online agitators and influencers have responded, focused on repeating [[Zhao Lijian]]'s allegation relating to Fort Detrick in Maryland, and the "over 200 U.S. biolabs" around the world.<ref>{{
===Accusations by Russia===
{{further|Cyberwarfare by Russia|Propaganda in the Russian Federation}}
In February 2020, US officials alleged that Russia is behind an ongoing disinformation campaign, using thousands of social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook and [[Instagram]] to deliberately promote unfounded conspiracy theories, claiming the virus is a biological weapon manufactured by the [[CIA]] and the US is waging economic war on China using the virus.<ref name="guardian-rus-disinfo">{{
According to US-based ''[[The National Interest]]'' magazine, although official Russian channels had been muted on pushing the US biowarfare conspiracy theory, other Russian media elements do not share the Kremlin's restraint.<ref name="TNI-russia">{{
According to the [[East StratCom Task Force]], the Russian-funded [[Sputnik (news agency)|Sputnik]] news agency had published stories speculating that the virus could have been invented in Latvia (by a Latvian affiliate), that it was used by [[Chinese Communist Party]] to curb [[2019–20 Hong Kong protests|protests in Hong Kong]], that it was introduced intentionally to reduce the number of elder people in Italy, that it was targeted against the [[Yellow vests movement|Yellow Vests]] movement, and making many other speculations. Sputnik branches in countries including Armenia, Belarus, Spain, and in the Middle East came up with versions of these stories.<ref name="Russphb20200315">{{cite web |title='Russophobic': Kremlin Denies Evidence of Russian COVID-19 Disinformation Campaign |url=https://www.polygraph.info/a/kremlin-blames-russophobia-for-report-on-russian-coronavirus-disinfo/30498024.html |website=polygraph.info |access-date=31 March 2020 |date=19 March 2020 |archive-date=28 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200328053850/https://www.polygraph.info/a/kremlin-blames-russophobia-for-report-on-russian-coronavirus-disinfo/30498024.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://euvsdisinfo.eu/sputnik-coronavirus-could-be-designed-to-kill-elderly-italians/ |title=Sputnik: Coronavirus Could be Designed to Kill Elderly Italians |date=25 March 2020 |website=EU vs Disinformation |access-date=29 March 2020 |archive-date=21 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200421193439/https://euvsdisinfo.eu/sputnik-coronavirus-could-be-designed-to-kill-elderly-italians/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>}}
In March 2022, amid the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]], the Russian Defense Ministry stated that US President [[Joe Biden]]'s son, [[Hunter Biden]], as well as billionaire [[George Soros]], were closely tied to Ukrainian biolabs. American right-wing media personalities, such as [[Tucker Carlson]], highlighted the story, while Chinese Communist Party-owned tabloid ''Global Times'' further stated that the labs had been studying bat coronaviruses, which spread widely on the Chinese internet for insinuating that the United States had created SARS-CoV-19 in Ukrainian laboratories.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chappell |first1=Bill |last2=Yousef |first2=Odette |title=How the false Russian biolab story came to circulate among the U.S. far right |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/03/25/1087910880/biological-weapons-far-right-russia-ukraine |access-date=25 March 2022 |publisher=NPR |date=25 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220325135018/https://www.npr.org/2022/03/25/1087910880/biological-weapons-far-right-russia-ukraine |archive-date=25 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Teh |first1=Cheryl |title=Social-media users in China are obsessing over a conspiracy theory claiming the COVID-19 virus was produced by US-linked laboratories in Ukraine |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-social-media-Global-Times-article-COVID-coronavirus-ukraine-laboratories-2022-3 |access-date=25 March 2022 |publisher=Business Insider |date=25 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220325124922/https://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-social-media-Global-Times-article-COVID-coronavirus-ukraine-laboratories-2022-3 |archive-date=25 March 2022}}</ref>
Line 115 ⟶ 113:
===Accusations by other countries===
<!-----Arab ------>
According to Washington, DC-based nonprofit [[Middle East Media Research Institute]], numerous writers in the Arabic press have promoted the conspiracy theory that COVID-19, as well as SARS and the swine flu virus, were deliberately created and spread to sell vaccines against these diseases, and it is "part of an economic and psychological war waged by the U.S. against China with the aim of weakening it and presenting it as a backward country and a source of diseases".<ref name="MEMRI-arab-disinfo">{{
<!-- ---Turkey ---- -->
Accusations in Turkey of Americans creating the virus as a weapon have been reported,<ref>{{
<!---------- Iran----->
[[File:Reza malekzadeh.jpg|thumb|[[Reza Malekzadeh]], Iran's deputy health minister, rejected bioterrorism theories.]]
An Iranian cleric in [[Qom]] said [[Donald Trump]] targeted the city with coronavirus "to damage its culture and honor".<ref name=radiofarda30449087 /> [[Reza Malekzadeh]], Iran's deputy health minister and former Minister of Health, rejected claims that the virus was a biological weapon, pointing out that the US would be suffering heavily from it. He said Iran was hard-hit because its close ties to China and reluctance to cut air ties introduced the virus, and because early cases had been mistaken for influenza.<ref name=20200314alarabiyaA />{{efn|According to ''[[Radio Farda]]'', Iranian cleric Seyyed Mohammad Saeedi accused US President [[Donald Trump]] of targeting [[Qom]] with coronavirus "to damage its culture and honor." Saeedi claimed that Trump is fulfilling his promise to hit Iranian cultural sites, if Iranians took revenge for the [[2020 Baghdad International Airport airstrike|airstrike]] that killed of [[Quds Force]] Commander [[Qasem Soleimani]].<ref name=radiofarda30449087>{{
Iranian TV personality [[Ali Akbar Raefipour]] claimed the coronavirus was part of a "hybrid warfare" programme waged by the United States on Iran and China.<ref name=bbc51677530>{{cite news |title=Coronavirus: Misinformation and false medical advice spreads in Iran |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-51677530 |work=BBC News |date=29 February 2020 |access-date=1 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200301202336/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-51677530 |archive-date=1 March 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Brigadier General Gholam Reza Jalali, head of Iranian Civil Defense Organization, claimed the coronavirus is likely a biological attack on China and Iran with economic goals.<ref>{{
[[Hossein Salami]], the head of [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps]] (IRGC), claimed that the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Iran]] may be due to a US "biological attack."<ref name=20200305alarabiya>{{
Former Iranian president [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]] sent a letter to the United Nations in March 2020, claiming that "it is clear to the world that the mutated coronavirus was produced in lab" and that COVID-19 is "a new weapon for establishing and/or maintaining political and economic upper hand in the global arena."<ref name=20200309washingtonexaminer>{{
The late<ref>{{cite news |title=Prophet's perfume and flower oil: how Islamic medicine has made Iran's Covid-19 outbreak worse |url=https://observers.france24.com/en/20200330-iran-coronavirus-islamic-medicine-covid-19-worse |work=The France 24 Observers |access-date=26 April 2020 |archive-date=9 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200409160907/https://observers.france24.com/en/20200330-iran-coronavirus-islamic-medicine-covid-19-worse |url-status=live }}</ref> Ayatollah [[Hashem Bathaie Golpayegani]] claimed that "America is the source of coronavirus, because America went head to head with China and realised it cannot keep up with it economically or militarily."<ref name=20200319alarabiya>{{
[[Reza Malekzadeh]], Iran's deputy health minister and former Minister of Health, rejected claims that the virus was a biological weapon, pointing out that the US would be suffering heavily from it. He said Iran was hard-hit because its close ties to China and reluctance to cut air ties introduced the virus, and because early cases had been mistaken for influenza.<ref name=20200314alarabiyaA>{{cite news |vauthors=Fazeli Y |title=Coronavirus: Iran's deputy health minister rejects biological warfare theory |url=https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/03/14/Coronavirus-Iran-s-deputy-health-minister-rejects-biological-warfare-theory.html |work=[[Al Arabiya English]] |date=14 March 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200317205520/https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/03/14/Coronavirus-Iran-s-deputy-health-minister-rejects-biological-warfare-theory.html |archive-date=17 March 2020}}</ref>}}<!-- ---Iraq ---- -->
In Iraq, pro-Iranian social media users waged a Twitter campaign during Trump's Presidency to end U.S. presence in the country by blaming it for the virus. The campaign centered around hashtags such as #Bases_of_the_American_pandemic and #Coronavirus_is_Trump's_weapon. A March 2020 survey by [[USCENTCOM]] found that 67% of Iraqi respondents believed a foreign force was behind COVID-19, with 72% of them naming the USA as that force.<ref>{{
<!------Other countries ------->
Theories blaming the USA have also circulated in the Philippines,{{efn|A Filipino Senator, [[Tito Sotto]], played a bioweapon conspiracy video in a February 2020 Senate hearing, suggesting the coronavirus is biowarfare waged against China.<ref name="nypost-rubio">{{
===Jewish origin===
Line 144 ⟶ 142:
====In the Muslim world====
Iran's [[Press TV]] asserted that "[[Zionist]] elements developed a deadlier strain of coronavirus against Iran."<ref name="ptv">{{cite journal |vauthors=Frantzman S |date=8 March 2020 |title=Iran's regime pushes antisemitic conspiracies about coronavirus |url=https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iran-News/Irans-regime-pushes-antisemitic-conspiracies-about-coronavirus-620212 |url-status=live |journal=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200310213820/https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iran-News/Irans-regime-pushes-antisemitic-conspiracies-about-coronavirus-620212 |archive-date=10 March 2020 |access-date=11 March 2020}}</ref> Similarly, some Arab media outlets accused Israel and the United States of creating and spreading COVID-19, [[avian flu]], and [[SARS]].<ref name=jpost617021>{{cite journal |title=Arab media accuse US, Israel of coronavirus conspiracy against China |journal=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |date=9 February 2020 |url=https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Arab-media-accuse-US-Israel-of-coronavirus-conspiracy-against-China-617021 |access-date=11 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200301063057/https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Arab-media-accuse-US-Israel-of-coronavirus-conspiracy-against-China-617021 |archive-date=1 March 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> Users on social media offered other theories, including the allegation that Jews had manufactured COVID-19 to precipitate a global stock market collapse and thereby profit via [[insider trading]],<ref name=forward441421>{{cite journal |vauthors=Connelly I |title=Online anti-Semitism thrives around coronavirus, even on mainstream platforms |journal=[[The Forward]] |date=12 March 2020 |url=https://forward.com/news/441421/anti-semitic-coronavirus-response-thrives-online-even-on-mainstream/ |access-date=21 March 2020 |archive-date=21 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200321142635/https://forward.com/news/441421/anti-semitic-coronavirus-response-thrives-online-even-on-mainstream/ |url-status=live }}</ref> while a guest on Turkish television posited a more ambitious scenario in which Jews and Zionists had created COVID-19, avian flu, and [[Crimean–Congo hemorrhagic fever]] to "design the world, seize countries, [and] neuter the world's population".<ref name=20200314timesofisrael>{{cite journal |vauthors=Cortellessa E |title=Conspiracy theory that Jews created virus spreads on social media, ADL says |journal=[[The Times of Israel]] |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/conspiracy-theory-that-jews-created-virus-spreads-on-social-media-adl-says/ |date=14 March 2020 |access-date=14 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200314133541/https://www.timesofisrael.com/conspiracy-theory-that-jews-created-virus-spreads-on-social-media-adl-says/ |archive-date=14 March 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> Turkish politician [[Fatih Erbakan]] reportedly said in a speech: "Though we do not have certain evidence, this virus serves Zionism's goals of decreasing the number of people and preventing it from increasing, and important research expresses this."<ref>{{
Israeli attempts to develop a [[COVID-19 vaccine]] prompted negative reactions in Iran. Grand Ayatollah [[Naser Makarem Shirazi]] denied initial reports that he had ruled that a Zionist-made vaccine would be [[halal]],<ref name=jpost621230>{{cite news |vauthors=Joffre T |title=Iranian cleric denies approving use of coronavirus vaccine from Israel |work=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |url=https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iranian-cleric-denies-approving-use-of-coronavirus-vaccine-from-Israel-621230 |date=16 March 2020 |access-date=21 March 2020 |archive-date=9 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309014759/https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iranian-cleric-denies-approving-use-of-coronavirus-vaccine-from-Israel-621230 |url-status=live }}</ref> and one [[Press TV]] journalist tweeted that "I'd rather take my chances with the virus than consume an Israeli vaccine."<ref name=jpost620900>{{cite news |title=Would a Zionist coronavirus cure be Halal? Iranian cleric says yes |work=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |url=https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Is-Zionist-coronavirus-cure-Halal-Iranian-cleric-says-yes-620900 |date=15 March 2020 |access-date=21 March 2020 |archive-date=9 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309053222/https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Is-Zionist-coronavirus-cure-Halal-Iranian-cleric-says-yes-620900 |url-status=live }}</ref> A columnist for the Turkish ''[[Yeni Akit]]'' asserted that such a vaccine could be a ruse to carry out [[Compulsory sterilization|mass sterilization]].<ref name=jpost621393>{{cite news |vauthors=Edmunds DR |title=Coronavirus is a Zionist plot, say Turkish politicians, media, public |work=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |url=https://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Antisemitism/Coronavirus-is-a-Zionist-plot-say-Turkish-politicians-media-public-621393 |date=18 March 2020 |access-date=21 March 2020 |archive-date=1 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201232451/https://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Antisemitism/Coronavirus-is-a-Zionist-plot-say-Turkish-politicians-media-public-621393 |url-status=live }}</ref>
====In the United States====
An alert by the US [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] regarding the possible threat of far-right extremists intentionally spreading COVID-19 mentioned blame being assigned to Jews and Jewish leaders for causing the pandemic and several statewide shutdowns.<ref name=go69737522>{{cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/white-supremacists-encouraging-members-spread-coronavirus-cops-jews/story?id=69737522 |title=White supremacists encouraging their members to spread coronavirus to cops, Jews, FBI says |vauthors=Margolin J |website=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |date=23 March 2020 |access-date=25 March 2020 |archive-date=24 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200324192244/https://abcnews.go.com/US/white-supremacists-encouraging-members-spread-coronavirus-cops-jews/story?id=69737522 |url-status=live }}</ref>
====In Germany====
Flyers have been found on German tram cars, falsely blaming Jews for the pandemic.<ref>Baur, Joe. "Anti-Semetic Flyer in German Tram Blames Jews for COVID Pandemic." ''South Florida Sun Sentinel'': Jewish Journal section. 17 February 2021. [https://www.sun-sentinel.com/florida-jewish-journal/fl-jj-anti-semitic-flyer-german-tram-blames-jews-covid-20210217-47ur3k3ta5b5tbvussyg7imag4-story.html Link to article] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918070213/https://www.sun-sentinel.com/florida-jewish-journal/fl-jj-anti-semitic-flyer-german-tram-blames-jews-covid-20210217-47ur3k3ta5b5tbvussyg7imag4-story.html |date=18 September 2021 }}.</ref>
In April 2022, two members of the [[Reichsbürger movement]] (later implicated in the [[2022 German coup d'état plot]]) were charged with conspiring to kidnap the German health minister [[Karl Lauterbach]].<ref>{{
====In Britain====
According to a study carried out by the [[University of Oxford]] in early 2020, nearly one-fifth of respondents in England believed to some extent that Jews were responsible for creating or spreading the virus with the motive of financial gain.<ref>{{cite web |last=Mahmood |first=Basit |title=One Fifth of English People in Study Blame Jews or Muslims for COVID-19 |url=https://www.newsweek.com/covid-19-conspiracy-theories-england-1505899 |website=Newsweek |date=22 May 2020 |access-date=1 February 2022 |archive-date=3 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220203020823/https://www.newsweek.com/covid-19-conspiracy-theories-england-1505899 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Tercatin |first1=Rosella |last2=Edmunds |first2=Donna Rachel |title=One in five English people believe COVID is a Jewish conspiracy
===Muslims spreading virus===
{{further|2020 Tablighi Jamaat coronavirus hotspot in Delhi}}
In India, Muslims have been blamed for spreading infection following the emergence of cases linked to a [[Tablighi Jamaat]] religious gathering.<ref name=newsweek1496011>{{cite journal |vauthors=Da Silva C |date=3 April 2020 |title=India's Coronavirus Outbreak Stokes Islamophobia as Muslims blamed for spreading infection |journal=[[Newsweek]] |url=https://www.newsweek.com/indias-coronavirus-outbreak-stokes-islamophobia-muslims-blamed-spreading-infection-1496011 |access-date=6 April 2020 |archive-date=11 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210311221648/https://www.newsweek.com/indias-coronavirus-outbreak-stokes-islamophobia-muslims-blamed-spreading-infection-1496011 |url-status=live }}</ref> There are reports of vilification of Muslims on social media and attacks on individuals in India.<ref name=firstpost8231371>{{cite journal |vauthors=Datta PP |title=Coronavirus outbreak sparks racist attacks on people from North East, stokes Islamophobia on social media |journal=Firstpost |date=6 April 2020 |url=https://www.firstpost.com/health/coronavirus-outbreak-sparks-racist-attacks-on-people-from-north-east-stokes-islamophobia-on-social-media-8231371.html |access-date=6 April 2020 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308084334/https://www.firstpost.com/health/coronavirus-outbreak-sparks-racist-attacks-on-people-from-north-east-stokes-islamophobia-on-social-media-8231371.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Claims have been made that Muslims are selling food contaminated with SARS-CoV-2 and that a mosque in [[Patna]] was sheltering people from Italy and Iran.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Jha N |title=A Cluster Of Coronavirus Cases Can Be Traced Back to a Single Mosque And Now 200 Million Muslims Are Being Vilified |journal=[[
===Population-control scheme===
{{See also|List of conspiracy theories#RFID chips}}
According to the BBC, Jordan Sather, a [[YouTuber]] supporting the [[QAnon]] conspiracy theory and the [[Anti-vaccine activism|anti-vax]] movement, has falsely claimed that the outbreak was a population-control scheme created by the [[Pirbright Institute]] in England and by former [[Microsoft]] CEO [[Bill Gates]].<ref name="bbc_misinfo" /><ref name="20200123buzzfeednews">{{cite web |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanhatesthis/qanon-supporters-and-anti-vaxxers-are-spreading-a-hoax-that |title=QAnon Supporters And Anti-Vaxxers Are Spreading A Hoax That Bill Gates Created The Coronavirus |vauthors=Broderick R |date=23 January 2020 |website=BuzzFeed News |access-date=8 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200130075624/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanhatesthis/qanon-supporters-and-anti-vaxxers-are-spreading-a-hoax-that |archive-date=30 January 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{
[[Piers Corbyn]] was described as "dangerous" by physician and broadcaster [[Hilary Jones (doctor)|Hilary Jones]] during their joint interview on ''[[Good Morning Britain (2014 TV programme)|Good Morning Britain]]'' in early September 2020. Corbyn described COVID-19 as a "psychological operation to close down the economy in the interests of mega-corporations" and stated "vaccines cause death".<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Gregory A |title=You are dangerous': Piers Corbyn confronted on air by Dr Hilary after £10,000 fine for anti-lockdown protest |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/piers-corbyn-gmb-dr-hilary-covid-hoax-fine-anti-lockdown-a9698441.html |work=The Independent |date=1 September 2020 |access-date=15 December 2020 |archive-date=2 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201002033850/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/piers-corbyn-gmb-dr-hilary-covid-hoax-fine-anti-lockdown-a9698441.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
===<span class="anchor" id="5G"></span><span class="anchor" id="5G mobile-phone networks"></span> 5G mobile networks===
{{See also|Wireless device radiation and health}}
[[File:BT Openreach Engineer Up Pole 2012 May 09.JPG|thumb|[[Openreach]] engineers appealed on anti-5G Facebook groups, saying they are not involved in mobile networks, and workplace abuse is making it difficult for them to maintain phonelines and broadband.]]
Line 177 ⟶ 175:
In March 2020, Thomas Cowan, a [[Alternative medicine|holistic medical practitioner]] who trained as a physician and operates on probation with the [[Medical Board of California]], alleged that COVID-19 is caused by 5G. He based this on the claims that [[COVID-19 pandemic in Africa|African countries had not been affected significantly by the pandemic]] and Africa was not a 5G region.<ref name="newsweek-5g" /><ref name="cbc-5g">{{cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/fact-check-viral-video-coronavirus-1.5506595 |title=Viral video claiming 5G caused pandemic easily debunked |publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] |date=23 March 2020 |vauthors=Nicholson K, Ho J, Yates J |access-date=26 March 2020 |archive-date=26 March 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200326125553/https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/fact-check-viral-video-coronavirus-1.5506595}}</ref> Cowan also falsely alleged that the viruses were waste from [[Cell (biology)|cells]] that were poisoned by electromagnetic fields, and that historical viral pandemics coincided with major developments in radio technology.<ref name="cbc-5g" />
The video of Cowan's claims went viral and was recirculated by celebrities, including [[Woody Harrelson]], [[John Cusack]], and singer [[Keri Hilson]].<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Satariano A, Alba D |title=Burning Cell Towers, Out of Baseless Fear They Spread the Virus |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/10/technology/coronavirus-5g-uk.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=10 April 2020 |url-access=limited |access-date=14 April 2020 |archive-date=5 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305223517/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/10/technology/coronavirus-5g-uk.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The claims may also have been recirculated by an alleged "coordinated disinformation campaign", similar to campaigns used by the [[Internet Research Agency]] in [[Saint Petersburg, Russia|Saint Petersburg]], Russia.<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Gallagher R |title=5G Virus Conspiracy Theory Fueled by Coordinated Effort |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-09/covid-19-link-to-5g-technology-fueled-by-coordinated-effort |access-date=12 April 2020 |work=[[Bloomberg News]] |date=9 April 2020 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308012653/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-09/covid-19-link-to-5g-technology-fueled-by-coordinated-effort |url-status=live }}</ref> The claims were criticized on social media and debunked by [[Reuters]],<ref name="reuters-5g">{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-coronavirus-5g/false-claim-5g-networks-are-making-people-sick-not-coronavirus-idUSKBN2133TI |title=False claim: 5G networks are making people sick, not Coronavirus |work=[[Reuters]] |date=17 March 2020 |access-date=20 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200320023007/https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-coronavirus-5g/false-claim-5g-networks-are-making-people-sick-not-coronavirus-idUSKBN2133TI |archive-date=20 March 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[USA Today]]'',<ref name="usatoday2873731001">{{cite web |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/2020/03/21/did-5-g-cause-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic/2873731001/ |title=Here's why 5G and coronavirus are not connected |vauthors=O'Donnell B |date=21 March 2020 |work=[[USA Today]] |access-date=22 March 2020 |archive-date=21 March 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200321213438/https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/2020/03/21/did-5-g-cause-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic/2873731001/}}</ref> [[Full Fact]]<ref name="20200313fullfact">{{cite web |url=https://fullfact.org/online/coronavirus-5G/ |title=These claims about the new coronavirus and 5G are unfounded |vauthors=Krishna R |date=13 March 2020 |work=[[Full Fact]] |access-date=22 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200320160841/https://fullfact.org/online/coronavirus-5G/ |archive-date=20 March 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> and [[American Public Health Association]] executive director [[Georges C. Benjamin]].<ref name="newsweek-5g">{{cite web |url=https://www.newsweek.com/youtube-video-suggests-5g-internet-causes-coronavirus-people-are-falling-it-1493321 |title=Youtube Video Suggests 5G Internet Causes Coronavirus and People Are Falling For It |work=[[Newsweek]] |date=19 March 2020 |access-date=20 March 2020 |vauthors=Wynne K |archive-date=20 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200320204625/https://www.newsweek.com/youtube-video-suggests-5g-internet-causes-coronavirus-people-are-falling-it-1493321 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="huffington-5g">{{cite web |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/keri-hilson-5g-did-not-cause-coronavirus_n_5e6f8ba7c5b6dda30fce0348 |title=No, Keri Hilson, 5G Did Not Cause Coronavirus |work=[[HuffPost]] |date=16 March 2020 |access-date=20 March 2020 |vauthors=Finley T |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200319232700/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/keri-hilson-5g-did-not-cause-coronavirus_n_5e6f8ba7c5b6dda30fce0348 |archive-date=19 March 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Cowan's claims were repeated by [[Mark Steele (conspiracy theorist)|Mark Steele]], a conspiracy theorist who claimed to have first-hand knowledge that 5G was in fact a weapon system capable of causing symptoms identical to those produced by the virus.<ref name="VICE 2020 my dad">{{cite news |title=My Dad Got Hoaxed By the Anti-5G Conspiracy Movement |newspaper=VICE |vauthors=Large ML |date=8 April 2020 |url=https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/wxeb45/my-dad-got-hoaxed-by-the-anti-5g-conspiracy-movement |access-date=9 September 2020 |archive-date=19 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919050544/https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/wxeb45/my-dad-got-hoaxed-by-the-anti-5g-conspiracy-movement |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Kate Shemirani]], a former nurse who had been struck off the [[General Medical Council|UK nursing registry]] and had become a promoter of conspiracy theories, repeatedly claimed that these symptoms were identical to those produced by exposure to electromagnetic fields.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/suspended-nurse-kate-shemirani-becomes-new-face-of-anti-vax-movement-3dr27ftcw |title=Kate Shemirani: antivax leader is banned nurse who fears 5G network |newspaper=The Times |date=12 September 2020 |vauthors=Ellis R, Kennedy D |url-access=limited |access-date=20 September 2020 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308114608/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/suspended-nurse-kate-shemirani-becomes-new-face-of-anti-vax-movement-3dr27ftcw |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Hoffman N |url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk/anti-vaxx-nurse-who-called-nhs-the-new-auschwitz-is-struck-off-1.517301 |title=Anti-vaxx nurse who called NHS 'the new Auschwitz' is struck off |work=The Jewish Chronicle |date=2 June 2021 |access-date=2 June 2021 |archive-date=3 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603064725/https://www.thejc.com/news/uk/anti-vaxx-nurse-who-called-nhs-the-new-auschwitz-is-struck-off-1.517301 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Steve Powis, national medical director of [[NHS England]], described theories linking 5G mobile-phone networks to COVID-19 as the "worst kind of fake news".<ref name="ie-mast-fires-surge-in-the-uk-over-easter-weekend-amid-5g-coronavirus-conspiracy-theories">{{cite news |date=14 April 2020 |title=Mast fires surge in the UK over Easter weekend amid 5G-coronavirus conspiracy theories |newspaper=[[Irish Examiner]] |agency=Press Association |url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/world/mast-fires-surge-in-the-uk-over-easter-weekend-amid-5g-coronavirus-conspiracy-theories-994035.html |access-date=14 April 2020 |archive-date=6 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200506055945/https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/world/mast-fires-surge-in-the-uk-over-easter-weekend-amid-5g-coronavirus-conspiracy-theories-994035.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Viruses cannot be transmitted by [[radio wave]]s, and COVID-19 has spread and continues to spread in many countries that do not have 5G networks.<ref name=WHO_myths />
There were 20 suspected arson attacks on phone masts in the UK over the 2020 Easter weekend.<ref name="ie-mast-fires-surge-in-the-uk-over-easter-weekend-amid-5g-coronavirus-conspiracy-theories" /> These included an incident in [[Dagenham]] where three men were arrested on suspicion of arson, a fire in [[Huddersfield]] that affected a mast used by emergency services, and a fire in a mast that provides mobile connectivity to the [[NHS Nightingale Hospital Birmingham]].<ref name="ie-mast-fires-surge-in-the-uk-over-easter-weekend-amid-5g-coronavirus-conspiracy-theories" /> Some telecom engineers reported threats of violence, including threats to stab and murder them, by individuals who believe them to be working on 5G networks.<ref name="bbc-murder-threats-to-telecoms-engineers">{{
By April 2020, at least 20 mobile-phone masts in the UK had been vandalised.<ref name=guardian-at-least-20-uk-phone-masts-vandalised-over-false-5g-coronavirus-claims>{{
Engineers working for [[Openreach]], a division of [[British Telecom]], posted pleas on anti-5G Facebook groups asking to be spared abuse as they are not involved with maintaining mobile networks.<ref name=guardian-broadband-engineers-threatened-due-to-5g-coronavirus-conspiracies>{{
Of those who believed that 5G networks caused COVID-19 symptoms, 60% stated that much of their knowledge about the virus came from YouTube.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Allington D, Duffy B, Wessely S, Dhavan N, Rubin J |title=Health-protective behaviour, social media usage and conspiracy belief during the COVID-19 public health emergency |journal=Psychological Medicine |pages=1763–1769 |date=June 2020 |volume=51 |issue=10 |pmid=32513320 |pmc=7298098 |doi=10.1017/S003329172000224X |s2cid=219550692}}</ref> In April 2020, YouTube announced that it would reduce the amount of content claiming links between 5G and COVID-19.<ref name=guardian-youtube-to-suppress-content-spreading-coronavirus-5g-conspiracy-theory>{{
Ofcom issued guidance to [[ITV (TV channel)|ITV]] following comments by [[Eamonn Holmes]] about 5G and COVID-19 on ''[[This Morning (TV programme)|This Morning]]''.<ref name=bbc-ofcom-rules-on-eamonn-holmes-and-david-icke-comments>{{
In April 2020, ''[[The Guardian]]'' revealed that Jonathan Jones, an evangelical pastor from [[Luton]], had provided the male voice on a recording blaming 5G for deaths caused by COVID-19.<ref name=guardian-vodafone-exec-5g-coronavirus-conspiracy-theory-video-revealed-pastor-luton-jonathon-james>{{
A tweet started an internet meme that [[Bank of England]] [[Bank of England £20 note|£20 banknotes]] contained a picture of a 5G mast and the [[SARS-CoV-2]] virus. Facebook and YouTube removed items pushing this story, and [[fact checking]] organisations established that the picture is of [[Margate Lighthouse]] and the "virus" is the staircase at the [[Tate Britain]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://fullfact.org/online/5g-coronavirus-20-note/ |title=£20 notes don't have a secret message about 5G and coronavirus |vauthors=Rahman G |website=Full Fact |date=6 April 2020 |access-date=9 April 2020 |archive-date=21 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121130755/https://fullfact.org/online/5g-coronavirus-20-note/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/polymer-20-pound-note |title=The new £20 note |work=The Bank of England |access-date=10 April 2020 |archive-date=8 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230908185923/https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/polymer-20-pound-note |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://turnercontemporary.org/support-us/what-can-i-do-with-my-old-20-note/ |title=New £20 note to feature Margate's Turner Contemporary |work=Turner Contemporary |access-date=10 April 2020 |archive-date=27 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227083711/https://turnercontemporary.org/support-us/what-can-i-do-with-my-old-20-note/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
===American scientist selling virus to China===
In April 2020, rumors circulated on Facebook, alleging that the US Government had "just discovered and arrested" [[Charles Lieber]], chair of the Chemistry and Chemical Biology Department at [[Harvard University]] for "manufacturing and selling" the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) to China. According to a report from ''[[Reuters]]'', posts spreading the rumor were shared in multiple languages over 79,000 times on Facebook.<ref>{{
===Meteor origin===
In 2020, a group of researchers that included [[Edward J. Steele]] and [[Chandra Wickramasinghe]], the foremost living proponent of [[panspermia]], speculated in ten research papers that COVID-19 originated from a [[Meteorite|meteor]] spotted as a bright fireball over the city of [[Songyuan]] in Northeast China in October 2019 and that a fragment of the meteor landed in the Wuhan area, which started the first COVID-19 outbreaks. However, the group of researchers did not provide any direct evidence proving this conjecture.<ref name="Wild theory">{{
In an August 2020 article, [[Astronomy.com]] called the meteor origin conjecture "so remarkable that it makes the others look boring by comparison".<ref name="Wild theory" />
===
In April 2020, [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] reported that, in November 2019, "U.S. intelligence officials were warning that a contagion was sweeping through China's Wuhan region, changing the patterns of life and business and posing a threat to the population". The article stated that the [[National Center for Medical Intelligence]] (NCMI), had produced an intelligence report in November 2019 which raised concerns about the situation. The director of the NCMI, Col. R. Shane Day said "media reporting about the existence/release of a National Center for Medical Intelligence Coronavirus-related product/assessment in November 2019 is not correct. No such NCMI product exists".<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Margolin J, Meek JG |title=Intelligence report warned of coronavirus crisis as early as November: Sources |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/intelligence-report-warned-coronavirus-crisis-early-november-sources/story?id=70031273 |access-date=29 June 2021 |work=ABC News |date=9 April 2020 |archive-date=25 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200425101816/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/intelligence-report-warned-coronavirus-crisis-early-november-sources/story?id=70031273 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Casiano L, Griffin J |title=Defense official says media reports about November coronavirus intel assessment are false |url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/defense-november-coronavirus-intelligence-assessment-reports-false |access-date=29 June 2021 |work=Fox News |date=8 April 2020 |archive-date=3 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503175505/https://www.foxnews.com/politics/defense-november-coronavirus-intelligence-assessment-reports-false |url-status=live }}</ref>
==<span class="anchor" id="Polymerase chain reaction testing"></span> PCR testing==
Social
In reality, the [[reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction]] test for SARS-CoV-2 is highly sensitive to the virus, and testing laboratories have controls in place to prevent and detect contamination.{{r|Reuters inventor|AAP inventor}} However, the tests only reveal the presence of the virus and not whether it remains infectious.{{r|Reuters inventor}}▼
▲In reality, the [[reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction]] (RT-PCR) test for SARS-CoV-2 is highly sensitive to the virus, and testing laboratories have controls in place to prevent and detect contamination.{{r|Reuters inventor|AAP inventor}} However, the tests only reveal the presence of the virus and not whether it remains infectious.{{r|Reuters inventor}}
▲Social-media posts have falsely claimed that [[Kary Mullis]], the inventor of [[polymerase chain reaction]] (PCR), said that [[COVID-19 testing|PCR testing for SARS-CoV-2]] does not work.<!--Introductory sentence; specific citations follow--> Mullis, who received the [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] for the invention of PCR, died in August 2019 before the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and never made these statements.{{r|Reuters inventor|AAP inventor|Full Fact inventor}} Several posts claim Mullis said "PCR tests cannot detect free infectious viruses at all",<ref name="Reuters inventor">{{cite news |title=Fact check: Inventor of method used to test for COVID-19 didn't say it can't be used in virus detection |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-pcr/fact-check-inventor-of-method-used-to-test-for-covid-19-didnt-say-it-cant-be-used-in-virus-detection-idUSKBN24420X |work=Reuters |date=13 November 2020}}</ref> that PCR testing was designed to detect any non-human DNA<ref name="AAP inventor">{{cite news |title=PCR inventor – who died in 2019 – did not say his test won't work for COVID-19 infections |url=https://www.aap.com.au/pcr-inventor-who-died-in-2019-did-not-say-his-test-wont-work-for-covid-19-infections/ |agency=Australian Associated Press |date=22 July 2020}}</ref> or the DNA and RNA of the person being tested,<ref name="Full Fact inventor">{{cite web |title=The inventor of PCR never said it wasn't designed to detect infectious diseases |url=https://fullfact.org/online/pcr-test-mullis/ |website=Full Fact |date=23 October 2020}}</ref> or that the process of DNA amplification used in PCR will lead to contamination of the samples.{{r|AAP inventor}} A video of a 1997 interview with Mullis has also been widely circulated, in which Mullis says PCR will find "anything"; the video description asserts that this means PCR cannot be used to reliably detect SARS-CoV-2.<ref name="Poynter PCR">{{cite web |title=FALSE: A video that claims that PCR tests find 'anything' and are not used to detect the new coronavirus |url=https://www.poynter.org/?ifcn_misinformation=a-video-that-claims-that-pcr-tests-find-anything-and-are-not-used-to-detect-the-new-coronavirus |publisher=Poynter Institute |date=9 July 2021}}</ref>
A claim attributed to the Swiss [[Federal Office of Public Health]] that PCR testing is fraudulent became popular in the Philippines and remains a widespread belief. According to a report from [[Agence France-Presse|AFP]], research associate Joshua Miguel Danac of the University of the Philippines' [[National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology]] debunked the claim, calling PCR tests "the gold standard for diagnosis".<ref>{{
==Symptoms and severity==
In early 2020, there were a number of viral photos and videos that were mischaracterized as showing an extreme severity to COVID-19 exposure. In January and February 2020, a number of videos from China were circulated on social media that purported to show people infected with COVID-19 either suddenly collapsing, or having already collapsed, on the street.<ref name="are people collapsing">{{cite web |title=Are People Collapsing in the Street from Coronavirus? |url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/people-collapsing-coronavirus/ |work=Snopes |first=Dan |last=Evon |date=3 January 2020 |access-date=23 August 2022 |archive-date=23 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220823150947/https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/people-collapsing-coronavirus/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Some of these videos were republished or referenced by some tabloid newspapers, including the ''[[Daily Mail]]'' and ''[[The Sun (United Kingdom)|The Sun]]''.<ref name="are people collapsing" /> However, the people in these videos are generally believed to have been suffering from something other than COVID-19, such as one who was drunk.<ref>{{cite web |title=Photos and videos allegedly showing the coronavirus are now challenging fact-checkers |url=https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2020/photos-and-videos-allegedly-showing-the-coronavirus-are-now-challenging-fact-checkers/ |work=Poynter |first=Cristina |last=Tardáguila |date=30 January 2020 |access-date=23 August 2022 |archive-date=26 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220826123626/https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2020/photos-and-videos-allegedly-showing-the-coronavirus-are-now-challenging-fact-checkers/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
A video from February 2020 purported to be of dead COVID-19 victims in China was actually a video from [[Shenzhen]] of people sleeping on the street.<ref>{{cite web |title=Video falsely claims to show bodies of virus victims in China |url=https://apnews.com/article/archive-fact-checking-8509320385 |first=Arijeta |last=Lajka |website=[[Associated Press]] |date=21 February 2020 |access-date=23 August 2022 |archive-date=23 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220823150835/https://apnews.com/article/archive-fact-checking-8509320385 |url-status=live }}</ref> Similarly, a photo that circulated in March 2020 of dozens of people lying down in the street, purported to be of COVID-19 victims in either China or Italy, was in fact a photo of living people from a 2014 art project in Germany.<ref>{{cite web |title=False claim: Picture shows people dying of coronavirus in the streets |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-coronavirus-art-performance-idUSKBN21F05U |work=Reuters |date=27 March 2020 |access-date=23 August 2022 |archive-date=23 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220823150837/https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-coronavirus-art-performance-idUSKBN21F05U |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Incidence and mortality==
Correctly reporting the number of people who were sick or who had died was difficult, especially during the earliest days of the pandemic.<ref name="FAX machines">{{
===In China===
====Chinese under-reporting during early 2020====
Leaked documents show that China's public reporting of cases gave an incomplete picture during the early stages of the pandemic. For example, in February 2020, China publicly reported 2,478 new confirmed cases. However, confidential internal documents that later leaked to [[CNN]] showed 5,918 new cases in February. {{Clarify | text = These were broken down as 2,345 confirmed cases | date = February 2021 | reason = This is in the same ballpark as the official report of 'confirmed' cases, it's unclear that this is really 'underreporting'. This kind of underreporting probably can be said about most of the places throughout the world because not even the 'clicnically diagnosed' cases get confirmed especially when there is little capacity to test. Should provide more information why it is 'willful' misreporting.}}, 1,772 clinically diagnosed cases and 1,796 suspected cases.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/30/asia/wuhan-china-covid-intl/index.html |title=The Wuhan Files |vauthors=Walsh NP |publisher=CNN |access-date=13 December 2020 |archive-date=11 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210311000058/https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/30/asia/wuhan-china-covid-intl/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The Times |title=Leak exposes how Beijing ordered under‑reporting of Wuhan coronavirus cases |date=6 December 2020 |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/leak-exposes-how-beijing-ordered-under-reporting-of-wuhan-coronavirus-cases-q8rc2hhkd |vauthors=Sherwell P |url-access=limited |access-date=14 December 2020 |archive-date=26 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226002206/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/leak-exposes-how-beijing-ordered-under-reporting-of-wuhan-coronavirus-cases-q8rc2hhkd |url-status=live }}</ref>
====Nurse whistleblower====
In January 2020, a video circulated online appearing to be of a nurse named Jin Hui<ref name="theinitium20200130">{{cite web |url=https://theinitium.com/article/20200130-repost-pansci-2019ncov-misinformation/ |title=泛科學：關於新冠肺炎的20個傳言，哪些是真哪些是假？ |trans-title=Pan Science: 20 rumors about new coronary pneumonia, which are true and which are false? |website=[[Theinitium.com]] |date=30 January 2020 |language=zh |vauthors=Luo P, Liao Y |access-date=27 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200202120919/https://theinitium.com/article/20200130-repost-pansci-2019ncov-misinformation/ |archive-date=2 February 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> in [[Hubei]], describing a far more dire situation in Wuhan than reported by Chinese officials. However, the BBC said that, contrary to its English subtitles in one of the video's existing versions, the woman does not claim to be either a nurse or a doctor in the video and that her suit and mask do not match the ones worn by medical staff in Hubei.<ref name="bbc_misinfo" />
The video claimed that more than 90,000 people had been infected with the virus in China, that the virus could spread from one person to 14 people ({{math|1=[[R number|R<sub>0</sub>]] = 14}}) and that the virus was starting a second mutation.<ref name=":Ghaffary">{{cite web |url=https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/1/31/21115589/coronavirus-wuhan-china-myths-hoaxes-facebook-social-media-tiktok-twitter-wechat |title=Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube struggle with coronavirus hoaxes |vauthors=Ghaffary S |date=31 January 2020 |website=Vox |access-date=7 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200208004124/https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/1/31/21115589/coronavirus-wuhan-china-myths-hoaxes-facebook-social-media-tiktok-twitter-wechat |archive-date=8 February 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> The video attracted millions of views on various social media platforms and was mentioned in numerous online reports. The claimed {{math|1=R<sub>0</sub>}} of 14 in the video was noted by the BBC to be inconsistent with the expert estimation of 1.4 to 2.5 at that time.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/chinese-news-51293515 |title=武汉肺炎：随疫情扩散全球的五大假新闻 |trans-title=The misinformation that gone viral with the virus |language=zh |website=BBC China |date=29 January 2020 |access-date=12 May 2020 |archive-date=29 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200129234306/https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/chinese-news-51293515 |url-status=live }}</ref> The video's claim of 90,000 infected cases was noted to be 'unsubstantiated'.<ref name="bbc_misinfo" /><ref name=":Ghaffary" />
====Alleged leak of death toll by Tencent====
In February 2020, ''[[Taiwan News]]'' published an article claiming that [[Tencent]] may have accidentally leaked the real numbers of death and infection in China. ''Taiwan News'' suggested that the Tencent Epidemic Situation Tracker had briefly showed infected cases and death tolls many times higher of the official figure, citing a Facebook post by a 38-year-old Taiwanese beverage store owner and an anonymous Taiwanese [[netizen]].<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Schelden P |title=Are These the 'Real' Wuhan Coronavirus Statistics?
The author of the original news article defended the authenticity and newsworthiness of the leak on a [[WION (TV channel)|WION]] program.<ref name="bloommag">{{cite web |url=https://newbloommag.net/2020/02/12/coronavirus-taiwan-news/ |title=Taiwan News Publishes COVID-19 Misinformation as Epidemic Spreads |vauthors=Hioe B, Wooster L |website=New Bloom Magazine |date=12 February 2020 |access-date=29 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200229191408/https://newbloommag.net/2020/02/12/coronavirus-taiwan-news/ |archive-date=29 February 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>
====Mass cremation in Wuhan====
In February 2020, a report emerged on Twitter claiming that data showed a massive increase in sulfur emissions over Wuhan, China. The Twitter thread then claimed the reason was due to the mass cremation those who died from COVID-19. The story was shared on multiple media outlets, including ''[[Daily Express]]'', ''[[Daily Mail]]'', and ''[[Taiwan News]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://fullfact.org/health/satellites-wuhan-sulphur-dioxide-coronavirus/ |title=These aren't satellite images and they don't show evidence of mass cremations in Wuhan |website=FullFact |date=13 February 2020 |access-date=5 November 2020 |archive-date=29 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229164326/https://fullfact.org/health/satellites-wuhan-sulphur-dioxide-coronavirus/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="bloommag" /> ''[[Snopes]]'' debunked the misinformation, pointing out that the maps used by the claims were not real-time observations of [[sulfur dioxide]] (SO<sub>2</sub>) concentrations above Wuhan. Instead, the data was a computer-generated model based on historical information and forecast on SO<sub>2</sub> emissions.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/sulfur-coronavirus-cremations/ |title=Do Sulfur Emissions from Wuhan, China, Point to Mass Cremation of Coronavirus Victims? |website=Snopes |date=24 February 2020 |vauthors=Kasprak A |access-date=5 November 2020 |archive-date=15 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210315020727/https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/sulfur-coronavirus-cremations/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
A story in ''[[The Epoch Times]]'' in February 2020 shared a map from the Internet that falsely alleged massive sulfur dioxide releases from crematoriums during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] in China, speculating that 14,000 bodies may have been burned.<ref name="AFP map">{{
====Decline in cellphone subscriptions====
There was a decrease of nearly 21 million cellphone subscriptions among the three largest cellphone carriers in China, which led to misinformation that this is evidence for millions of deaths due to COVID-19 in China.<ref name=laj-dicu /> The drop is attributed to cancellations of phone services due to a downturn in the [[Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic|social]] and [[Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic|economic life]] during the outbreak.<ref name=laj-dicu>{{cite web |vauthors=Lajka A |title=Drop in cellphone users in China wrongly attributed to coronavirus deaths |url=https://apnews.com/afs:Content:8717250566 |work=Associated Press |date=30 March 2020 |access-date=9 April 2020 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308081411/https://apnews.com/afs:Content:8717250566 |url-status=live }}</ref>
===In the US===
Accusations have been made of under-reporting, over-reporting, and other problems. Necessary data was corrupted in some places, for example, on the state level in the United States.<ref name="Data corrupted on the state level">{{
The public health handling of the pandemic has been hampered by the use of archaic technology (including [[fax]] machines and incompatible formats),<ref name="FAX machines" /> poor data flow and management (or even no access to data), and general lack of standardization and leadership.<ref name="Bad data or no access to data">{{
====Allegations of inflated death counts====
In August 2020, President Donald Trump retweeted a [[conspiracy theory]] alleging that COVID-19 deaths are systematically overcounted, and that only 6% of the reported deaths in the United States were actually from the disease.<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Appleby J, Knight V |title=How COVID Death Counts Become the Stuff of Conspiracy Theories |url=https://khn.org/news/how-covid-death-counts-become-the-stuff-of-conspiracy-theories/ |access-date=18 June 2021 |work=Kaiser Health News |date=2 November 2020 |archive-date=18 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618122627/https://khn.org/news/how-covid-death-counts-become-the-stuff-of-conspiracy-theories/ |url-status=live }}</ref> This 6% number is based on only counting death certificates where COVID-19 is the sole condition listed. The lead mortality statistician at the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]]'s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics said that those death certificates likely did not include all the steps that led to the death and thus were incomplete. The CDC collects data based on case surveillance, [[National Vital Statistics System|vital records]], and [[Mortality displacement|excess deaths]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/debunking-the-false-claim-that-covid-death-counts-are-inflated/ |title=Debunking the False Claim That COVID Death Counts Are Inflated |vauthors=Aschwanden C |date=20 October 2020 |work=[[Scientific American]] |access-date=31 October 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028214836/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/debunking-the-false-claim-that-covid-death-counts-are-inflated/ |archive-date=28 October 2020}}</ref> A [[FactCheck.org]] article on the issue reported that while 6% of the death certificates included COVID-19 exclusively as the cause of death and 94% had additional conditions that contributed to it, COVID-19 was listed as the underlying cause of death in 92% of them, as it may directly cause other severe conditions such as pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome.<ref>{{
The U.S. experienced 882,000 "excess deaths" (i.e., deaths above the baseline expected from normal mortality in previous years) between February 2020 and January 2022, which is somewhat higher than the officially recorded mortality from COVID-19 during that period (835,000 deaths). Analysis of weekly data from each U.S. state shows that the calculated excess deaths are strongly correlated with COVID-19 infections, undercutting the notion that the deaths were primarily caused by some factor other than the disease.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bump |first=Philip |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/01/10/yes-hundreds-thousands-people-have-died-covid-19/ |title=Yes, hundreds of thousands of people have died of covid-19 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=10 January 2022 |access-date=30 January 2022 |archive-date=11 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220111165156/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/01/10/yes-hundreds-thousands-people-have-died-covid-19/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
====Misleading ''Johns Hopkins News-Letter'' article====
In November 2020, an article by Genevieve Briand (assistant director for the Master's program in Applied Economics at JHU)<ref name="GB_Profile">{{cite web |title=Genevieve Briand |url=https://advanced.jhu.edu/directory/genevieve-briand/ |website=Johns Hopkins Advanced Academic Programs |access-date=30 January 2022 |archive-date=10 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110010036/https://advanced.jhu.edu/directory/genevieve-briand/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> was published in the student-run [[The Johns Hopkins News-Letter|''Johns Hopkins News-Letter'']] claiming to have found "no evidence that COVID-19 create[d] any excess deaths".<ref name="JHUNewsLetterResponse"/> The article was later retracted after it was used to promote conspiracy theories on right-wing social media accounts and misinformation websites,<ref>{{
Briand compared data from spring 2020 and January 2018, ignoring expected seasonal variations in mortality and unusual peaks in the spring and summer of 2020 compared to previous spring and summer months.<ref name="JHUNewsLetterResponse"/> Briand's article failed to account for the total excess mortality from all causes reported during the pandemic,<ref name="HealthFeedbackJHUNewsLetter" /> with 300,000 deaths associated with the virus per CDC data in 2020.<ref name="HealthFeedbackJHUNewsLetter" /> Deaths per age group were also shown as a proportion percentage rather than as raw numbers, obscuring the effects of the pandemic when the number of deaths increases but the proportions are maintained.<ref name="HealthFeedbackJHUNewsLetter">{{cite news |last1=Teoh |first1=Flora |title=More deaths occurred in 2020 than in previous years; Johns Hopkins student article compared proportion of deaths per age group, which can obscure changes in raw numbers |url=https://healthfeedback.org/claimreview/cdc-data-shows-higher-number-of-deaths-in-2020-compared-to-previous-years-johns-hopkins-student-article-compared-percentages-not-raw-numbers/ |access-date=30 January 2022 |work=Health Feedback |date=30 November 2020 |archive-date=3 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210903052953/https://healthfeedback.org/claimreview/cdc-data-shows-higher-number-of-deaths-in-2020-compared-to-previous-years-johns-hopkins-student-article-compared-percentages-not-raw-numbers/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The article also suggested that deaths attributed to cardiac and respiratory diseases in infected persons were incorrectly categorized as deaths due to COVID-19. This view fails to recognize that those with such conditions are more vulnerable to the virus and therefore more likely to die from it.<ref name="JHUNewsLetterResponse">{{
===Misinformation targeting Taiwan===
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In February 2020, the Taiwanese [[Central News Agency (Republic of China)|Central News Agency]] reported that large amounts of misinformation had appeared on Facebook claiming [[COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan|the pandemic in Taiwan]] was out of control, the Taiwanese government had covered up the total number of cases, and that President [[Tsai Ing-wen]] had been infected. The Taiwan fact-checking organization had suggested the misinformation on Facebook shared similarities with [[mainland China]] due to its use of [[simplified Chinese characters]] and mainland China vocabulary. The organization warned that the purpose of the misinformation is to attack the government.<ref name=cna2020022604>{{cite news |url=https://www.cna.com.tw/news/firstnews/202002260428.aspx |script-title=zh:武漢肺炎疫情謠言多 事實查核中心指3大共同點 |trans-title=There are many rumors about the Wuhan pneumonia epidemic, the fact-checking center points to 3 common points |date=26 February 2020 |agency=[[Central News Agency (Republic of China)|Central News Agency]] |language=zh-tw |access-date=28 February 2020 |archive-date=11 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200311135049/https://www.cna.com.tw/news/firstnews/202002260428.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="taipeitimes2003731764">{{cite news |date=28 February 2020 |title=Virus Outbreak: Chinese trolls decried for fake news |work=[[Taipei Times]] |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2020/02/28/2003731764 |url-status=live |access-date=12 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200301114540/http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2020/02/28/2003731764 |archive-date=1 March 2020}}</ref><ref name=20200229reuters>{{cite news |title=Taiwan accuses China of waging cyber 'war' to disrupt virus fight |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-health-taiwan/taiwan-reports-five-new-coronavirus-cases-total-at-39-idUSKBN20N09C |work=Reuters |date=29 February 2020 |access-date=12 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200301160250/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-health-taiwan/taiwan-reports-five-new-coronavirus-cases-total-at-39-idUSKBN20N09C |archive-date=1 March 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>
In March 2020, Taiwan's [[Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau]] warned that China was trying to undermine trust in factual news by portraying the Taiwanese government reports as fake news. Taiwanese authorities have been ordered to use all possible means to track whether the messages were linked to instructions given by the Chinese Communist Party. The PRC's [[Taiwan Affairs Office]] denied the claims, calling them lies, and said that Taiwan's [[Democratic Progressive Party]] was "inciting hatred" between the two sides. They then claimed that the "DPP continues to politically manipulate the virus".<ref name=20200303reuters>{{cite news |vauthors=Lee Y, Blanchard B |title='Provocative' China pressures Taiwan with fighters, fake news amid virus outbreak |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-taiwan-china/provocative-china-pressures-taiwan-with-fighters-fake-news-amid-virus-outbreak-idUSKBN20Q08M |work=Reuters |access-date=5 March 2020 |quote='We have been told to track if the origins are linked to instructions given by the Communist Party, using all possible means,' the official said, adding that authorities had increased scrutiny on online platforms, including chat rooms. |date=3 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200305160849/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-taiwan-china/provocative-china-pressures-taiwan-with-fighters-fake-news-amid-virus-outbreak-idUSKBN20Q08M |archive-date=5 March 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> According to ''[[The Washington Post]]'', China has used organized disinformation campaigns against Taiwan for decades.<ref name=washingtonpost3400200>{{cite news |vauthors=Fifield A |title=Russia's disinformation campaign in the U.S. has nothing on China's efforts in Taiwan |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/russias-disinformation-campaign-in-the-us-has-nothing-on-chinas-efforts-in-taiwan/2020/01/08/3400200a-231a-11ea-b034-de7dc2b5199b_story.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20230301/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/russias-disinformation-campaign-in-the-us-has-nothing-on-chinas-efforts-in-taiwan/2020/01/08/3400200a-231a-11ea-b034-de7dc2b5199b_story.html |archive-date=1 March 2023 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=1 March 2023 |url-access=limited}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
Nick Monaco, the research director of the Digital Intelligence Lab at [[Institute for the Future]], analyzed the posts and concluded that the majority appear to have come from ordinary users in China, not the state. However, he criticized the Chinese government's decision to allow the information to spread beyond China's [[Great Firewall]], which he described as "malicious".<ref name="npr814709530">{{cite news |date=13 March 2020 |title=With Odds Against It, Taiwan Keeps Coronavirus Corralled |newspaper=[[NPR]] |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/03/13/814709530/with-odds-against-it-taiwan-keeps-coronavirus-corralled |access-date=28 March 2020 |archive-date=21 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200321181015/https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/03/13/814709530/with-odds-against-it-taiwan-keeps-coronavirus-corralled |url-status=live }}</ref> According to ''Taiwan News'', nearly one in four cases of misinformation are believed to be connected to China.<ref name=taiwannews3904042>{{cite web |url=https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3904042 |title=One-fourth of coronavirus misinformation in Taiwan comes from Chinese trolls: CIB |website=Taiwan News |date=25 March 2020 |access-date=31 March 2020 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308155646/https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3904042 |url-status=live }}</ref>
In March 2020, the [[American Institute in Taiwan]] announced that it was partnering with the Taiwan FactCheck Center to help combat misinformation about the COVID-19 outbreak.<ref>{{cite web |title=AIT partners with local group to combat COVID-19 disinformation |url=https://focustaiwan.tw/society/202003270016 |access-date=28 March 2020 |website=[[Focus Taiwan]] |vauthors=Yun-yu C, Mazzetta M |date=27 March 2020 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308232616/https://focustaiwan.tw/society/202003270016 |url-status=live }}</ref>
===Misrepresented World Population Project map===
In early February 2020, a decade-old map illustrating a hypothetical viral outbreak published by the World Population Project (part of the [[University of Southampton]]) was misappropriated by a number of Australian media news outlets (and British tabloids ''The Sun'', ''Daily Mail'' and ''Metro'')<ref name="Misleading map" /> which claimed the map represented the COVID-19 pandemic. This misinformation was then spread via the social media accounts of the same media outlets, and while some outlets later removed the map, the BBC reported, in February, that a number of news sites had yet to retract the map.<ref name="Misleading map">{{
==="Casedemic"===
[[COVID-19 denial|COVID-19 deniers]] use the word ''casedemic'' as a shorthand for a conspiracy theory holding that COVID-19 is harmless and that the reported disease figures are merely a result of increased testing. The concept is particularly attractive to [[anti-vaccination]] activists, who use it to argue that public health measures, and particularly vaccines, are not needed to counter what they say is a fake epidemic.<ref name="Gorski casedemic"/><ref>{{
[[David Gorski]] writes that the word ''casedemic'' was seemingly coined by Ivor Cummins—an engineer whose views are popular among COVID-19 deniers—in August 2020.<ref name="Gorski casedemic"/>
The term has been adopted by alternative medicine advocate [[Joseph Mercola]], who has exaggerated the effect of false positives in [[polymerase chain reaction]] (PCR) tests to construct a false narrative that testing is invalid because it is not perfectly accurate {{See above|also {{section link||PCR testing}}, above}}. In reality, the problems with PCR testing are well-known and accounted for by public health authorities. Such claims also disregard the possibility of [[Transmission of COVID-19#Asymptomatic transmission|asymptomatic spread]], the number of potentially-undetected cases during the initial phases of the pandemic in comparison to the present due to increased testing and knowledge since, and other variables that can influence PCR tests.<ref name="Gorski casedemic">{{cite web |website=Science-Based Medicine |vauthors=Gorski DH |title=There is no COVID-19 'casedemic.' The pandemic is real and deadly. |url=https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/no-covid-19-casedemic/ |date=23 November 2020 |access-date=2 December 2020 |archive-date=5 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205043640/https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/no-covid-19-casedemic/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Disease spread==
<!--This article is becoming longer by the day. Please try to add new content in the :List of unproven methods against COVID-19" page instead of doing so here-->
Early in the pandemic, little information was known about how the virus spreads, when the first people became sick, or who was most vulnerable to infection, serious complications, or death. During 2020, it became clear that the main route of spread was through exposure to the virus-laden [[respiratory droplet]]s produced by an infected person.<ref>{{
===California herd immunity in 2019===
In March 2020, [[Victor Davis Hanson]] publicized a theory that COVID-19 may have been in California in the fall of 2019 resulting in a level of herd immunity to at least partially explain differences in infection rates in cities such as New York City vs Los Angeles.<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Hanson VC |title=Coronavirus: The California Herd |date=31 March 2020 |work=National Review |url=https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/03/coronavirus-pandemic-california-herd-immunity/ |access-date=30 July 2020 |archive-date=9 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309012802/https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/03/coronavirus-pandemic-california-herd-immunity/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Jeff Smith of Santa Clara County stated that evidence indicated the virus may have been in California since December 2019.<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=St John P |title=New signs suggest coronavirus was in California far earlier than anyone knew |date=11 April 2020 |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-04-11/bay-area-coronavirus-deaths-signs-of-earlier-spread-california |access-date=30 July 2020 |archive-date=10 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310235626/https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-04-11/bay-area-coronavirus-deaths-signs-of-earlier-spread-california |url-status=live }}</ref> Early genetic and antibody analyses refute the idea that the virus was in the United States prior to January 2020.<ref name=20200410slate>{{cite web |url=https://slate.com/technology/2020/04/coronavirus-circulating-california-2019-bunk.html |title=No, You Did Not Get COVID-19 in the Fall of 2019 |vauthors=Hu JC |date=10 April 2020 |website=Slate |access-date=11 April 2020 |archive-date=28 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228030632/https://slate.com/technology/2020/04/coronavirus-circulating-california-2019-bunk.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Rana">{{
===Patient Zero===
In March 2020, conspiracy theorists started the false rumor that Maatje Benassi, a US army reservist, was "[[index case|Patient Zero]]" of the pandemic, the first person to be infected with COVID-19.<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Vallejo J |title='It's like waking up from a bad dream': Coronavirus 'patient zero' conspiracy target breaks silence |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/coronavirus-patient-zero-china-conspiracy-theory-maatje-benassi-a9487041.html |access-date=8 June 2020 |work=[[The Independent]] |date=27 April 2020 |archive-date=14 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114030555/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/coronavirus-patient-zero-china-conspiracy-theory-maatje-benassi-a9487041.html |url-status=live }}<!-- publishing date is from the page's HTML source --></ref> Benassi was targeted because of her participation in the [[2019 Military World Games]] at Wuhan before the pandemic started, even though she never tested positive for the virus. Conspiracy theorists even connected her family to the DJ [[Benny Benassi]] as a Benassi virus plot, even though they are not related and Benny had also not had the virus.<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=O'Sullivan D |title=Exclusive: She's been falsely accused of starting the pandemic. Her life has been turned upside down |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/27/tech/coronavirus-conspiracy-theory/index.html |access-date=20 May 2020 |publisher=[[CNN Business]] |date=27 April 2020 |archive-date=27 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200427123846/https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/27/tech/coronavirus-conspiracy-theory/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
===Airborne===
Before mid-2021 the [[World Health Organization]] (WHO) denied that COVID readily spread through the air;<ref name=CR2023>{{cite news |last1=Lauer |first1=Emilie |title=Meet the QUT professor who figured out Covid-19 was airborne |url=https://www.campusreview.com.au/2023/05/meet-the-qut-professor-who-figured-out-covid-19-was-airborne/ |access-date=29 October 2023 |work=Campus Review |language=en-AU |archive-date=23 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230523083810/https://www.campusreview.com.au/2023/05/meet-the-qut-professor-who-figured-out-covid-19-was-airborne/ |url-status=live }}</ref> although, they acknowledged such spread could occur during certain medical procedures as of July 2020.<ref>{{cite web |title=Transmission of SARS-CoV-2: implications for infection prevention precautions |url=https://www.who.int/news-room/commentaries/detail/transmission-of-sars-cov-2-implications-for-infection-prevention-precautions |website=www.who.int |access-date=29 October 2023 |language=en |archive-date=9 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200709182242/https://www.who.int/news-room/commentaries/detail/transmission-of-sars-cov-2-implications-for-infection-prevention-precautions |url-status=live }}</ref> In February
The air quality researcher [[Lidia Morawska]] viewed their initial position as "spreading misinformation".<ref name=CR2023/> Hundreds of scientists, by mid 2020, viewed airborne spread as occurring and called on the WHO to change their position.<ref name=NYT2020>{{cite news |last1=Mandavilli |first1=Apoorva |title=239 Experts With One Big Claim: The Coronavirus Is Airborne |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/04/health/239-experts-with-one-big-claim-the-coronavirus-is-airborne.html |work=The New York Times |date=4 July 2020 |access-date=29 October 2023 |archive-date=17 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117010830/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/04/health/239-experts-with-one-big-claim-the-coronavirus-is-airborne.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Concerns were raised that "conservative voices" within the WHO committee tasked with these guidelines were preventing new evidence from being incorporated.<ref name=NYT2020/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Ahmed |first1=Nafeez |title='World Health Organisation Doomed the World by Concealing Evidence of Airborne COVID Transmission' |url=https://bylinetimes.com/2021/07/23/world-health-organisation-doomed-the-world-by-concealing-evidence-of-airborne-covid-transmission/ |access-date=29 October 2023 |work=Byline Times |date=23 July 2021 |archive-date=29 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231029180938/https://bylinetimes.com/2021/07/23/world-health-organisation-doomed-the-world-by-concealing-evidence-of-airborne-covid-transmission/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
===Surfaces===
Early in the pandemic it was claimed that COVID-19 could be spread by contact with contaminated surfaces or [[fomite]]s—even though this is an uncommon transmission route for other respiratory viruses. This led to recommendations that high-contact surfaces (like playground equipment or school desks) be frequently deep-cleaned and that certain items (like groceries or mailed packages) be disinfected.<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Thompson D |date=13 April 2021 |title=Deep Cleaning Isn't a Victimless Crime |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/04/end-hygiene-theater/618576 |work=[[The Atlantic]] |access-date=18 April 2021 |archive-date=17 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417231315/https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/04/end-hygiene-theater/618576/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Ultimately, the US [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC) concluded that the likelihood of transmission under these scenarios was less than 1 in 10,000.<ref name="CDC">{{cite web |url=https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/science-and-research/surface-transmission.html |title=SARS-CoV-2 and Surface (Fomite) Transmission for Indoor Community Environments |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=5 April 2021 |publisher=U.S. [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC) |access-date=18 April 2021 |archive-date=5 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210405151126/https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/science-and-research/surface-transmission.html |url-status=live }}</ref> They further concluded that [[handwashing]] reduced the risk of exposure to COVID-19, but surface disinfection did not.<ref name="CDC"/>
===Susceptibility based on ethnicity===
There have been claims that specific [[ethnicities]] are more or less vulnerable to COVID-19. COVID-19 is a new [[zoonotic]] disease, so no population has yet had the time to develop [[population immunity]].{{medical citation needed|date=April 2020}}
Beginning in February 2020, reports quickly spread via Facebook, implied that a Cameroonian student in China had been completely cured of the virus due to his African genetics. While a student was successfully treated, other media sources have indicated that no evidence implies Africans are more resistant to the virus and labeled such claims as false information.<ref name=20200212afp>{{cite web |vauthors=Faivre Le Cadre AS |url=https://factcheck.afp.com/black-people-arent-more-resistant-novel-coronavirus |title=Black people aren't more resistant to novel coronavirus |date=12 February 2020 |website=AFP Fact Check |access-date=16 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200216141447/https://factcheck.afp.com/black-people-arent-more-resistant-novel-coronavirus |archive-date=16 February 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> Kenyan Secretary of Health [[Mutahi Kagwe]] explicitly refuted rumors that "those with black skin cannot get coronavirus [disease 2019]", while announcing Kenya's first case in March.<ref name=20200313cnn>{{cite news |title=Minister rejects false rumors that 'those with black skin cannot get coronavirus' as Kenya records first case |vauthors=Alberti M, Feleke B |publisher=CNN |url=https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-outbreak-03-13-20-intl-hnk/h_daa3fbd19db18fdbb4be569a9613fe96 |date=13 March 2020 |access-date=15 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200319003805/https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-outbreak-03-13-20-intl-hnk/h_daa3fbd19db18fdbb4be569a9613fe96 |archive-date=19 March 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> This false
There have been claims of "Indian immunity": that the people of India have more immunity to the COVID-19 virus due to living conditions in India. This idea was deemed "absolute drivel" by Anand Krishnan, professor at the Centre for Community Medicine of the [[All India Institute of Medical Sciences]] (AIIMS). He said there was no [[population immunity]] to the COVID-19 virus yet, as it is new, and it is not even clear whether people who have recovered from COVID-19 will have lasting immunity, as this happens with some viruses but not with others.<ref name = "Ghosh _2020">{{cite news |vauthors=Ghosh A |title=Vegetarian food, Indian immunity won't prevent Covid-19, says Anand Krishnan |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/coronavirus-cases-cure-symptoms-precautions-aiims-6314643/ |work=The Indian Express |date=15 March 2020 |access-date=18 April 2020 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308132738/https://indianexpress.com/article/india/coronavirus-cases-cure-symptoms-precautions-aiims-6314643/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
Iran's [[Supreme Leader of Iran|Supreme Leader]] Ayatollah [[Ali Khamenei]] claimed the virus was genetically targeted at Iranians by the US, giving this explanation for the pandemic having [[COVID-19 pandemic in Iran|seriously affected Iran]]. He did not offer any evidence.<ref name="independent-corona">{{cite news |title=Coronavirus: Iran's leader suggests US cooked up 'special version' of virus to target country |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-coronavirus-us-target-country-special-version-covid19-a9417206.html |work=The Independent |date=22 March 2020 |access-date=30 March 2020 |archive-date=24 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200324095310/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-coronavirus-us-target-country-special-version-covid19-a9417206.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="france2420200322">{{cite news |date=22 March 2020 |title=Iran's Khamanei refuses US help to fight coronavirus, citing conspiracy theory |publisher=France 24 |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20200322-iran-s-supreme-leader-khamanei-refuses-us-help-to-fight-coronavirus-citing-conspiracy-theory |access-date=4 April 2020 |archive-date=14 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200414041608/https://www.france24.com/en/20200322-iran-s-supreme-leader-khamanei-refuses-us-help-to-fight-coronavirus-citing-conspiracy-theory |url-status=live }}</ref>
A group of Jordanian researchers published a report claiming that Arabs are less vulnerable to COVID-19 due to a genetic variation specific to those of Middle East heritage. This paper had not been debunked by November 2020.<ref>{{
====Xenophobic blaming by ethnicity and religion====
<!--not sure if this doesn't belong with some of the nationally
{{main|Xenophobia and racism related to the COVID-19 pandemic}}
[[File:IOM - Fighting Stigma and Discrimination against Migrants during COVID-19.webm|thumb|thumbtime=0:02|UN video warns that misinformation against groups may lower testing rates and increase transmission.]]
COVID-19-related [[xenophobic]] attacks have been made against individuals with the attacker blaming the victim for COVID-19 on the basis of the victim's ethnicity. People who are considered to look Chinese have been subjected to COVID-19-related verbal and physical attacks in many other countries, often by people accusing them of transmitting the virus.<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Zhou N |title=Survey of Covid-19 racism against Asian Australians records 178 incidents in two weeks |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/17/survey-of-covid-19-racism-against-asian-australians-records-178-incidents-in-two-weeks |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=17 April 2020 |access-date=19 April 2020 |archive-date=9 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309054256/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/17/survey-of-covid-19-racism-against-asian-australians-records-178-incidents-in-two-weeks |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="NYT Racism">{{cite news |vauthors=Tavernise S, Oppel Jr RA |title=Spit On, Yelled At, Attacked: Chinese-Americans Fear for Their Safety |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/23/us/chinese-coronavirus-racist-attacks.html |access-date=23 March 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=23 March 2020 |url-access=limited |archive-date=19 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200519092911/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/23/us/chinese-coronavirus-racist-attacks.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Fear of coronavirus fuels racist sentiment targeting Asians |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-02-03/fear-panic-around-the-coronavirus-fuels-racist-sentiment |access-date=25 March 2020 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=3 February 2020 |archive-date=5 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200205072802/https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-02-03/fear-panic-around-the-coronavirus-fuels-racist-sentiment |url-status=live }}</ref> Within China, there has been discrimination (such as evictions and refusal of service in shops) against people from anywhere closer to Wuhan (where the pandemic started) and against anyone perceived as being non-Chinese (especially those considered African), as the Chinese government has blamed continuing cases on re-introductions of the virus from abroad (90% of reintroduced cases were by Chinese passport-holders). Neighbouring countries have also discriminated against people seen as Westerners.<ref>{{cite web |title=China's Racism Is Wrecking Its Success in Africa |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/04/15/chinas-racism-is-wrecking-its-success-in-africa/ |url-status=live |website=[[Foreign Policy]] |vauthors=Sui C |date=15 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200416081444/https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/04/15/chinas-racism-is-wrecking-its-success-in-africa/ |archive-date=16 April 2020}}</ref><ref name="guardian29032020">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/29/china-coronavirus-anti-foreigner-feeling-imported-cases |title='They see my blue eyes then jump back' – China sees a new wave of xenophobia |vauthors=Kuo L, Davidson H |date=29 March 2020 |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=22 April 2020 |archive-date=11 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200511205052/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/29/china-coronavirus-anti-foreigner-feeling-imported-cases |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{
People have also simply blamed other local groups along the lines of pre-existing social tensions and divisions, sometimes citing reporting of COVID-19 cases within that group. For instance, Muslims have been widely blamed, shunned, and discriminated against in India (including some violent attacks), amid unfounded claims that Muslims are deliberately spreading COVID-19, and a Muslim event at which the disease did spread has received far more public attention than many similar events run by other groups and the government.<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Hannah Ellis-Petersen H, Rahman SA |title=Coronavirus conspiracy theories targeting Muslims spread in India |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/13/coronavirus-conspiracy-theories-targeting-muslims-spread-in-india |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=13 April 2020 |access-date=29 April 2020 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308175246/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/13/coronavirus-conspiracy-theories-targeting-muslims-spread-in-india |url-status=live }}</ref> [[White supremacist]] groups have blamed COVID-19 on non-whites and advocated deliberately infecting minorities they dislike, such as Jews.<ref>{{cite web |vauthors=Colborne M |date=26 March 2020 |title=As world struggles to stop deaths, far right celebrates COVID-19 |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/3/26/as-world-struggles-to-stop-deaths-far-right-celebrates-covid-19 |publisher=Al Jazeera |access-date=4 July 2021 |archive-date=1 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210601135304/https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/3/26/as-world-struggles-to-stop-deaths-far-right-celebrates-covid-19 |url-status=live }}</ref>
<!--On the basis of historical examples, there have been warnings about discriminating by immunity.<ref>{{cite web |vauthors=Olivarius K |title=The Dangerous History of Immunoprivilege |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/12/opinion/coronavirus-immunity-passports.html |website=[[The New York Times]] |date=12 April 2020 |url-access=limited}}</ref>-->
===Bat soup===
Some media outlets, including ''[[Daily Mail]]'' and [[RT (TV network)|RT]], as well as individuals, disseminated a video showing a Chinese woman eating a bat, falsely suggesting it was filmed in Wuhan and connecting it to the outbreak.<ref name="20200127foreignpolicy">{{
===Large gatherings===
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===Sexual transmission and infertility===
COVID-19 can persist in men's [[semen]] even after they have begun to recover, although the virus cannot replicate in the [[Human reproductive system|reproductive system]].<ref>{{
Chinese researchers who found the virus in the semen of men infected with COVID-19, claimed that this opened up a small chance the disease could be sexually transmitted, though this claim has been questioned by other academics since this has been shown with many other viruses such as [[Ebolavirus|Ebola]] and [[Zika virus|Zika]].<ref name="Reuters">{{
A team of Italian scholars found that 11 of 43 men who recovered from infections, or one-quarter of the test subjects, had either [[azoospermia]] (no sperm in semen) or [[oligospermia]] (low sperm count). Mechanisms through which infectious diseases affect sperm is roughly divided into two categories. One involves viruses entering the testes, where they attack [[Spermatogonium|spermatogonia]]. The other involves high fever exposing the testes to heat and thereby killing sperm.<ref name="Reuters"/>
==Prevention==
{{See also|List of unproven methods against COVID-19}}People tried many different things to prevent infection. Sometimes the misinformation was false claims of efficacy, such as claims that the virus could not spread during religious ceremonies, and at other times the misinformation was false claims of inefficacy, such as claiming that alcohol-based hand sanitizer did not work. In other cases, especially with regard to public health advice about wearing [[face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic|face masks]], additional scientific evidence resulted in different advice over time.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Howard J, Huang A, Li Z, Tufekci Z, Zdimal V, van der Westhuizen HM, von Delft A, Price A, Fridman L, Tang LH, Tang V, Watson GL, Bax CE, Shaikh R, Questier F, Hernandez D, Chu LF, Ramirez CM, Rimoin AW
===Hand sanitizer, antibacterial soaps===
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===Warm or hot drinks===
There were several claims that drinking warm drinks at a temperature of around {{convert|30|C|F}} protects one from COVID-19, most notably by [[Alberto Fernández]], the president of Argentina said "The WHO recommends that one drink many hot drinks because heat kills the virus." Scientists commented that the WHO had made no such recommendation, and that drinking hot water can damage the [[oral mucosa]].<ref>{{
===Religious protection===
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In South Korea the [[River of Grace Community Church]] in Gyeonggi Province spread the virus after spraying salt water into their members' mouths in the belief that it would kill the virus,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/coronavirus-salt-water-cure-spray-south-korea-church-covid-19-a9404856.html |title=Coronavirus: Nearly 50 church goers infected in South Korea after spraying salt water 'cure' |vauthors=Duncan C |date=16 March 2020 |work=The Independent}}</ref> while the [[Shincheonji Church of Jesus]] in [[Daegu]] where a church leader claimed that no Shincheonji worshipers had caught the virus in February while hundreds died in Wuhan, later caused the biggest spread of the virus in the country.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/10/world/asia/south-korea-coronavirus-shincheonji.html |vauthors=Sang-Hun C |title='Proselytizing Robots': Inside South Korean Church at Outbreak's Center |date=10 March 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-51695649 |title=Coronavirus: South Korea sect leader to face probe over deaths |date=2 March 2020 |publisher=BBC}}</ref> In Tanzania, President [[John Magufuli]], instead of banning congregations, urged the faithfuls to go to pray in churches and mosques in the belief that it will protect them. He said that COVID-19 is a devil, therefore "cannot survive in the body of Jesus Christ; it will burn" (the "[[Body of Christ|body of Jesus Christ]]" refers to the Christian church).<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/tanzanias-leader-urges-people-to-worship-in-throngs-against-coronavirus-11586347200 |title=Tanzania's Leader Urges People to Worship in Throngs Against Coronavirus |vauthors=Bariyo N, Parkinson J |date=8 April 2020 |work=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-52010868 |title=Coronavirus: Why Ghana has gone into mourning after mass funeral ban |date=26 March 2020 |publisher=BBC}}</ref>
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, in March 2020, the [[Church of Greece]] announced that [[Holy Communion]], in which churchgoers eat pieces of bread soaked in wine from the same chalice, would continue as a practice.<ref name="Reuters 9 March">{{cite news |vauthors=Kambas M, Georgiopoulos G |title=In era of coronavirus, Greek church says Holy Communion will carry on |work=Reuters |date=9 March 2020 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-greece-church-idUSKBN20W2N1 |access-date=10 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200312174830/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-greece-church-idUSKBN20W2N1 |archive-date=12 March 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Holy Synod#The Greek Holy Synod|Holy Synod]] said Holy Communion "cannot be the cause of the spread of illness", with Metropolitan Seraphim saying the wine was without blemish because it represented the blood and body of Christ, and that "whoever attends Holy Communion is approaching God, who has the power to heal".<ref name="Reuters 9 March" /> The Church refused to restrict Christians from taking Holy Communion,<ref name=dw52742226>{{cite web |publisher=Deutsche Welle |title=Inside Europe: Greek Orthodox Church weighs in on coronavirus |date=13 March 2020 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/inside-europe-greek-orthodox-church-weighs-in-on-coronavirus/av-52742226 |access-date=18 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200318181239/https://www.dw.com/en/inside-europe-greek-orthodox-church-weighs-in-on-coronavirus/av-52742226 |archive-date=18 March 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> which was supported by several clerics,<ref name="Brzozowski Michalopoulos 2020">{{cite web |vauthors=Brzozowski A, Michalopoulos S |title=Catholics take measures against coronavirus while Greek Orthodox Church 'prays' |website=euractiv.com |date=9 March 2020 |url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/health-consumers/news/catholics-take-measures-against-coronavirus-while-greek-orthodox-church-prays/ |access-date=18 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200318181234/https://www.euractiv.com/section/health-consumers/news/catholics-take-measures-against-coronavirus-while-greek-orthodox-church-prays/ |archive-date=18 March 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> some politicians, and health professionals.<ref name="Brzozowski Michalopoulos 2020" /><ref name="ref 1">{{cite web |url=https://www.heise.de/tp/features/Corona-Panik-nur-fuer-Unglaeubige-4678649.html |title=Corona-Panik nur für Ungläubige? |trans-title=Corona panic only for unbelievers? |vauthors=Aswestopoulos W |website=heise online |date=9 March 2020 |language=de |access-date=18 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200310205222/https://www.heise.de/tp/features/Corona-Panik-nur-fuer-Unglaeubige-4678649.html |archive-date=10 March 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Greek Association of Hospital Doctors criticized these professionals for putting their religious beliefs before science.<ref name="Brzozowski Michalopoulos 2020" /> A review of the medical publications on the subject, published by a Greek physician, claims that the transmission of any infectious disease through the Holy Communion has never been documented. This controversy divided the Greek society, the politics and medical experts.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Anyfantakis D |title=Holy Communion and Infection Transmission: A Literature Review. |journal=Cureus |date=2020 |volume=12 |issue=6 |pages=e8741 |doi=10.7759/cureus.8741 |doi-access=free |pmid=32714679 |pmc=7377019}}</ref>
The Islamic missionary movement [[Tablighi Jamaat]] organised [[Ijtema]] mass gatherings in [[2020 Tablighi Jamaat COVID-19 hotspot in Malaysia|Malaysia]], [[2020 Tablighi Jamaat coronavirus hotspot in Delhi|India]], and [[2020 Tablighi Jamaat coronavirus hotspot in Pakistan|Pakistan]] whose participants believed that God will protect them, causing the biggest rise in COVID-19 cases in these and other countries.<ref name="NYT mosque">{{cite news |date=17 March 2020 |title=How Mass Pilgrimage at Malaysian Mosque Became Coronavirus Hotspot |work=Reuters |url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-malaysia-mosque/how-mass-pilgrimage-at-malaysian-mosque-became-coronavirus-hotspot-idUKKBN2142V5 |url-status=live |access-date=2 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200404204957/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-malaysia-mosque/how-mass-pilgrimage-at-malaysian-mosque-became-coronavirus-hotspot-idUKKBN2142V5 |archive-date=4 April 2020}}</ref><ref name="pakistan tablighi">{{cite news |date=26 March 2020 |title='God Will Protect Us': Coronavirus Spreads Through an Already Struggling Pakistan |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/26/world/asia/pakistan-coronavirus-tablighi-jamaat.html |url-access=limited |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200512040010/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/26/world/asia/pakistan-coronavirus-tablighi-jamaat.html |archive-date=12 May 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=1445 out of 4067 Covid-19 cases linked to Tablighi Jamaat: Health Ministry |work=Hindustan Times |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/1-445-out-of-4-067-covid-19-cases-linked-to-tablighi-jamaat-health-ministry/story-eK8oimpTN6qCZcnUAYlrDN.html}}</ref> In Iran, the head of [[Fatima Masumeh Shrine]] encouraged pilgrims to visit the shrine despite calls to close the shrine, saying that they "consider this holy shrine to be a place of healing".<ref>{{cite news |date=27 February 2020 |title=Iran cleric encourages visitors to Qom religious sites, despite coronavirus fears |work=Middle East Monitor |url=https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200227-iran-cleric-encourages-visitors-to-qom-religious-sites-despite-coronavirus-fears/ |url-status=live |access-date=3 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200303165907/https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20200227-iran-cleric-encourages-visitors-to-qom-religious-sites-despite-coronavirus-fears/ |archive-date=3 March 2020}}</ref> In [[Somalia]],
===Helicopter spraying===
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In February 2020, claims that [[Vitamin D]] pills could help prevent COVID-19 circulated on social media in [[COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand|Thailand]].<ref name="20200227afp">{{cite web |date=27 February 2020 |title=Health experts say there is no evidence vitamin D is effective in preventing novel coronavirus infection |url=https://factcheck.afp.com/health-experts-say-there-no-evidence-vitamin-d-effective-preventing-novel-coronavirus-infection |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016132833/https://factcheck.afp.com/health-experts-say-there-no-evidence-vitamin-d-effective-preventing-novel-coronavirus-infection |archive-date=16 October 2020 |access-date=9 April 2020 |website=AFP Fact Check}}</ref> Some conspiracy theorists have claimed that vitamin D was being intentionally suppressed as a preventative option by governments.<ref>{{cite news |date=5 April 2021 |title=Vitamin D: The truth about an alleged Covid 'cover-up' |publisher=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-56180921 |vauthors=Schraer R}}</ref>
One meta-analysis found weak evidence that increased vitamin D levels may reduce the likelihood of [[intensive care]] admission for people with COVID
A preprint of a journal article from Indonesia purporting to show a beneficial effect of vitamin D for COVID-19 went viral across social media, and was cited several times in mainstream academic literature, including in a recommendation from [[National Institute for Health and Care Excellence|NICE]]. Tabloid newspapers such as the ''Daily Mail'' and ''The Sun'' likewise promoted the story. Subsequent investigation, however, found none of the authors seemed to be known of at the hospitals listed as their affiliations, suggesting the paper was entirely fraudulent.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Henrina J, Lim MA, Pranata R |date=February 2021 |title=COVID-19 and misinformation: how an infodemic fuelled the prominence of vitamin D |journal=The British Journal of Nutrition |type=Letter |volume=125 |issue=3 |pages=359–360 |doi=10.1017/S0007114520002950 |pmc=7443564 |pmid=32713358}}</ref>
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{{see also|Misinformation related to vaccination|label1=General misinformation related to vaccination and immunisation|Vaccine hesitancy}}
{{Excerpt|COVID-19 vaccine misinformation and hesitancy|hat=no}}
==Hospital conditions==
Some conservative figures in the United States, such as [[Richard Epstein]],<ref>{{
In the course of 2020, conspiracy theorists used the #FilmYourHospital [[hashtag]] to encourage people to record videos in seemingly empty, or sparsely populated hospitals, in order to prove that the pandemic was a "[[hoax]]".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://theconversation.com/film-your-hospital-the-anatomy-of-a-covid-19-conspiracy-theory-147948 |title='Film Your Hospital' – the anatomy of a COVID-19 conspiracy theory |first=Wasim |last=Ahmed |date=15 October 2020 |website=The Conversation |access-date=11 February 2022}}</ref>
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===Herbal treatments===
Various national and party-held Chinese media heavily advertised an "overnight research" report by Wuhan Institute of Virology and Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, [[Chinese Academy of Sciences]], on how {{lang|zh-Latn|[[shuanghuanglian]]}}, an herb mixture from [[traditional Chinese medicine]] (TCM), can effectively inhibit COVID-19. The report led to a purchase craze of {{lang|zh-Latn|shuanghuanglian}}.<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Wee SL |title=In Coronavirus, China Weighs Benefits of Buffalo Horn and Other Remedies |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/05/world/asia/coronavirus-traditional-chinese-medicine.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=5 February 2020 |access-date=15 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200206125038/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/05/world/asia/coronavirus-traditional-chinese-medicine.html |archive-date=6 February 2020 |url-status=live |url-access=limited}}</ref><ref>{{
The president of [[Madagascar]] [[Andry Rajoelina]] launched and promoted in April 2020 a herbal drink based on an [[Artemisia (genus)|artemisia plant]] as a miracle cure that can treat and prevent COVID-19 despite a lack of medical evidence. The drink has been exported to other African countries.<ref name="madagascar">{{cite news |date=5 May 2020 |title=Covid-19 in Madagascar: The president's controversial 'miracle cure' |publisher=France 24 |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20200505-covid-19-in-madagascar-the-president-s-controversial-miracle-cure}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-52374250 |title=Coronavirus: Caution urged over Madagascar's 'herbal cure' |date=22 April 2020 |publisher=BBC}}</ref>
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===Vitamin C===
{{further|Vitamin C#COVID-19}}
During the early years of the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], [[vitamin C]] was the subject of more FDA warning letters than any other [[quackery|quack treatment]] for COVID-19.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Bramstedt KA |title=Unicorn Poo and Blessed Waters: COVID-19 Quackery and FDA Warning Letters |journal=Therapeutic Innovation & Regulatory Science |volume=55 |issue=1 |pages=239–244 |date=January 2021 |pmid=33001378 |pmc=7528445 |doi=10.1007/s43441-020-00224-1 |issn=2168-4790}}</ref> In April 2021, the US [[National Institutes of Health]] (NIH) COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines stated that "there are insufficient data to recommend either for or against the use of vitamin{{nbsp}}C for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19."<ref>{{cite web |title=Vitamin C |url=https://www.covid19treatmentguidelines.nih.gov/therapies/supplements/vitamin-c/ |website=COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines |date=21 April 2021 |access-date=2 January 2022 |archive-date=20 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211120131306/https://www.covid19treatmentguidelines.nih.gov/therapies/supplements/vitamin-c/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In an update posted December 2022, the NIH position was unchanged:
*There is insufficient evidence for the COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel (the Panel) to recommend either for or against the use of vitamin C for the treatment of COVID-19 in nonhospitalized patients.
*There is insufficient evidence for the Panel to recommend either for or against the use of vitamin C for the treatment of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.covid19treatmentguidelines.nih.gov/therapies/supplements/vitamin-c/ |title=COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines |date=26 December 2022 |website=U.S. National Institutes of Health |access-date=18 December 2023}}</ref>
===Common cold and flu treatments===
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===2-Deoxy-D-glucose===
A drug based on [[2-Deoxy-D-glucose|2-deoxy-D-glucose]] (2-DG) was approved by the [[Drugs Controller General of India]] for emergency use as adjunct therapy in moderate to severe COVID-19 patients.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/healthcare/biotech/pharmaceuticals/what-is-2-deoxy-d-glucose-2-dg-and-is-it-effective-against-covid/articleshow/82567938.cms?from=mdr |title=What is 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) and is it effective against Covid? |work=The Economic Times |date=17 May 2021}}</ref><ref name=dscgi>{{
The drug was launched at a press conference with a false claim that it was approved by the [[World Health Organization]].<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=National Herald |title=Which Ayurvedic college did Ramdev go to? IMA and politicians also responsible for his rise |date=28 May 2021 |vauthors=Ahmad F |url=https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/opinion/which-ayurvedic-college-did-ramdev-go-to-ima-and-politicians-also-responsible-for-his-rise}}</ref> It was developed by the [[DRDO]] along with [[Dr. Reddy's Laboratories]], who stated in a press release, that the drug "helps in faster recovery of hospitalised patients and reduces supplemental oxygen dependence".<ref name=dscgi/><ref name=borona>{{
===Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) prescriptions===
Since its third version, the COVID management guidelines from the Chinese [[National Health Commission]] recommends using [[Traditional Chinese medicine]]s to treat the disease.<ref name=bbc51485559>{{cite news |script-title=zh:新冠肺炎治疗：讲究实证的西医和自我定位的中药 |url=https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/science-51485559 |newspaper=BBC News 中文 |date=14 February 2020 |language=zh-Hans |trans-title=Treating the novel coronavirus: the empirical Western medicine and the self-positioning Chinese medicine}}</ref> In Wuhan, [[China Central Television]] reported that local authorities have pushed for a set of TCM prescriptions to be used for every case since early February.<ref name=cctv200125>{{cite web |language=zh-cn |script-title=zh:中医来了！8个防治"协定方" 辅助治疗新型冠状病毒感染肺炎 |url=http://news.cctv.com/2020/01/25/ARTIce5OB5W3sORPe90dPEJh200125.shtml |website=CCTV News |access-date=15 February 2020 |trans-title=Here comes Chinese medicine! 8 "agreed-on prescriptions" help prevent and treat the new coronavirus pneumonia}}</ref> One formula was promoted at the national level by mid-February.<ref name=sina2164147>{{
===Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine===
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There were claims that [[chloroquine]] was used to cure more than 12,000 COVID-19 patients in Nigeria.<ref name=20200221afp>{{cite news |vauthors=Tijani M |url=https://factcheck.afp.com/anti-malaria-drug-has-proven-effective-treating-coronavirus-has-not-cured-12552-patients |title=Anti-malaria drug has proven effective in treating coronavirus but has not cured 12,552 patients |work=AFP Fact Check |publisher=Agence France-Presse |date=21 February 2020 |access-date=7 April 2020}}</ref>
In March 2020, Adrian Bye, a tech startup leader who is not a doctor, suggested to cryptocurrency investors Gregory Rigano and James Todaro that "chloroquine will keep most people out of hospital". (Bye later admitted that he had reached this conclusion through "philosophy" rather than medical research.) Two days later, Rigano and Todaro promoted chloroquine in a self-published article that claimed affiliation with the Stanford University School of Medicine, the National Academy of Sciences and the Birmingham School of Medicine – the three institutions mentioned that they had no links to the article, and Google removed the article for violating its terms of service.<ref>{{
===Ivermectin===
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===Untested treatments===
[[File:President Donald Trump suggests measures to treat COVID-19 during Coronavirus Task Force press briefing.webm|thumb|thumbtime=59|U.S. president [[Donald Trump]] suggested at a press briefing in April 2020 that [[disinfectant]] injections or exposure to [[ultraviolet light]] might help treat COVID-19. There is no evidence that either could be a viable method.<ref>{{
Misinformation that the Indian government was spreading an "anti-corona" drug in the country during [[Janata curfew]], a stay-at-home curfew enforced in India, went viral on social media.<ref name=20200320hindustantimes>{{cite news |vauthors=Sengupta T |title=Is government spraying coronavirus vaccine using airplanes? No, it's fake news |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/it-s-viral/is-government-spraying-coronavirus-vaccine-using-airplanes-no-it-s-fake-news/story-QmSDrfLW8SkSghT2TUf5cK.html |access-date=22 March 2020 |work=Hindustan Times |date=20 March 2020}}</ref>
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Social media posts and [[Internet meme]]s claimed that ''COVID-19'' derives from "Chinese Originated Viral Infectious Disease 19", or similar, as supposedly the "19th virus to come out of China".<ref name="Snopes">{{cite web |vauthors=Mikkelson D |title=Does COVID Stand for 'Chinese-Originated Viral Infectious Disease'? |url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/does-covid-stand-for/ |website=Snopes.com |date=26 March 2020 |access-date=21 April 2020}}</ref> In fact, the WHO named the disease as follows: CO stands for ''corona'', VI for ''virus'', D{{nbsp}}for ''disease'' and 19 for when the outbreak was first identified (31 December 20''19'').<ref>{{cite news |title=Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the EU/EEA and the UK |publisher=ecdc |url=https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/covid-19-rapid-risk-assessment-coronavirus-disease-2019-eighth-update-8-april-2020.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=19 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200314223709/https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/RRA-sixth-update-Outbreak-of-novel-coronavirus-disease-2019-COVID-19.pdf |archive-date=14 March 2020}}</ref>
Another false social media rumor claimed ''COVID-19'' was an acronym derived from a series of ancient symbols interpreted as "see a sheep surrender."<ref>{{
===''Simpsons'' prediction===
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=== COVID-19 denialism ===
[[File:'COVID is a lie', Sports pavilion, playing field, Wakefield Road, Pontefract (4th September 2020).jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|"[[COVID-19 pandemic|COVID]] is a lie" graffiti in [[Pontefract]], West Yorkshire, England]]
'''COVID-19 denialism''' or merely '''COVID denialism''' is the thinking of those who deny the [[COVID-19 pandemic]],<ref>{{cite web |last=Friedman |first=Uri |date=2020 |title=The Coronavirus-Denial Movement Now Has a Leader |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/03/bolsonaro-coronavirus-denial-brazil-trump/608926/ |access-date=25 April 2020 |publisher=[[The Atlantic]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Phillips |first=Tom |date=2020 |title=Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro says coronavirus crisis is a media trick |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/23/brazils-jair-bolsonaro-says-coronavirus-crisis-is-a-media-trick |website=[[The Guardian]] |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> or deny that deaths are happening in the manner or proportions scientifically recognized by the [[World Health Organization]]. The claims that the COVID-19 pandemic has been faked, exaggerated, or mischaracterized are [[pseudoscience]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Phillips |first1=Tom |last2=Briso |first2=Caio Barretto |date=2020 |title=Bolsonaro's anti-science response to coronavirus appals Brazil's governors |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/27/jair-bolsonaro-coronavirus-brazil-governors-appalled |website=[[The Guardian]] |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Some famous people who have engaged in COVID-19 denialism include businessman [[Elon Musk]],<ref>{{
=== Antisemitism ===
An October 2021 report by the UK-based anti-racism group [[Hope not Hate]] found that COVID-19 conspiracy theories were a primary gateway into [[Antisemitism|antisemitic]] rhetoric, due to what they described as "conspiratorial antisemitism".<ref>{{
Also in October 2021, the fact-checking organisation [[Logically (company)|Logically]] found that antisemitic conspiracy theories related to the pandemic were being promoted on one of the largest COVID-19 conspiracy groups on [[Telegram (software)|Telegram]], including posts highlighting Jewish people in leadership positions at [[Moderna]], [[Pfizer]], the CDC and US President [[Joe Biden]]'s White House, and claims that mask and vaccine mandates were similar to the [[Holocaust]].<ref name=":2" />
=== US anti-vax anti-China covert operation ===
At the beginning of the pandemic, [[Philippine]] President [[Duterte]] had sought Chinese assistance for vaccines, easing claims in the South China Sea, and improving relations between the two countries. To counter China's influence in the Philippines, under [[Donald Trump]]'s presidency, the US military conducted a covert operation aimed at spreading doubts about the safety of Chinese aid, including vaccines. This campaign of misinformation has contributed to low vaccination coverage and increased death rates from COVID-19 in the Philippines. Health experts condemned these actions, pointing out the damage done to public trust and global health. The operation involved the creation of fake social media accounts posing as Filipinos and spreading anti-vaccine messages. The campaign was described by then-Defense Secretary [[Mark Esper]] as "payback" for [[COVID-19 misinformation by China|COVID-19 disinformation by China]] directed against the U.S.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Toropin |first=Konstantin |date=2024-06-14 |title=Pentagon Stands by Secret Anti-Vaccination Disinformation Campaign in Philippines After Reuters Report |url=https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/06/14/pentagon-stands-secret-anti-vaccination-disinformation-campaign-philippines-after-reuters-report.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240614223757/https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/06/14/pentagon-stands-secret-anti-vaccination-disinformation-campaign-philippines-after-reuters-report.html |archive-date=2024-06-14 |access-date=2024-06-19 |website=[[Military.com]] |language=en}}</ref>
The operation spread to other regions such as in the Middle East and Central Asia like [[Kazakhstan]], [[Kyrgyzstan]] and [[Uzbekistan]], where the Pentagon aimed to intensify fears that the Chinese vaccine produced by Sinovac Biotech contained pork derivatives, and could be considered "haram", i.e. forbidden by Islamic law.<ref name="reutersUsNovax">{{Cite news |title=Pentagon ran secret anti-vax campaign to undermine China during pandemic |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/pentagon-ran-secret-anti-vax-campaign-undermine-china-during-pandemic-2024-06-14/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/14/pentagon-ran-secret-anti-vax-campaign-to-undermine-china-during-pandemic|title=US ran secret anti-vax campaign to undermine China's COVID efforts: Report}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2024/06/14/pentagon-launched-secret-anti-vax-campaign-to-discredit-china-during-covid-pandemic-report-says/|title=Pentagon Launched Secret Anti-Vax Campaign To Discredit China During COVID Pandemic, Report Says|website=[[Forbes]] }}</ref>
The operation ended in mid-2021, when the Biden administration banned the anti-vaccine campaign.<ref name="reutersUsNovax"/>
==Efforts to combat misinformation==
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===Social media===
{{See also|Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social media}}
In early February 2020, Facebook, Twitter, and Google announced that they were working with WHO to address misinformation on their platforms.<ref name=20200206nytimes>{{
At the end of February 2020, [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]] removed more than a million products that claimed to cure or protect against COVID-19, and removed tens of thousands of listings for health products whose prices were "significantly higher than recent prices offered on or off Amazon", although numerous items were "still being sold at unusually high prices" as of 28 February.<ref>{{
Millions of instances of COVID-19 misinformation have occurred across multiple online platforms.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Cinelli M, Quattrociocchi W, Galeazzi A, Valensise CM, Brugnoli E, Schmidt AL, Zola P, Zollo F, Scala A
Party and ideology partisanship has also contributed to the public's lack of trust in messages delivered via social media channels, leading to a greater proclivity to follow fake news and misinformation campaigns. According to research, COVID mass media communication should prioritize increasing trust in scientific medicine over attempting to bridge the issue's partisan divide.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://tmb.apaopen.org/pub/eo6qkr07/release/2|title=On Efficient Mass-Media Messages During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Expertise and Expressed Social Identity|author=J. Lukas Thürmer, Sean M. McCrea |date=5 January 2022 |journal=[[Technology, Mind, and Behavior]] |volume=3 |doi=10.1037/tmb0000052 |access-date=20 May 2022|doi-access=free }}</ref>
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===Wikipedia===
{{Further|Wikipedia coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic}}
The media have praised Wikipedia's coverage of COVID-19 and its combating the inclusion of [[misinformation]] through efforts led by the English-language Wikipedia's WikiProject Medicine<!-- Don't wikilink, since the project is an internal page -->, among other groups.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/story/how-wikipedia-prevents-spread-coronavirus-misinformation/ |title=How Wikipedia Prevents the Spread of Coronavirus Misinformation |vauthors=Cohem N |date=15 March 2020 |access-date=11 April 2020 |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://slate.com/technology/2020/03/coronavirus-wikipedia-policies.html |title=The Coronavirus Is Stress-Testing Wikipedia's Policies |vauthors=Harrison S |date=19 March 2020 |access-date=11 April 2020 |work=[[Salon (magazine)|Salon]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-why-wikipedia-is-immune-to-coronavirus-1.8751147 |title=Why Wikipedia Is Immune to Coronavirus |vauthors=Benjakob O |date=8 April 2020 |access-date=11 April 2020 |work=[[Haaretz]]}}</ref> From May 2020, Wikipedia's consensus for the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] page has been to "not mention the theory that the virus was accidentally leaked from a laboratory in the article."<ref>{{
===Newspapers and scholarly journals===
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===Podcasts===
In January 2022, 270 US healthcare professionals, scientists and professors wrote an open letter to [[Spotify]] complaining that podcast host [[Joe Rogan]] had a "concerning history of broadcasting misinformation, particularly regarding the Covid-19 pandemic" and describing him as a "menace to public health". This was in part due to Rogan platforming and promoting the conspiracy theories of [[Robert W. Malone]] who was one of two recent guests on ''[[The Joe Rogan Experience]]'' who compared pandemic policies to the holocaust. The letter described the interview as a "mass-misinformation events of this scale have extraordinarily dangerous ramifications".<ref>{{
===Government censorship===
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In March 2020, the [[Ministry of the Interior (Turkey)|Turkish Interior Ministry]] reported 93 suspects and 19 [[Censorship in Turkey|arrests]] of social media users whose posts were "targeting officials and spreading panic and fear by suggesting the virus had spread widely in Turkey and that officials had taken insufficient measures".<ref>{{cite news |title=Coronavirus Has Started a Censorship Pandemic |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/04/01/coronavirus-censorship-pandemic-disinformation-fake-news-speech-freedom/ |work=The Foreign Policy |date=1 April 2020}}</ref> In April 2020, [[Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran|Iran's military]] said that 3600 people had been arrested for "spreading rumors" about COVID-19 in the country.<ref>{{cite news |title=Iran Says 3,600 Arrested For Spreading Coronavirus-Related Rumors |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-says-3600-arrested-for-spreading-coronavirus-related-rumors/30583656.html |work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) |date=29 April 2020}}</ref> In [[Cambodia]], at least 17 individuals who expressed concerns about the spread of COVID-19 were arrested between January and March 2020 on "fake news" charges.<ref>{{cite news |title=Cambodia accused of political clampdown amid coronavirus outbreak |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/cambodia-accused-political-clampdown-coronavirus-outbreak-200324063233803.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200401131124/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/cambodia-accused-political-clampdown-coronavirus-outbreak-200324063233803.html |archive-date=1 April 2020 |publisher=Al Jazeera |date=24 March 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Pinol M |title=Cambodia's Lost Digital Opportunity in the COVID-19 Fight |url=https://thediplomat.com/2020/04/cambodias-lost-digital-opportunity-in-the-covid-19-fight/ |work=The Diplomat |date=17 April 2020}}</ref> In April 2020, Algerian lawmakers passed a law criminalizing "fake news" deemed harmful to "public order and state security".<ref>{{cite news |title=Algeria rights groups say government cracking down on critics |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/algeria-rights-groups-government-cracking-critics-200416173127184.html |publisher=Al Jazeera |date=23 April 2020}}</ref>
In the [[Philippines]],<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Aspinwall N |title=The Philippines' Coronavirus Lockdown Is Becoming a Crackdown |url=https://thediplomat.com/2020/04/the-philippines-coronavirus-lockdown-is-becoming-a-crackdown/ |work=The Diplomat |date=3 April 2020}}</ref> China,<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Broderick R |title=China Is Using Fears Of Online Misinformation About The Coronavirus To Arrest People |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanhatesthis/china-is-arresting-people-for-spreading-rumors-online-about |work=BuzzFeed News |date=29 January 2020}}</ref> [[India]],<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Dore B |date=17 April 2020 |title=Fake News, Real Arrests |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/04/17/fake-news-real-arrests/ |work=Foreign Policy}}</ref><ref name="straitstimes"/> [[Egypt]],<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Michaelson R |title=Reporting on the coronavirus: Egypt muzzles critical journalists |url=https://www.dw.com/en/reporting-on-the-coronavirus-egypt-muzzles-critical-journalists/a-53009293 |publisher=Deutsche Welle |date=3 April 2020}}</ref> [[Ethiopia]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Ethiopia: Free Speech at Risk Amid Covid-19 |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/05/06/ethiopia-free-speech-risk-amid-covid-19 |publisher=Human Rights Watch |date=6 May 2020}}</ref> [[Bangladesh]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Bangladesh: End Wave of COVID-19 'Rumor' Arrests |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/03/31/bangladesh-end-wave-covid-19-rumor-arrests |publisher=Human Rights Watch |date=31 March 2020}}</ref> [[Morocco]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Morocco makes a dozen arrests over coronavirus fake news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-morocco/morocco-makes-a-dozen-arrests-over-coronavirus-fake-news-idUSKBN2162DI |work=Reuters |date=19 March 2020}}</ref> [[Pakistan]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Man arrested for spreading fake news on coronavirus |url=https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2020/03/25/man-arrested-in-lahore-for-spreading-fake-news-on-coronavirus/ |work=Pakistan Today |date=25 March 2020}}</ref> [[Saudi Arabia]],<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Al Sherbini R |title=Saudi man arrested for false news on COVID-19 patient |url=https://gulfnews.com/world/gulf/saudi/saudi-man-arrested-for-false-news-on-covid-19-patient-1.1587544904557 |work=Gulf News |date=22 April 2020}}</ref> [[Oman]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Legal action against spreading fake news |url=https://www.omanobserver.om/legal-action-against-spreading-fake-news/ |work=Oman Observer |date=21 March 2020}}</ref> [[Iran]],<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Weinthal B |title=Iran arrests ex-TV presenter for accusing regime of coronavirus cover-up |url=https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-arrests-ex-tv-presenter-for-accusing-regime-of-coronavirus-cover-up-624753 |work=The Jerusalem Post |date=15 April 2020}}</ref> [[Vietnam]], [[Laos]],<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Whong E |title=Vietnam, Laos Arrest Facebookers on COVID-19-Related Charges |url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/facebook-04132020154643.html |work=[[Radio Free Asia]] |date=13 April 2020}}</ref> [[Indonesia]],<ref name="straitstimes">{{cite news |title=Asia cracks down on coronavirus 'fake news' |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/coronavirus-asia-cracks-down-on-virus-fake-news |work=The Straits Times |date=10 April 2020}}</ref> [[Mongolia]],<ref name="straitstimes"/> [[Sri Lanka]],<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Ganguly M |title=Sri Lanka Uses Pandemic to Curtail Free Expression |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/03/sri-lanka-uses-pandemic-curtail-free-expression |publisher=Human Rights Watch |date=3 April 2020}}</ref> [[Kenya]], South Africa,<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=York G |title=Arrests mount as Africa battles a destructive wave of COVID-19 disinformation |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-arrests-mount-as-africa-battles-a-destructive-wave-of-covid-1/ |work=The Globe and Mail |date=7 April 2020}}</ref> [[Cote d'Ivoire]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Authorities across West Africa attacking journalists covering COVID-19 pandemic |url=https://ifex.org/authorities-across-west-africa-attacking-journalists-covering-covid-19-pandemic/ |work=[[IFEX (organization)|IFEX]] |date=22 April 2020}}</ref> [[Somalia]],<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Kajjo S |title=Somali Journalists Arrested, Intimidated While Covering COVID-19 |url=https://www.voanews.com/extremism-watch/somali-journalists-arrested-intimidated-while-covering-covid-19 |work=VOA News |date=18 April 2020}}</ref> [[Mauritius]],<ref name="theconversation.com">{{cite news |vauthors=Budoo-Scholtz A |date=11 May 2020 |title=Controls to manage fake news in Africa are affecting freedom of expression |work=[[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]] |url=https://theconversation.com/controls-to-manage-fake-news-in-africa-are-affecting-freedom-of-expression-137808}}</ref> [[Zimbabwe]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Press freedom violations throughout Africa linked to Covid-19 coverage |url=http://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20200414-press-freedom-violations-throughout-african-continent-linked-to-covid-19-coverage |publisher=[[Radio France Internationale]] |date=14 April 2020}}</ref> [[Thailand]],<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Peck G, Khunson PT |title=Some leaders use pandemic to sharpen tools against critics |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/coronavirus-crisis-excuses-curbs-free-speech-70177977 |work=ABC News |date=16 April 2020}}</ref> [[Kazakhstan]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Kazakh Opposition Activist Detained For 'Spreading False Information' |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/kazakhstan-suraev-opposition-activist-detained-false-information-toqaev/30563253.html |publisher=Human Rights Watch |date=18 April 2020}}</ref> [[Azerbaijan]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Azerbaijan: Crackdown on Critics Amid Pandemic |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/16/azerbaijan-crackdown-critics-amid-pandemic |publisher=Human Rights Watch |date=16 April 2020}}</ref> [[Montenegro]],<ref>{{cite news |vauthors=Kajosevic S |title=Concern for Rights in Montenegro amid COVID-19 Fight |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2020/03/26/concern-for-rights-in-montenegro-amid-covid-19-fight/ |work=[[Balkan Insight]] |date=26 March 2020}}</ref> [[Serbia]],<ref name="arrested-journalist-1">{{
In the United States, some elected officials ''aided'' the spread of misinformation. In January 2022, Congressman [[Troy Nehls]] entered a full transcript<ref name=JRE-Transcript-Nehls>{{cite web |url=https://nehls.house.gov/posts/joe-rogan-experience-1757-dr-robert-malone-md-full-transcript |title=Joe Rogan Experience #1757 – Dr. Robert Malone, MD Full Transcript |website=Congressman Troy Nehls |date=3 January 2022 |access-date=6 January 2022 |archive-date=14 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220114144443/https://nehls.house.gov/posts/joe-rogan-experience-1757-dr-robert-malone-md-full-transcript |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{USCongRec|2021|e1403|date=3 January 2022}}</ref> of the Malone interview on ''[[The Joe Rogan Experience]]'' into the [[Congressional Record]] in order to circumvent what he said was censorship by social media.<ref name="news.com.au333">{{cite web |url=https://www.news.com.au/technology/online/social/youtube-takes-down-antivax-joe-rogan-interview-with-dr-robert-malone/news-story/dac9fa69eba2fcd1f4a2c860880c1fa4 |title=YouTube takes down anti-vax Joe Rogan interview with Dr Robert Malone |website=news.com.au |date=4 January 2022 |access-date=6 January 2022}}</ref><ref name=JRE-Transcript-Nehls />
==Scams==
The WHO has warned of criminal scams involving perpetrators who misrepresent themselves as representatives of the WHO seeking personal information from victims
Cybersecurity firm [[Check Point]] stated there has been a large increase in [[phishing]] attacks to lure victims into unwittingly installing a computer virus under the guise of emails related to COVID-19 containing attachments. Cyber-criminals use deceptive domains such as "cdc-gov.org" instead of the correct "cdc.gov", or even [[Website spoofing|spoof the original domain]] so it resembles specific websites. More than 4,000 domains related to COVID-19 have been registered.<ref name=vox21164745>{{cite web |url=https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/3/5/21164745/coronavirus-phishing-email-scams |title=Coronavirus email scams are trying to cash in on your fear |work=vox.com |vauthors=Morrison S |date=5 March 2020 |access-date=11 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200306153955/https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/3/5/21164745/coronavirus-phishing-email-scams |archive-date=6 March 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>
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Links that purportedly direct to the [[Johns Hopkins University]] COVID-19 map, but instead direct to a false site that spreads [[malware]], have been circulating on the Internet.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hackers are using coronavirus concerns to trick you, cybersecurity pros warn |date=15 March 2020 |vauthors=Witkowski W |work=[[MarketWatch]] |url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/hackers-are-using-coronavirus-concerns-to-trick-you-cybersecurity-pros-warn-2020-03-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407120751/https://www.marketwatch.com/story/hackers-are-using-coronavirus-concerns-to-trick-you-cybersecurity-pros-warn-2020-03-12 |archive-date=7 April 2020 |url-status=live |access-date=7 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |vauthors=Fowler H, Duncan C |url=https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article241171546.html |title=Hackers made their own coronavirus map to spread malware, feds warn |work=The Miami Herald |date=13 March 2020 |access-date=14 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200315021637/https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article241171546.html |archive-date=15 March 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>
Since the passage in March 2020, of the [[CARES Act]], criminals have taken advantage of the stimulus bill by asking people to pay in advance to receive their stimulus payment. Because of this, the IRS has advised consumers to only use the official IRS COVID-19 web address to submit information to the IRS (and not in response to a text, email, or phone call).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2020/04/coronavirus-stimulus-payment-scams-what-you-need-know |title=Coronavirus stimulus payment scams: What you need to know |date=20 April 2020 |publisher=Federal Trade Commission |access-date=14 September 2020}}</ref> In response to these schemes, many financial companies, like [[Wells Fargo]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wellsfargo.com/jump/enterprise/coronavirus-response |title=COVID-19: We're here for you |publisher=Wells Fargo |access-date=13 April 2020 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308160928/https://www.wellsfargo.com/jump/enterprise/coronavirus-response////// |url-status=dead }}</ref> and [[LoanDepot]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://start.loandepot.com/assets/int-email/disaster/COVID19ServicingCommunicationv6.0.pdf |title=COVID-19 Information |publisher=LoanDepot |access-date=13 April 2020 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308130130/http://start.loandepot.com/assets/int-email/disaster/COVID19ServicingCommunicationv6.0.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> as well as health insurers, like [[Humana]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.humana.com/coronavirus/coronavirus-fraud-schemes |title=Protect yourself from COVID-19 scams |publisher=Humana |access-date=3 August 2020}}</ref> for example, have posted similar advisories on their websites.
==See also==
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[[Category:Conspiracy theories promoted by Donald Trump]]
[[Category:COVID-19 misinformation| ]]
[[Category:Fake news]]
[[Category:Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on journalism]]
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