5 Coronavirus Conspiracy Theories Debunked and Decoded

By now, we’ve all been made aware that these are “unprecedented times.” If quarantining for several months wasn’t enough of an indication, the onslaught of reminders from elected officials, college staff, and even brand emails certainly were. The uncertainty and solitude that have characterized these past few months have led many to search for answers. However, due to how unprecedented COVID-19 is, much of the information regarding the nature of the virus and how we should be protecting ourselves kept changing constantly. Humans have a natural desire to seek order and meaning and when the mainstream media is not granting that, some take to online conspiracy theories as a way to make sense of the world.

However, unlike some conspiracy theories like Shakespeare not being the true author of his plays, the theories surrounding COVID-19 are much more pernicious.

Conspiracy 1: COVID-19 is biowarfare

When COVID-19 first began to spread around the world, theories rife with racist and xenophobic undertones began spreading with it. Because the virus originated in Wuhan, China, many Americans began asserting that this virus (which also ravaged the people of China), was a nefarious weapon of biowarfare. Even some who did not openly buy into such an extreme theory were still influenced by the theory, as attacks targeting Chinese people became more commonplace as did general xenophobia. This sentiment is even echoed by President Donald Trump, who still routinely refers to COVID-19 as “the Chinese virus.” However, there is no evidence that this virus was created in a lab with the intention of being waged against the world. COVID-19, like so many other viruses in recent history, is of zoonotic origin, meaning it developed from animals.

Conspiracy 2: COVID-19 is spread by 5G towers

This theory exemplifies the effect of social media on the spread of conspiracy theories. Two maps were placed side by side, one showing the density of COVID-19 cases and the other showing the density of 5G towers. Next to each other, the graphs looked nearly identical which caused some to jump to the conclusion that the government was setting up 5G towers to spread the virus. Why? Well, the reason is less clear – population control perhaps, but the people seemed divided. However, they were quick to harass workers setting up 5G towers. The problem with graphs comparison is that yes, they did look identical, however, they also look identical to graphs showing population density, which is a confounding variable that can account for both the need for more 5G towers and higher numbers of COVID-19 cases.

Conspiracy 3: COVID-19 is a hoax

A popular conspiratorial framework is the idea of a hoax, whether that’s the moon landing or the suicide of Jeffrey Epstein. The idea is that the government is deceiving us and anyone who believes the mainstream narrative has ignorantly fallen for their elaborate scheme. Once COVID-19 cases began spreading across the U.S., conspiracy theories focusing on biowarfare and 5G towers dissipated and paved the way for the new idea that the entire situation was a hoax. Perhaps this was a natural progression as more and more people, desperate to return to their old way of life, simply wanted the virus to be fake. Hashtags like #filmyourhospital spread across social media platforms as did tweets and statuses inquiring how many people actually knew someone who had contracted the virus. Both trends began in hopes of discrediting national reports on COVID-19 cases. These tactics demonstrate one of the hallmarks of conspiratorial/pseudoscientific thinking – that is, the reliance on anecdotal claims over claims backed by scientific studies and data.

Furthermore, all three of these conspiracy theories play into the concept of proportionality bias, or, the propensity to believe that big events must have big causes. Proportionality bias is one of the cognitive fallacies that make conspiracy theories so enticing. For example, many people cannot fathom that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated by a lone gunman; to them, the theory that he was the victim of a large-scale government conspiracy is much more satisfying. With COVID, the same logic applies. The act of simply consuming an animal, a practice normalized throughout the world, does not seem proportionate to this virus that has devastated humanity and drastically altered our daily lives. Thus, the idea that this virus is the product of biowarfare or a government hoax seems much more enticing.

Similarly, although these conspiracies seem in opposition to each other, research suggests that this tension does not actually lessen the belief in any conflicting theory. In fact, research has shown that belief in one conspiracy is linked to an increased belief in another conspiracy, even if the theory is contradictory. For example, the more a person believed the Royal Family plotted the death of Princess Diana the more that same person believed Princess Diana faked her own death. The belief seems less contingent on a particular theory than it is on the idea that there is some deceitful occurrence.

Conspiracy 4: Plandemic + Anti-maskers

On 4 May 2020, a conspiratorial video entitled Plandemic went viral, rapidly garnering millions of views. This video relied on pseudoscientific fearmongering by discredited medical researcher Judy Mikovits. In the 26-minute-long video, Mikovits makes many false claims, but among one of the most impactful was her assertion that wearing protective masks actually “activates your own virus,” causing the wearer to become infected by their own “coronavirus expressions.” Although this claim and others in the video were widely debunked by Politifact, the damage had largely been done, as anti-mask movements gained widespread traction.

Unfortunately, scientific evidence is unlikely to sway a conspiracy believer’s mind. Conspiracy theories are immune to facts and evidence because the theories are epistemically self-insulating. This self-insulating quality means that evidence disproving a theory can actually be interpreted as evidence supporting the theory. For example, if there is a government hoax, the conspiracist belief is that of course, officials would propagate evidence to prove otherwise.

Conspiracy 5: Mask-wearing increases child sex-trafficking

One of the most recent corollaries of anti-mask sentiment is the false linking of mask-wearing to increased child trafficking. The origin of this belief ties to QAnon, a far-right web of conspiracy theories. Much like the sensationalized narrative of Pizzagate, QAnon theories rely heavily on baseless claims and fearmongering tactics. Likewise, in both cases, sex trafficking is not a topic of genuine concern or care, rather these theories use trafficking as a dog-whistle. Human trafficking is largely deemed as an issue that is evil without nuance. Understandably, many people have a gut reaction to condemn human trafficking, particularly involving children, without a second thought. And that visceral response is exactly what QAnon preys on. Quickly, memes and posts spread across social media asserting mask-wearing made trafficking children easier. The hashtag #SaveTheChildren was widely used to spread the idea that if you Support mask-wearing you are actively involved in the exploitation of children. This virtue-signaling makes this theory hard to expose. Anyone who tries to point out the falsehoods or political bias is deemed as heartless for not caring about the children.

However, experts agree that mask-wearing is unlikely to lead to an increase in trafficking victims. Most victims are not kidnapped, rather they are exploited by people with whom they already have a relationship. Furthermore, hashtags such as #SaveTheChildren offer no tangible support to the actual victims of trafficking. At best, the belief in this theory is a misguided attempt to spread awareness about an important social issue. At worst, the belief in this theory is a political ploy that exploits a real cause to justify not wearing protective masks.

A Culture of Conspiracy

The issue of fake news has pervaded much of the current discourse surrounding mainstream media. In fact, trust in mainstream media has recently reached record lows. President Donald Trump has become a major factor in the pervasiveness of this distrust. From the beginning of his presidency in 2016, Trump has co-opted the term fake news to signify mainstream news that disagrees with him. While he condemns mainstream media as fake, he endorses far-right conspiracist media such as Alex Jones’ InfoWars as well as numerous conspiracy theories, often highlighted in his tweets. In fact, his penchant for conspiracy theories began well before he even ran for president, as he was the main proponent of the Barack Obama birther conspiracy theory (which is now being reprised in an attempt to discredit VP candidate Kamala Harris).

Much like COVID-19, Trump’s endorsement of conspiracy theories on the mainstream stage is unprecedented. Conspiracy theories have become so mainstream that several congressional candidates have openly endorsed QAnon. In regards to COVID-19, the conspiracies propagated by Donald Trump have been deadly. From downplaying the deadliness of the virus to controversially endorsing hydroxychloroquine to hosting a large rally, Trump’s inability to acknowledge the severity of this virus has proved to be a public health threat. Americans pay attention to the precedent set by the president, which explains why anti-maskers have been emboldened by the president’s support of their movement.

The danger of conspiracy theories regarding COVID-19 is evident, but as mentioned, sometimes these conspiracy theories are hard to detect. When confronted with information that seems dubious, here are several criteria for detecting conspiracy theories.

1. Occam’s Razor: Is there a simple, rational explanation?
2. How many people would need to be involved to keep this theory a secret? Is it realistic that this secret could be kept by so many people?
3. Is this claim supported by rigorous scientific evidence or anecdotal evidence and conjecture?

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