Hantavirus conspiracy theories are already spreading across the Internet

Conspiracy theorists, wellness Influencersand Deceived I’ve already started making wild claims about… Hantavirus outbreak Which started on board MV Hondiusa cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

Some conspiracy theorists have compared the outbreak to Covid-19 pandemicclaiming that it was another attempt to Control the world’s populationWhile others paid False narrative that Covid-19 vaccine Caused by Hantavirus. Many others have been promoted Ivermectin As a treatment, using the accident as a means to Selling emergency medical kits It contains an anti-parasitic drug that is commonly used as a dewormer in horses.

In recent days, many of these same people spreading conspiracy theories have promoted baseless and anti-Semitic claims that the entire incident is a false flag orchestrated by Israel.

Conspiracy theories Social media floods in Respond to breaking news We are Nothing newBut what’s striking about those being pushed around the Hantavirus outbreak is the extent to which they repeat conspiracy theories promoted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“One of the most striking shifts since the Covid pandemic is how quickly disinformation narratives are now organizing themselves around emerging outbreaks,” Catherine Wallace, an epidemiologist at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Public Health, told WIRED.

“Within hours of the first Hantavirus headlines, social media accounts were already promoting ivermectin, attributing the outbreak to Covid vaccines, and warning that there is no vaccine for Hantavirus. The claims themselves were often contradictory, but this contradiction appears to no longer be limiting their spread.”

Once com. hantavirus The outbreak began making headlines around the world, and conspiracy theorists and scammers jumped into action, spreading seriously ill-conceived claims and, of course, trying to sell people ivermectin.

“Ivermectin should work against it,” Mary Talley Bowden Written on X. Bowden, MD, is a prominent promoter of medical misinformation, and has promoted ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19 and prescribed ivermectin to a COVID-19 patient. Hours after her first post on Hantavirus went viral, she followed up to say she sells ivermectin to Texans. Boudin did not respond to a request for comment.

Her post, which has been viewed 4 million times, was shared by former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who… He added Vitamin D and zinc would help fight infection. Greene even claimed that not getting the COVID-19 vaccine somehow allowed her to “develop a natural immunity” to the Hantavirus.

Green claimed separatelywithout evidence, that the pharmaceutical company Moderna intentionally tampered with the virus in order to allow it to benefit from the development of a vaccine for Hantavirus. Green did not respond to a request for comment.

Prolific purveyors of health misinformation have boosted ivermectin claims, including Simone Goldfounder of the Covid denial group America’s front line doctorsand Peter McCullougha peddler of misinformation who promoted “Sudden death“The conspiracy theory about the Covid-19 vaccine, which falsely claimed that those who received the vaccine were at risk of falling ill without any warning.

McCullough is also the chief scientific officer of The Wellness Company, which has been described as “Goop for the Republican PartyThe company used the Hantavirus outbreak to… He promotes A $325 infection emergency kit that includes both ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine.

All the false claims and posts about ivermectin have gained enough attention online as the World Health Organization He responded To say that there is no research to suggest that ivermectin is an effective treatment for Hantavirus.

Meanwhile, conspiracy theorists have been pushing the baseless idea that one of the side effects of Covid vaccines includes contracting the Hanta virus.