DEBUNK COVID-19 CONSIPRACY THEORIES

 

A new illness (COVID-19) was discovered during late December 2019 in China, causing pneumonia and some other extreme respiratory illnesses. At first the illness was labeled Novel Coronavirus. The flu virus causing the infection was recently defined as SARS(serve acute respiratory syndrome)coronavirus2. Like every other illness, COVID-19 has symptoms and it is caused as a result of an infection of the coronavirus. In the early stages of illness, fever, exhaustion, and a dry cough are common, although some patients do not develop to a more serious illness. Dyspnoea is said to be common among hospitalized patients, regardless of the fact that vital signs were generally stable at the time of admission. Patients over the age of 65 who have an underlying health problem are more likely to develop a serious infection. On chest X-rays, a range of irregularities are possible, but bilateral lung infiltrates tend to be typical, similar to other forms of viral pneumonia.

It is with great sadness to see and say that the COVID-19 pandemic is not the only pandemic the world is facing at the current moment. A global pandemic of misinformation is also affecting the world. Conspiracy theories themselves act like a pandemic circulating online at the same rate as COVID-19 is spreading offline, this leaves us with a second pandemic. Here are the some of the most common conspiracy theories currently circulating:

1.       The rollout of 5G networks brought along with it the virus

2.       COVID-19 was brought into China by the US military as a result of political strife.

3.       COVID-19 is not a real virus

4.       Death rates from COVID are exaggerated.

Conspiracy theories are attractive because they often connect two events that appear to correspond; in this case, the rapid introduction of 5G networks coincided with the outbreak of the pandemic. Although this conspiracy theory is easy to debunk since it is impossible for a virus to spread through the usage of electromagnetic spectrum. According some people the COVID-19 virus doesn’t exist at all, but rather it is just a plot by globalist elite to take away our freedom, some even think that deaths have been exaggerated thus there is no need whatsoever to observe lockdown regulations or social distancing measures.

 The spread of misinformation on social media can have serve negative health effects on the public during a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic. The general public should be wary of misinformation, and respective authorities should take the necessary precautions against harmful misinformation in order to protect the public's health from being violated.  At the end of the day it is very crucial that we speak up about misinformation/conspiracy theories on digital media, as false information has a great impact on our daily lives.