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CHICAGO (AP) – From speculation that the coronavirus was created in a lab to hoax cures, an overwhelming amount of false information has clung to COVID-19 as it circled the globe in 2020.
Public health officials, fact-checkers, and doctors have tried to crush hundreds of rumors in multiple ways. But the misinformation around the pandemic has been as upsetting as the virus itself. And with the rollout of vaccinations in the US, UK, and Canada this month, many lies are seeing a resurgence online.
A look at five stubborn myths around COVID-19 that have been shared this year and continue to travel:
MYTH: MASKS DO NOT OFFER PROTECTION AGAINST THE VIRUS
In fact, they do.
However, the mixed messages at the beginning caused some confusion. U.S. officials first told Americans they did not need to wear or buy masks, at a time when there was a shortage of N95 masks for health workers. They later turned the tide, urging the public to wear cloth masks and face masks outdoors.
The first messages gave people “a little more space to pick up on these stories” against wearing masks, said Stephanie Edgerly, professor of communications at Northwestern University.
Some social media users, for example, are still circulating a March video of Dr.Anthony Fauci, the US government’s top infectious disease specialist, saying people “shouldn’t be walking around in masks,” though he has since urged people to cover their faces in public. Versions of this clip have been viewed millions of times on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
According to media intelligence firm Zignal Labs, US President Donald Trump and two US senators contracted COVID-19 during a ceremony at the Rose Garden, according to online, that masks are not an effective form of protection. Social media users claimed the coverings should not be effective as senators wore masks at certain points in the event.
But the masks prevent viral particles from spreading. Last month, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which continues to advise Americans to wear masks, cited research suggesting that masks can protect the wearer as well as other people.
MYTH: THE VIRUS IS MANUFACTURED BY MAN
It was not.
Social media users and fringe websites have woven a conspiracy theory that the virus was leaked – accidentally or intentionally – from a lab in Wuhan, China, before the World Health Organization declared it. COVID-19 pandemic in March. The lie has been espoused by elected officials including Trump.
The origins of the virus are much less scandalous: it probably originated in nature. Bats are believed to be the original or intermediate hosts for several viruses that have triggered recent epidemics, including COVID-19. U.S. intelligence agencies have also concluded that the virus is not of human origin.
Still, the conspiracy theory continues to circulate online and made a resurgence in September when a Chinese virologist repeated the claim on Fox News.
MYTH: COVID-19 IS SIMILAR TO THE FLU
In fact, COVID-19 has proven to be much deadlier.
The early similarities between the symptoms of COVID-19 and the flu have led many to assume that there isn’t much of a difference between the two diseases. Social media posts and videos viewed thousands of times online also claim that COVID-19 is no more deadly than the flu. Trump tweeted a flawed comparison between the flu and COVID-19 in March and October, as states implemented stay-at-home orders.
COVID-19 has been blamed for more than 300,000 American deaths this year and has killed an estimated 1.5 million people worldwide. In comparison, the CDC estimates that there are 12,000 to 61,000 flu-related deaths each year.
Symptoms of COVID-19 can be much more severe and persist for months. Health experts have also discovered a range of bizarre coronavirus symptoms, from brain fog to swollen toes.
MYTH: OFFICIALS EXAGGERATE THE COVID-19 TOLL
They are not.
Social media users began photographing empty hospital waiting rooms earlier this year, saying few people have COVID-19. Photos and videos gained traction with the hashtag #FilmYourHospital, part of a right-wing conspiracy theory that public health officials and politicians were exaggerating the death toll from COVID-19. But fewer people are in the waiting areas because hospitals have started making appointments virtually, canceling elective procedures and barring visitors during the pandemic.
This month, a selfie from a Nevada doctor at an empty makeshift healthcare site set up to treat other coronavirus patients was shared online as proof that hospitals are not full. However, the photo was taken on November 12, before the site opened. He has since served at least 200 patients.
MYTH: THE VIRUS IS A PLOYE TO FORCE GLOBAL VACCINATIONS
This is not true.
Anti-vaccine supporters have been pushing this conspiracy theory since January, when some falsely claimed online that the virus was patented by drug companies as a ploy to profit from the disease. Some billionaires and targeted vaccine advocates Bill Gates, claiming he was part of a global plan around COVID-19 to microchip billions of people through mass vaccinations. Gates didn’t threaten anyone with microchips. Instead, he suggested creating a database of people who have been vaccinated against the virus.
Skepticism has also grown around the speed of vaccine development. A video viewed nearly 100,000 times on social media, for example, falsely claimed that drug companies skipped animal testing for vaccines. In fact, the vaccines have been tested on mice and macaques.
The UK, Canada and the US Food and Drug Administration have cleared Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine. The FDA will review Moderna’s shot on Thursday.
Still, only about half of Americans say they’re ready to get the vaccine, according to a survey this month by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
The continued misinformation about the vaccine could lead to some of this hesitation.
“I don’t think it was a myth that caused the problem,” said Nancy Kass, deputy director of public health at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics. “It’s the fact that there were a lot, a lot, a lot of myths.”
Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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