Cedars, October 2020

Fall 2020 8 COVID-19 CONSPIRACIES >> Do You Know the Truth? << By Michael Cleverley T he spread of misinformation, like cancer, starts out small and harmless. But once it begins, it is hard to stop. This year, with the emergence of COVID-19, misinformation has been produced and spread quickly. The global pandemic, the true origins of which are still unknown, has given rise to three categories of conspiracy theories. The Bioweapon Theory The bioweapon theory claims that COVID-19 was actually created in a lab to be used as a biological weapon. Some suggest that it was released on purpose as the start of a coming conflict; others believe that it was accidentally leaked before it was fully ready for use. All governments involved have denied or ignored this theory. The 5G Theory The 5G theory comes in multiple forms. According to Alliance for Science, one version says that COVID-19 does not exist and the symptoms are caused by radiation emitted from the radio frequencies 5G uses. Another version claims that the frequencies used by 5G can suppress the immune system, making people vulnerable to COVID-19. Fears and health concerns over 5G have existed even before COVID-19 was a known virus. According to CNN, 5G accesses a broader spectrum of radio frequencies and uses three types of networks: low-, mid-, and high- band frequencies. Low- and mid-band frequencies mostly use similar frequencies to pre-existing radio frequency services, while high-band frequencies are added to give 5g its enhanced performance. High-band frequencies travel in millimeter waves, which cannot penetrate skin, contrary to the claims of conspiracy theorists. The Lab Leak Theory The lab leak theory states that COVID-19 escaped from the Wuhan Center of Disease Control or the Wuhan Institute of Virology, where coronaviruses are researched. This theory says COVID-19 could have been released through a researcher being exposed to the virus during research or improper disposal of research material. The lab leak theory is mostly based on a 2018 U.S. diplomat report and a non-peer-reviewed draft published in February. Lei Xiao, one of the authors of the pre-print draft, later retracted the draft because there was no direct proof. According to pharmacy professor Dr. Zach Jenkins, this scenario occurred many times this year with the global spread of the novel coronavirus. “Since COVID started there have been about 40major articles retracted from major medical journals,” Jenkins said. One way scientific misinformation spreads is that drafts on pre-publication websites that have not been peer reviewed are spread across social media as if they were facts. This is how the lab leak theory got started, along with many other prominent pieces of misinformation. Pre-publication websites exist so that scientists can see what their colleagues are working on. These websites are not meant to be used by people outside the scientific community. Many of the articles are flawed, and they have yet to undergo peer review to see if they’re ready for publication.