COVID19 plausible consanguineous

Conspiracy theories will always circle major world events and

disasters like paranoid vultures, but with the COVID-19 pandemic they
have been given a feast. Since China first alerted the world to the
spreading disease late last year, the coronavirus has inspired countless
wild stories about its origins, its effect, its cure. That's only natural. People
always seek explanations for events too frightening to accept as random.
So, as anxious snippets of misinformation warped and refracted through
social media, COVID-19 became-amongst other dangerous nonsense- a
byproduct of bat soup, an escaped bioweapon, and a disease treatable by
Lysol, oregano oil, or, worst yet, gargling with bleach.

Coronavirus misinformation has stoked xenophobia, created

relentless demand (and considerable profit) for products that are unlikely to
help anyone, added considerable confusion to an already uncertain
situation, and has only continued to multiply. At best, the latest crop of
Covid-19 conspiracy theories are wacky bits of hogwash: Did The
Simpsons predict coronavirus, or was it a thriller novel by Dean Koontz, or
was it Disney’s Tangled? At worst, the misinformation has cast doubt on
measures meant to protect people and has encouraged reckless,
destructive behavior.

Then there’s the virus’s disputed origins. You have likely heard some
people speculate (baselessly) that Covid-19 was somehow conjured in a
Wuhan lab. That theory has been popular for a long time, especially since
some US media outlets and pundits have continued to call the disease the
“Chinese coronavirus” or the “Wuhan virus.” As months have gone on,
though, accusing a country of being the supposed origin of the novel
coronavirus has become a well-used political smear.

Others claim that the virus is a hoax, no more deadly than the
common cold, but that officials are stoking panic to undermine President
Trump. Not everyone names a specific boogeyman—rapper Cardi B has
claimed that celebrities who have tested positive for coronavirus, like Idris
Elba, are being paid to say that they have the disease by somebody for
reasons—but if you have a go-to scapegoat, it’s open season.

In the internet’s darkest corners, the scapegoating is being used to

stir a movement that is less conspiracy theory than actual conspiracy.
According to Segel, white supremacists and other extremists have
encouraged their followers to “cough on [their] local minorities,” to lick items
in the Kosher section of grocery stores, and to use the growing tensions
between nations and races as impetus for “the boogaloo,” which is what
they’re calling the race war. (Deliberately coughing at people while having
or claiming to have Covid-19 is considered a terroristic threat, which is a
felony.)

Conspiracy theories spread most easily when they stem from fear—
and so does hate.