Conspiracy theories about COVID-19 spread as quickly as the virus itself.
In the early months of 2020, the Coronavirus disease spread throughout China, eventually making its way around the globe. However, conspiracy theories about this new illness have spread as quickly as the illness itself.
One of the main conspiracy theories that has spread throughout the media is that COVID-19 is a bioweapon, produced as an act of medical warfare to control the world population. Expanding this theory, some theorists even went further and believe that it was engineered by the Chinese government to attack the U.S., while others believe the complete opposite. Junior Riley Meagher shared her thoughts on this theory, stating, “I think it’s an interesting idea to entertain, but personally I don’t like to believe in something that doesn’t have some concrete evidence. I think because staying home like this is such an inconvenience, people naturally search for something or someone to blame.”
A second major conspiracy theory is targeted towards Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, a company specializing in technology. Due to Gates’ recent resignation from Microsoft, theorists have put together a multitude of beliefs about “what is really going on.” The biggest claim is that Gates has put together his own money-making scheme by planning the creation of the virus and working with medical experts to create a vaccine that would be induced with human trackers and would be forced to be taken by the human population as a whole. However, these beliefs didn’t just originate out of thin air. Back in 2015, Gates gave a speech that warned of a deadly virus that is more likely to kill millions than another global war. Coincidence? Depends on who you ask.
Sophomore Grace Glancy voiced her opinions about the conspiracies being hypothesized. “I feel like we shouldn’t rule out the fact that it is possible that COVID-19 is a bio weapon. We should just keep in mind that if that’s the case, then it’s pretty weak. If China truly wanted to do damage they would have made it worse. Maybe they are testing the waters? Maybe it’s just to cause a bit of chaos? I don’t think I know enough about it to be a full believer or disbeliever.”
She continued, “The theory about Bill Gates creating Coronavirus is plausible… but I don’t know what would motivate Gates to do that. He doesn’t really need the money. Like I said before though, this could totally be a test by someone just to see how we react to this kind of panic.”
Glancy continued and shared her overall opinion on COVID-19 hysteria that has been circulating. “One more thing I’d like to add though if I can: people should not be scared of places like hospitals and markets. I understand the fear but sometimes it is too far. My dad is a paramedic and he was telling me about a run he went on for someone having a stroke. When he arrived the patient was completely lucid but couldn’t talk. His family waited three days to take him to the hospital after his stroke because they were scared of contracting COVID-19. Stroke patients need immediate care to give the best possible chances of fixing any damage. I just think people should keep in mind that there are more dangerous things out there other than Coronavirus. I mean 4,960 people die from natural causes in Los Angeles every month. This makes me think people are becoming trained to fear the pandemic as much as they do, maybe too much.”
Individuals continue to speculate new ideas of how this virus came to disrupt life as we once knew it.
