“Conspiracy theories do nothing but create fear, rumours and prejudice that jeopardize our global collaboration in the fight against this virus.” “The rapid, open, and transparent sharing of data on this outbreak is now being threatened by rumours and misinformation around its origins,” they wrote. The scientists said they were particularly worried conspiracy theories about the virus being manmade could undermine the work of health professionals fighting to contain the disease. In February, more than two dozen public health scientists wrote a letter to The Lancet medical journal expressing concern that misinformation about coronavirus may be disrupting the flow of critical scientific information and eroding international partnerships. Some of the most widely shared hoaxes and rumours about the coronavirus outbreak include false information about cures (Vitamin C won’t cure it, nor will bleach), conspiracy theories claiming the virus is a bioweapon that was stolen from Canada ( it’s not) or accidentally released from a lab in China ( genetic evidence shows it came from an animal, not a lab) and baseless claims that a vaccine for coronavirus exists but is being kept under wraps (there’s no vaccine yet). Margaret Harris, a leading WHO physician, told National Observer.

“The COVID-19 outbreak and response has been accompanied by a massive ‘infodemic’ - an over-abundance of information, some accurate and some not - that makes it hard for people to find trustworthy sources and reliable guidance when they need it,” Dr. Less than a month later, the young doctor died from complications stemming from coronavirus disease. Within a few days, Li was summoned by law enforcement, who reportedly told him the warning he posted on social media was illegal and had 'severely disturbed the social order.” He was forced to sign a statement denouncing his warning as a false and illegal rumour, and promising not to speak out again. Unbeknownst to Li, he had just issued the first public warning about the novel strain of coronavirus that has sickened more than 125,000 people globally and killed more than 4,600.īefore long, his WeChat message started gaining traction online and, at some point, caught the attention of Chinese authorities. Just days earlier, Li, a physician in Wuhan, China, had sent a message to his medical school alumni group on WeChat informing them that a cluster of patients with a strange new virus had been quarantined in the hospital where he worked. Li Wenliang in the middle of the night on the first day of the year.

The real war on science