Coronavirus: Debunking the baseless virus conspiracy theories in NZ

Tuesday, 3 March 2020

Economic Development minister Phil Twyford talks about government plans to support families affected by the downturn in the forestry industries due, in part, to the coronavirus outbreak.

Outlandish coronavirus conspiracy theories have spread across the world almost as fast as the virus.

Stuff spoke to the University of Waikato's M R X Dentith, who wrote a book on the philosophy of conspiracy theories, to find out why they take hold.

WHAT ARE THE THEORIES?

Pedestrians wearing face masks have become a common sight in New Zealand (file photo).

Dentith says one common strand in viral theories is the baseless notion Covid-19 is a biologically engineered disease.

Experts agree that the most effective way of protecting ourselves from infectious diseases like coronavirus is through effective handwashing. (Video first published March 2020.)

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A security guard forbids access for visitors to the hospital for infectious diseases, in Minsk, Belarus, late February (file photo).

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Theories ranged from the claim it was of American origin to allegations it was generated by the Chinese government on purpose.

Some claim the United Nations developed the virus as a form of population control, part of the ecosystem of Agenda 21 conspiracy theories.

Dentith said there was no evidence for these outlandish claims.

'There are a whole bunch of issues with the views being put forward.'

People wearing face masks joke as they view a selfie photograph near the starting area of the Tokyo Marathon on March 1, 2020 in Tokyo, Japan. The 2020 Tokyo Marathon has been restricted to elite runners only as measures get underway in Japan to combat the Covid-19 virus (file photo).

MYTH: 5G TECHNOLOGY ACTIVATES VIRUS

One theory making the rounds on Facebook in New Zealand alleges Chinese citizens were given vaccines containing a 'digitised' virus able to be activated by 5G mobile technology, allowing governments to kill people remotely.

'It uses a really wacky technological function to explain how it works with the idea that somehow it's a kind of digital virus that can be turned on and off at will,' Dentith says.

'The whole 5G thing seems to be resting upon existing fears about 5G, which don't seem to be established by any evidence.'

Claims by fringe groups that 5G is dangerous are not supported by mainstream scientists, who observe the radio wave band used by mobile networks lacks sufficient energy to damage cells and cause cancer.

'There is no such thing as a digital virus,' Dentith adds.

MYTH: CORONAVIRUS AS POPULATION CONTROL

Agenda 21 is a non-binding United Nations resolution which has become the focal point of right-wing conspiracy theories arguing it is a totalitarian environmentalist plot to reduce population.

In fact, the opt-in resolution encourages countries to focus on sustainable development and is not a sinister depopulation plot, Dentith says.

'The whole 'it was engineered as a plot for population control,' those theories go back a long way.

'For some reason, people have taken this to be a precursor to population control, at which point they start blaming all of the usual suspects.

'It's the UN, it's the Jewish community, it's Bill Gates, and now it's China.'

MYTH: COULD TAMIFLU WORK AGAINST CORONAVIRUS?

For this one, Stuff turned to the work of University of Auckland associate Professor Siouxsie Wiles, who wrote in January about the options for vaccines and treatments against coronavirus.

It was unlikely Tamiflu could be used to treat the disease, she wrote.

In 2004, a research project tested the ability of 19 antiviral drugs to stop the related SARS coronavirus from killing infected cells in the lab, Wiles reported.

It had no effect.

WHAT IS TO BE DONE?

Dentith says if a friend or family member is taken in by a conspiracy theory, 'negative messaging' is unlikely to be successful in inoculating them against wild claims.

'Telling people they're wrong really only tends to make people more certain that they're correct.'

Instead, it was best to steer people to more helpful and reliable sources of information, including information regarding the best methods to protect against infection.

'Information that shows actually the kind of radiation that 5G relies upon, which is non-ionising radiation, isn't dangerous, Dentith added.