CHICAGO (AP) – From speculation that the coronavirus was created in a lab to defraud cures, an overwhelming amount of false information clung to COVID-19 as it circled the world in 2020.
Public health officials, fact checkers, and doctors tried to quell hundreds of rumors in countless ways. But misinformation surrounding the pandemic is as irritating as the virus itself. And with the US, UK and Canada introducing vaccinations this month, many untruths are seeing a resurgence online.
A look at five persistent myths surrounding COVID-19 that were shared this year and are still traveling:
MYTH: MASKS DO NOT PROTECT THE VIRUS
In fact, they do.
However, mixed messages caused some confusion early on. US officials initially told Americans not to wear or buy masks, at a time when there was a shortage of N95 masks for health workers. They later reversed course and urged the public to wear cloth masks and face coverings outside.
The early coverage gave people “a little more leeway to take up these stories” against wearing masks, explains Stephanie Edgerly, a communications professor at Northwestern University.
For example, some social media users are still circulating a March video of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the US government’s top infectious-disease expert, who says people “ shouldn’t walk around in masks, ” though he’s since urged people to turn their faces in public. Versions of that clip have been viewed millions of times on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
Online claims that masks are not an effective form of protection were enriched again in October after US President Donald Trump and two US senators contracted COVID-19 at a Rose Garden ceremony, according to media intelligence firm Zignal Labs. Social media users claimed that the coverings should not be effective because the senators wore masks at times during the event.
But masks prevent virus particles from spreading. Last month, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which continues to advise Americans to wear masks, quoted research that suggested masks can protect the wearer as well as other people.
MYTH: THE VIRUS WAS MADE BY MAN
It was not.
Social media and fringe website users intertwine a conspiracy theory that the virus was leaked – accidentally or intentionally – from a laboratory in Wuhan, China, before the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic in March. The lie has been embraced by elected officials, including Trump.
The origin of the virus is much less scandalous: it probably originated in nature. Bats are considered the original or intermediate hosts for several viruses that have caused recent epidemics, including COVID-19. American intelligence services also concluded the virus is not man-made.
Still, the conspiracy theory continues to travel online, and made a resurgence in September when a Chinese virologist echoed the claim on Fox News.
MYTH: COVID-19 IS SIMILAR TO THE FLU
In fact, COVID-19 has turned out to be much more deadly.
Early similarities between the symptoms of COVID-19 and influenza led many to speculate that there was not much difference between the two illnesses. Social media posts and videos viewed thousands of times online also claim that COVID-19 is no more deadly than the flu. Trump tweeted a false comparison between the flu and COVID-19 in March and October, as states implemented stay-at-home orders.
COVID-19 is blamed for more than 300,000 US deaths this year and has killed approximately 1.5 million people worldwide. In comparison, the CDC estimates there are 12,000 to 61,000 flu-related deaths every year.
COVID-19 symptoms can be much more severe and last for months. Health experts have also discovered a range of bizarre coronavirus symptoms, from brain fog to swollen toes.
MYTH: CIVIL SERVANTS ARE THE COVID-19 EXTRA TOLL
They are not.
Social media users began photographing empty hospital waiting rooms earlier this year, claiming few people were sick with COVID-19. The photos and videos gained traction with the #FilmYourHospital hashtag, part of a right-wing conspiracy theory that public health officials and politicians have exaggerated the deadly toll of COVID-19. But fewer people are in waiting areas as hospitals began taking virtual appointments, halting selection procedures and banning visitors during the pandemic.
This month a selfie from a doctor in Nevada An empty makeshift care site set up to treat additional coronavirus patients was shared online as evidence that hospitals are not full. However, the photo was taken on November 12, before the site opened. It has since served at least 200 patients.
MYTH: THE VIRUS IS A PLOY TO FORCE GLOBAL VACCINATIONS
That is not true.
Anti-vaccine supporters have been promoting this conspiracy theory since January, when some falsely claimed the virus was patented online by pharmaceutical companies as a scheme to cash in on the disease. Single targeted billionaire and vaccine proponent of Bill Gates, claiming that he was part of a global COVID-19 plan to microchip billions of people through massive vaccinations. Gates didn’t threaten to microchip anyone. Instead, he suggested creating a database of people vaccinated against the virus.
Skepticism has also grown about the speed of vaccine development. A video that has been viewed almost 100,000 times for example, on social media falsely claimed that pharmaceutical companies had skipped animal testing for the vaccines. In fact, the vaccines were tested on mice and macaques.
The UK, Canada and the US Food and Drug Administration have approved Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine. The FDA will review Moderna’s shot on Thursday.
Still, only about half of Americans say they are willing to get the vaccine, a survey this month found by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Constant misinformation about the vaccine can cause some of that hesitation.
“I don’t think it was one myth that caused the problem,” said Nancy Kass, deputy director of public health at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics. “It’s the fact that there were many, many, many myths.”