At the moment, the world is not only concerned with the corona virus, another virus is also spreading faster and faster: the monkeypox virus. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the monkeypox outbreak an international emergency. the American government recently declared a national health emergency – and in Germany there are more and more people who are infected with the virus. For August 11th counted the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) 3,063 cases. Allegations and conspiracy myths that were already noticeable during the corona pandemic are spreading parallel to the virus.
According to the Newsguard organizationwhich checks online news sites for reliability, some of the most common false claims about monkeypox are actually largely congruent with claims about Covid-19 – just swapping out the virus.
This is confirmed by Irish scientist Aoife Gallagher, who researches claims surrounding monkeypox at the think tank “Institute for Strategic Dialogue”:
“When monkeypox was first discussed in May 2022, it was clear that the conspiracy narratives about it were simply copied from those about the corona pandemic.” According to Gallagher, the pandemic is working like a blueprint for conspiracy ideologists. In addition, conspiracy myths are constantly being recycled. “They get a new coat of paint every few years, but otherwise stay the same.” This is a typical feature of conspiracy theories, according to Gallagher.
In this text, #Faktenfuchs shows how widespread allegations about the monkeypox virus are already circulating about Corona, AIDS or other pathogens – and why they are being spread again and again.
No, monkeypox, corona or HI viruses do not come from the laboratory
The monkeypox pathogen is not new. The virus is known from Central and West Africa, where it is endemic. The term “monkeypox” is also misleading. Although the virus was first detected in monkeys in a Danish laboratory, it is believed to occur in nature in small rodents. They repeatedly caused isolated infections in Central and West Africa, mainly among children.
The HI virus, which can cause AIDS, was first detected by scientists in non-human primates in Africa; through them it was transmitted to man.
So, although the origin of both viruses has been scientifically researched, the false narrative that they originated in the laboratory as a biological warfare agent is spreading. In the case of AIDS, the myth has persisted since the 1980s, when the Russian secret service KGB and the Stasi deliberately spread the claim to harm the United States. The Stasi Records Archive has here information about the so-called “Operation Denver” compiled.
The question of whether the corona virus originated in a Chinese laboratory in Wuhan was also discussed during the corona pandemic. So far there is no evidence for this.
Why always the same claims?
But why is it that claims that have long since been refuted persist so stubbornly? It’s not about the facts, says Miro Dittrich from the Center for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy (CeMAS). Instead, it is about the emotional needs of the conspiracy believers. The narratives would serve specific functions. For example, this could be the urge to compensate for the feeling of losing control in a complex world with black-and-white explanations. Or the appreciation of one’s own person because – unlike the rest – one saw through the conspiracy.
In addition, it could have an effect if a certain claim was repeated over and over again, says Edda Humprecht from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, who researches disinformation there. “We humans tend to believe information, or at least be open to it once we’ve heard it. It’s called the ‘illusory truth effect’.” When producers of disinformation used narratives that are or were already circulating, people are more likely to believe the message, Humprecht said.
The result: these narratives reach many people and are stored in their heads – even if they are initially dismissed as nonsense. Humprecht says it will be easier to build on this for future events.
Virus outbreak was not ‘predicted’ or ‘planned’
Another example that keeps circulating in different contexts: the conspiracy theory that the outbreak of monkeypox was predicted or planned. That’s not true, how the #Faktenfuchs already explained here.
The supposed “plandemic” is substantiated with various bogus documents. In the case of monkeypox, the outbreak of the virus is said to have been “predicted” in a simulation game at the Munich Security Conference. Such business games are about preparing for a possible pandemic. The organizers are therefore based on known viruses that pose a possible risk – such as the monkeypox virus.
In the case of the corona virus, conspiracy believers quote, among other things a risk analysis by the Bundestag from 2012. However, the disease Covid-19 does not even occur there, as the AFP fact checkers showed. The corona virus itself is not new, corona viruses are According to the RKI, widespread among birds and mammals.
Evergreen: Bill Gates conspiracy tales
A popular target for conspiracy theorists: Bill Gates. He is said to have predicted both the outbreak of monkeypox and the outbreak of Corona. Neither is true, for example he never mentioned monkeypox in his statements.
Bill Gates, pharmaceutical companies or a ‘world government’ planning a pandemic to harm the population or certain parts of it: such narratives can be found not only with Corona and monkeypox, but also with the AIDS epidemic. With far-reaching consequences: According to a 1999 surveymore than 25 percent of African Americans surveyed believed AIDS was designed to “wipe out” African Americans.
The Marburg virus, which broke out in West Africa in the summer of 2021 a “plandemic” is also suspected.
Behind this is the desire for simplification, says Edda Humprecht from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. “Assigning blame makes something as complex as a pandemic more tangible for some people if you can clearly say: They are to blame and want us to do harm.” Particularly dominant be the narrative of the “elites” who have conspired, according to Humprecht. Claims like the planned pandemic were also aimed at a specific audience that is open to these narratives.
Stigmatization of certain groups of people
So far, monkeypox has mainly been contracted by men who have had sex with men. That RKI emphasizes on its website However, the risk of contracting monkeypox “is not limited to sexually active people or men who have sex with men.” Anyone who has close physical contact with an infectious person can become infected.
Nevertheless, it is noticeable on social media that monkeypox is presented by people from the right-wing extremist scene as a disease that only affects homosexual men. According to Miro Dittrich from CeMAS, such stigmatization of gay men was also seen during the AIDS epidemic. Many posts bring homosexuality in connection with illness, with perversion, with problems for society.
That could have far-reaching consequences, says Dittrich. “On the one hand, if people aren’t gay, they don’t go to the doctor, so their symptoms aren’t properly recognized. On the other hand, it’s seen as a marginalized problem and not properly addressed until it’s beyond that group.” So you react too late, for example when purchasing a vaccine.
Monkey pox is associated with Corona
Another example of narratives being “reused” is skepticism about vaccination. In the case of monkeypox, even alleged connections to the corona virus constructed, for example in the widespread false claim that monkeypox is an alleged side effect of the Astrazeneca vaccine, which was developed against Covid-19.
The background is a so-called adenovirus, which is part of the Astrazeneca vaccine. The adenovirus has the task of transporting the blueprint for the spike protein into human cells. It is a cold virus found in chimpanzees that has been weakened so it cannot harm humans. But conspiracy stories see a connection between the “monkeypox” and the weakened “chimpanzee cold virus”. However, the viruses are not the same, one is a smallpox virus, the other an adenovirus. And: The monkeypox virus has the wrong name. It occurs naturally in small rodents and very rarely in primates.
For staunch opponents of vaccination, that doesn’t matter, says Aoife Gallagher from the SDI: “The belief that vaccinations can harm humanity is such a widespread belief in these communities that it is now possible to link everything that happens to it. ”
This also fits with another false claim that, according to Newsguard, is particularly common about monkeypox: that this is only intended to cover up side effects of the Pfizer Corona vaccine and that there will be no monkeypox outbreak as a result. Describe Deutsche Welle’s fact checkers here why that’s not true.
Denying the existence of the virus is a strong “relief story,” says Miro Dittrich in the #Faktenfuchs interview. That, too, is evidence of an attempt to simplify a complex world by simply not acknowledging the problem.
What is the best way to react to this?
But how do you react when friends or family members confront you with the same false claims over and over again? Edda Humprecht from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology says that those who have drifted far into the conspiracy milieu are probably no longer or very difficult to reach. “But if you have the impression that this is being sent out of ignorance, then you should definitely point this out and try to show where aspects are perhaps not entirely logical,” says the scientist.
The #fact fox has here ten tips summarizedhow best to talk to people who believe in conspiracy theories.
Conclusion
Some of the most common false claims about the monkeypox virus are directly related to well-known conspiracy narratives from the corona pandemic or the AIDS epidemic. Some were even taken over one to one.
According to experts, this is not surprising: conspiracy myths are constantly “recycled” – not only in the medical context, but also in other areas. Behind this are emotional needs, such as the desire for simplification in a complex world or the urge to enhance oneself by claiming to know more than others.