A patient prepares to have blood drawn for a test at General Referral Hospital of Mongbwalu in eastern DRC this week. Photograph: Michel Lunanga/Getty Images
Ebola and hantavirus outbreaks are once again generating a wave of conspiracy theories in the United States, ranging from claims of a planned pandemic to schemes involving vaccines and political interference. Experts say the growing influence of social media and artificial intelligence is accelerating the spread of these ideas.
Conspiracy Theories Surge Amid Outbreaks
The World Health Organization warned on Friday that Ebola is spreading rapidly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, posing a very high risk at the national level. In the realm of conspiracy theories, Ebola is being portrayed as a bioweapon, a financial plot, or a scheme to extract natural resources. Meanwhile, the hantavirus outbreak, which began on a cruise ship in the South Atlantic, has killed three passengers and infected at least 11 others. Conspiracy theorists have claimed that passengers were crisis actors, that the outbreak was caused by Covid vaccines and Bill Gates, or that it was an Israeli false flag operation that could be cured with ivermectin.
Dr Joseph Uscinski, an associate professor of political science at the University of Miami and author of a new book on the consequences of the Black Death, noted that such theories are not new. “This is very normal, and we should not be shocked that people are conspiracy theorizing,” he said. “If people are paying attention to something, so are people who are conspiracy-minded, and they are going to interpret disease through that lens.”
Historical Patterns Repeat
Uscinski pointed out that theories surrounding hantavirus and Ebola are similar to those seen during Covid, Aids, and other outbreaks. During the 2014 Ebola outbreak, online posts claimed that victims were returning as zombies, coinciding with the fourth season of The Walking Dead. “Whatever the disease, people are going to say there’s a conspiracy behind it, or that it’s not real and the vaccine is a scam,” he added.
Currently, such theories are particularly strong on the right in the US. On Alex Jones’s Infowars network, host Harrison Smith suggested that a hypothetical bad actor would release a deadly virus and then offer a vaccine. The rightwing site Gateway Pundit described hantavirus as “another plandemic” and a transparent effort to terrorize Americans and swing the midterms against President Trump. Mikki Willis, creator of the film Plandemic, also linked hantavirus to a planned pandemic.
Political Spectrum of Conspiracy Theories
However, Uscinski emphasized that conspiracy theories are not exclusively rightwing. “When people conspiracy theorize they are almost always accusing a center of power, whether that’s pharmaceutical companies or the government,” he said. For example, anti-fluoridation movements exist in both Portland, Oregon, and Florida, but for different reasons: one group sees it as a capitalist corporate plot, while the other views it as anti-communist. Similarly, vapor-trail conspiracies began during the anti-Vietnam War protests, blending left and right political colors.
“They can be political but not necessarily partisan – but they are always held by people who don’t trust the establishment,” Uscinski explained. “The defining characteristic is not if they’re left or right, but that they’re raging conspiracy theorists.”
Impact on Virus Response
Ironically, anti-government conspiracy theories are harming the response to the viruses. US engagement in curbing the Ebola outbreak is hampered by cuts to global public health efforts, including the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development and research cuts at health agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last week, US secretary of state Marco Rubio clashed with WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus over the agency’s response to the outbreak.
Thomas Asbridge, a Middle Ages historian and author of The Black Death, noted parallels between the current outbreaks and the 14th-century plague, which occurred during financial and climate crises. “That is a quite similar context to what we have been experiencing in the early part of the 21st century,” he said, pointing to the 2008 financial crisis and zoonotic diseases.
The confusion over how to respond is exacerbated by hostility to the government and mixed messaging from officials. During the hantavirus outbreak, officials initially gave contradictory information about transmission. During Covid, advice changed frequently, creating uncertainty. Conspiracy theorists only add to the problem, slowing acceptance of appropriate responses.
“We might be much slower to accept and respond appropriately to what’s required,” Asbridge warned. “We’re absolutely right to be alarmed and cautious about Ebola and hantavirus. Hopefully we will be lucky this century.”
