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An increasingly resilient class of coronavirus rumors asserts that SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes the disease COVID-19, was created in a lab. Most iterations of the rumor claim the virus was accidentally released from a high-level infectious disease research lab in Wuhan, China — the purported origin of the outbreak — and some suggest the virus itself was designed there to be a “bioweapon.”  This post addresses the origins of these rumors and exposes the falsehoods and scientific realities that undermine such claims.

Source: https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/04/01/covid-19-bioweapon/

We have to stop the spread of misinformation, and that starts with our friends and families who believe this nonsense. We need to understand: why the hell do people believe conspiracy theories?

“A small part in motivating the endorsement of…irrational beliefs,” the researchers wrote, “is the desire to stick out from the crowd.”

That partly explains why evidence that refutes the theories rarely changes any conspiracy theorists’ minds, since surrendering the belief means surrendering the specialness too. When President Obama tried to put a stop to the rumors about where he was born by releasing his short form birth certificate, the conspiracy mongers demanded the long form. When he released that, they insisted that it had to be a forgery. “They just move the goal posts,” says Uscinski.

In some cases, the very nonsense of conspiracy theories may actually be an attempt to make the world make more sense. After a national trauma — the assassination of President Kennedy, say — something called the “proportionality bias” may take hold, as the mind recoils at the idea of small causes leading to such massive effects. So the fiction of a CIA or Mafia conspiracy takes the place of a lone gunman who was able to get to the President. The more people who join the circle of believers, the less likely any one of them is to break away.

“Group affiliation becomes central,” says Parent, the Notre Dame professor. “The beliefs almost become like gang tattoos.”

And who are these people, anyway?

“These people tend to be more suspicious, untrusting, eccentric, needing to feel special, with a tendency to regard the world as an inherently dangerous place,” Hart said. “They are also more likely to detect meaningful patterns where they might not exist. People who are reluctant to believe in conspiracy theories tend to have the opposite qualities.”

We can be kind. We can be gentle. We must be empathetic. And all the while, we must do everything we can to help the people in our lives end conspiracy thinking.

I have found that the people who sell conspiracy theories are usually selling products or political ideas (always snake oil) that purports to save their informed customers (marks) from the conspiracy (bullshit). Maybe that’s a starting place for a conversation. What’s in it for them if you’re terrified and don’t trust credible, public health officials? How do they benefit? I’m just asking questions, just critical thinking.

Snopes, once more:

As governments fight the COVID-19 pandemic, Snopes is fighting an “infodemic” of rumors and misinformation, and you can help. Read our coronavirus fact checks. Submit any questionable rumors and “advice” you encounter. Become a Founding Member to help us hire more fact-checkers. And, please, follow the CDC or WHO for guidance on protecting your community from the disease.