“Disease X”: how this WHO working hypothesis was hijacked by conspiracy theorists

“Disease X” is a working term used by the World Health Organization (WHO) to designate the disease that would cause a hypothetical future pandemic. The hypothesis is at the center of a hurricane of disinformation amplified by American conspiracy theorists, who are profiting from it. Among the false information circulating, the latest is the creation, orchestrated by an elite, of an unknown pathogen aimed at depopulating the planet. This “theory” would have been invented in the United States before spreading to Asia in many regional languages, assure AFP auditors.

This illustrates the dangers of poor content moderation on social media and could increase distrust of vaccines while compromising preparedness for public health emergencies, four years after the onset of the Covid pandemic -19.

In the United States, certain right-wing influencers are taking advantage of this false information, which they are helping to spread, to sell medical kits containing a treatment for Covid-19 which, according to health experts, has not been proven to work. . “The spreaders of false information are trying to exploit this conspiracy theory to sell products,” Timothy Caulfield, of the University of Alberta, in Canada, told AFP. “It’s often their main source of income. The conflict is deep. Without the fear-mongering and evidence-free talk about vaccines and government conspiracies, there would be little or no profit,” he adds.

Alex Jones, the founder of the site InfoWars who made millions of dollars spreading conspiracy theories about mass shootings and Covid-19, claimed on social media that there was a global plan to deploy Disease X as a “weapon of genocidal death.” Still sparking misinformation, the World Economic Forum in Davos made conspiracy theories proliferate after the organization last January of a round table focused on a possible future pandemic entitled “preparing for disease X”.

American cardiologist Peter McCullough, known for spreading misinformation about Covid-19, claimed without providing evidence that Disease X “should be created in a biological laboratory”. He made the statement on the website of The Wellness Company, a US-based dietary supplement supplier, of which he is the chief scientific officer. Urging people to “be prepared” for disease -19.

The Gateway Pundit, a right-wing website known for spreading conspiracy theories, also promoted the kits in a sponsored post titled “Disease X: Are the globalists planning another pandemic?” “Don’t be caught off guard,” the message said, linking to a link to order the kits.