COVID Was Created by Big Pharma, and Other Fun Conspiracy Theories

The COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a standstill for the better part of two years. And in that time, several theories were floated regarding its origin and ways to combat the pandemic.

However, comprehensive information about the virus wasn’t readily available for a considerable while , probably due to the seeming suddenness of the pandemic’s onset. So, in a world where social media has led to near-instantaneous access to developing world news, this information gap created a bed fertile for conspiracies.
From an intentional release from a lab to Bill Gates and 5G, these conspiracy theories caught on, capturing the minds of the ordinary person and celebrities alike. And because we’re all more connected than ever before via the internet, these skeptical theories took root.

Some of these tales are incredulous, but that hasn’t stopped some people from believing them. And as such, a significant section of the population doubts the very existence of the virus and/or the vaccine’s efficacy. A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center found that only 5 percent of population-representative participants wholly believed in pandemic-related conspiracies, with another 20 percent only partially believing the veracity of these claims.
Consequently, this has pitted individuals and groups who believe theories against those whose thoughts on the pandemic are rooted in science.

Several COVID-19 conspiracy theories persist regardless of the trove of information that’s now available on the internet. Some of them do sound like they could be onto something, others are downright amusing, and some seem to be straight out of a Hollywood espionage thriller.

Theory 1. The virus was deliberately engineered to suppress global freedoms

According to QAnon, a widespread conspiracy movement, SARS-CoV-2 was deliberately made and released to leash civil liberties across the globe. This aligns perfectly with QAnon’s original conspiracies that centered on an apparent global Satanist pedophile cabal that stymied people’s freedoms.

The QAnon community believes that the pandemic was driven by the same global elites – powerful groups of individuals and governments that wanted to exert their control over the world – to undermine then U.S. President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign.

The supposition that an all-too-powerful section of the world’s wealthiest people controls everything has been a particularly entertaining treat for the masses. Some similarly-themed movies like Secret Honor (1984), Wag the Dog (1997), and The Manchurian Candidate (1962/2004) are testament to this.

Theory 2. The virus was engineered in a Chinese lab as a bioweapon

To many people, especially in the West, the COVID-19 virus was the work of some unscrupulous scientists in a Chinese lab. After all, the virus came into the public eye when several residents in the Chinese city of Wuhan presented with a severe respiratory illness in late 2019.

This conspiracy theory gathered steam partly due to the location of the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which just so happens to specialize in coronavirus research.
And it didn’t help that then-President Donald Trump insisted on referring to the virus as the Chinese flu. In addition, his now-defunct Twitter account had 88 million followers, ensuring that this conspiracy theory took hold rather quickly.

There have been some suggestions that the virus was released as a bioweapon. Survey results published in the Social Science and Medicine journal show that 28.3 percent of respondents believed this theory.

However, intelligence agencies have since debunked this theory. Somewhat. People subscribing to this mindset continue to do so because Chinese officials weren’t entirely forthcoming.

A bit of intriguing Robert Ludlum-esque espionage between superpowers always makes for gripping entertainment.

Theory 3. COVID-19 is the same as seasonal flu

At the beginning of the pandemic and all through it, many asserted that COVID-19 is nothing more than the seasonal flu. This conspiracy theory caught on given that the pandemic shared some symptoms with the flu.

Also, as social distancing measures went into effect, there was significant disruption of the global economy. This prompted some leaders of countries like the U.S., Brazil, Mexico, and Belarus to assert that the situation wouldn’t go out of control because the virus was just like the flu.

Elsewhere, influential social media figures and groups also peddled this conspiracy theory. Controversial British media personality Katie Hopkins referred to the virus as a seasonal flu in a widely shared Instagram post about an Australian-made COVID-19 vaccine.

World Doctors Alliance – a European group of a dozen doctors from seven countries – released a viral video in which a doctor falsely claimed that the pandemic was just a normal flu.

It didn’t take long for people to disregard social distancing protocols. After all, they didn’t want to be hemmed in if the pandemic was just a widespread version of the common flu.

Theory 4. The pandemic is a conspiracy by Big Pharma

One of the most persistent and entrenched conspiracy theories about the entire pandemic is that the whole thing is the result of machinations by the pharmaceutical industry .

According to the theorists, significant players in the pharmaceutical industry caused and supported the spread of the virus to profit from the drugs used to quell COVID-19 symptoms. Subscribers to this theory claim that pharmaceutical companies had already developed the vaccine and created the pandemic to boost vaccine sales.

This theory also gained mass acceptance in anti-vaccinationist circles (anti-vaxxers) when major pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca released vaccines faster than usual.

However, the vaccines were developed more rapidly than other medications because of the concerted global effort to move vaccine development along. Nevertheless, these facts fell on deaf ears.

And it isn’t surprising that a Big Pharma conspiracy is easily believable. Several books, novels, and screen content occasionally depict all-powerful drug manufacturers as unscrupulous villains. The Fugitive, anyone? Or perhaps Mission Impossible: II where the fictional BioCyte Pharmaceuticals engineered the Chimera virus to create a market for its bellerophon vaccine.

In fact, some real-world happenings have lent credence to many of these skeptic beliefs. For instance, Martin Shrekli (Pharma Bro) was openly disdainful – even during congressional hearings – about his company hiking the price of lifesaving Daraprim from $13.50 to $750.

So, despite the apparent falsehoods, non-believers in science view this as a theory that holds water.

Theory 5. The virus spreads via 5G wireless networks

Just before the entire world shut down in a bid to control the pandemic, a handful of telecommunications companies had developed 5G networks and rolled them out in preliminary stages.

But because this technology wasn’t – and still isn’t – really widely understood, conspiracy theories sprung up, claiming 5G as the definitive cause of COVID-19.

According to its proponents, the 5G frequency posed significant environmental and health problems, chief of which was COVID-19.

This theory has legs mainly due to its endorsement by several mainstream celebrities. Singers Keri Hilson and M.I.A and actors like Woody Harrelson gave their thoughts on the issue, lending credence to this belief.

And given that Wuhan was one of the first cities to benefit from 5G installations, conspiracy theorists pointed to the origin of the virus in the same city as proof of their speculation. Therefore, it is prudent to note that the World Health Organization busted this myth, clarifying that viruses can’t spread via the electromagnetic spectrum.

Theory 6. Bill Gates wants to implant tracking microchips into individuals through the vaccine

One of the most persistent pandemic-related conspiracy theories involves Bill Gates. This theory’s proponents claim that the billionaire philanthropist wants to use the vaccine to inoculate people with microchips in a bid to control the masses.

Several unconnected instances have put quite a bit of stock in this false claim, driving the theory’s widespread reach. For example, some theorists point to a TedTalk by Bill Gates during the 2015 Ebola outbreak where he hints at a future pandemic in the then-not-so-distant future. According to believers in this theory, this shows that Gates knew about the COVID-19 pandemic ahead of time.

Additionally, other proponents point to Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-funded MIT research. The study entailed a technology that involves on-skin branding of vaccinated patients with an ink injection that can be read by a smartphone.

However, one of the researchers debunked this myth and asserted that the quantum dot dye isn’t an injectable tracking microchip. Furthermore, Gates poured water on this theory during a TV interview, denying any connection between the vaccine and patient tracking.

Regardless, this hasn’t stopped some people from attaching magnets on the injection sites on their arms, claiming the vaccine has metallic ingredients – the microchips. Renowned scientists continue to refute this claim.

Theory 7. The vaccine infects healthy people with the virus

Vaccine development has always hinged on using live or attenuated viruses. And it’s this fact that has been warped to spread the false theory that the coronavirus vaccines cause the disease.

However, the currently approved vaccines only contain minute parts of the virus (mRNA or viral vectors), performing similarly to those made from live and attenuated pathogens. In fact, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) asserted that the vaccine cannot cause COVID-19.

On the other hand, the CDC does acknowledge that the vaccine can induce symptoms similar to those caused by the novel coronavirus.

Theory 8. The vaccine causes infertility

One of the more serious allegations against the vaccine is that it causes infertility. This conspiracy theory was peddled by a former Pfizer scientist, leading several pandemic skeptics to spread it via various media. And the fact that Michael Yeadon has ties to vaccine maker Pfizer lent credence to this assertion.

However, Pfizer researchers and the CDC poked holes in this theory, highlighting the negligible similarity between the coronavirus spike protein and the syncytin-1 protein in the placenta, allaying fears of female infertility.

Researchers also found no changes in sperm characteristics in vaccinated males, rendering the vaccine safe when it comes to fertility issues.

Theory 9. The COVID-19 vaccines alter your DNA

When Pfizer and Moderna came out with their mRNA vaccines, anti-vaxxers were quick to point out that this molecule would interfere with the DNA of the person into whom it’s injected.

This belief gained ground when a 2017 TedTalk by Moderna’s Chief Medical Officer Tal Zaks was misquoted as saying that the vaccine can alter lines of code in DNA. A fact check by Reuters found that Zaks was using a play on words and didn’t even mention mRNA in his talk.

In another widely shared instance, a now-internet-famous natural healer claimed that the vaccine changed a person’s DNA when it was injected into the body through a series of electric pulses. He concluded that this made the individual more like a genetically modified organism (GMO).

Fortunately, this sci-fi-esque scenario has no basis in reality. The mRNA doesn’t get into the nucleus to affect DNA. Instead, it instructs the protein-making machinery in the cell to produce the coronavirus spike protein to initiate an immune reaction.

There’s no denying that many of the major conspiracy theories are entertaining. And it’s this fact that predisposes some people to believe in these theories.

“People often perceive conspiracy theories as entertaining, which facilitates belief in them,” states Jan-Willem van Prooijen in a research paper titled “The Entertainment Value of Conspiracy Theories,” published in the British Journal of Psychology.

In several instances, much of the underlying psychology in this phenomenon points to conspiracy theories as a way for people to deal with stress in the face of a particularly taxing situation. The coronavirus pandemic ticks all the boxes on what comprises a significant stressful situation.

Alternatively, some people live in communities where it’s commonplace to rail against authority figures. Consequently, any pandemic management measures from politicians and experts are automatically met with disbelief and derision.

According to Dr. Neophytos Georgiou, Ph.D., “If your outlook on the world was already suspicious and cynical, chances are you were going to be skeptical about this pandemic and tend to believe that something fishy is going on.”

In other words, despite the facts at hand, conspiracy theorists will still indulge in the stories we discussed earlier. Not only that, skeptics will further their agenda, propagating these stories even more widely.