7 Popular Coronavirus Conspiracy Theories, Explained
People have a lot of theories about COVID-19
Getty Images Now that coronavirus is beginning to have a major impact across the United States, people are sharing their thoughts about what may have caused it in the first place.
In fact, there are a lot of coronavirus conspiracy theories, ranging from the potentially plausible to the totally insane.
Here are some of the biggest theories about COVID-19 that are out there so far, explained.
1. Coronavirus Conspiracy Theory #1: The Simpsons Predicted The Coronavirus.
In one episode of The Simpsons from 1993, there was an outbreak of disease that a newscaster on the show referred to as the "corona virus," leading some fans to believe that they predicted this would happen all those years ago. But there are a few issues with this theory: First of all, the episode that really dealt with the virus was totally separate and second of all, the outbreak in The Simpsons began In Osaka, Japan — where workers shipped the flu to Homer in Springfield — not Wuhan, China, like the actual COVID-19.
2. Dean Koontz may have also predicted it.
As one fan on Twitter pointed out, in Dean Koontz's 1981 novel, The Eyes of Darkness, he wrote about a Chinese scientist creating a biological weapon called Wuhan-400 that could only exist inside of humans.
"They call the stuff Wuhan-400 because it was developed in their RDNA labs outside the city of Wuhan, and it was the four-hundredth viable strain of manmade microorganisms created at that research center," Koontz wrote.
There are a lot of differences between Wuhan-400 and the actual COVID-19 virus, though — it wasn't manmade, and it isn't 100% fatal like the one in the book is.
3. Psychic Sylvia Browne predicted it.
Earlier this week, Kim Kardashian shared a passage from psychic Sylvia Browne's 2008 book End of Days, where she wrote that around the year 2020, a "severe pneumonia-Iike illness will spread throughout the globe," eventually disappearing, then reappearing years later, and then disappearing permanently. It certainly sounds similar to COVID-19 as we know it now (after all, it is a respiratory illness), but given that even scientists don't know a lot about how this illness works, it's hard to say if it'll be quite like what Browne predicted.
4. COVID-19 could be linked to chemtrails.
Although the idea of chemtrails is a conspiracy in itself, some are linking them to the development of the coronavirus, too. Some people believe it's a plot to control government population, using 5G technology to remotely activate the virus and shut down people's organs following a mandatory vaccine that people in China were given last year. Before you get too freaked out, don't worry — there's no scientific evidence to prove that there's any kind of truth to this kind of theory.
5. Ted Cruz has the coronavirus.
After being in contact with people who have tested positively for COVID-19, the senator has self-isolated to avoid potentially spreading the virus to others. However, some people think that he actually does have It and doesn't want to admit It, since some members of the GOP have been claiming that the virus itself is a hoax.
6. There's a "hospital conspiracy," too.
As this user on Twitter pointed out, some people feel that Democrats are lying about hospitals having limited beds for sick patients as a way to force people to quarantine. But this theory simply doesn't check out. There would be a shortage on hospital beds when considering people with coronavirus who would require hospitalization, plus people who need hospitalization for any other illness or reason.
It's hard to fully understand everything about coronavirus at this point but for now, what we do know is that it helps to stay at home if at all possible, and to keep washing our hands and avoiding touching our face, especially when we're out in public. it can be a stressful and scary time, but the good news is that conspiracy theories usually aren't true (as fun as they are to read) and hopefully, we can stay as healthy as possible as long as we follow the rules of hygiene in the meantime.
7. Cardi B thinks that celebrities are getting paid to test positive for coronavirus.
In a recent Instagram live, songstress Cardi B weighed in with her own theory. She says, "We keep seeing these basketball players say like, 'Yeah, I have the coronavirus but I don't got no symptoms,' So how the f**k am I supposed to know when Im supposed to get tested for it?!"
The singer was referencing the fact that some of the celebs who tested positive hadn't showed any symptoms and her opinion was that these people were actually getting paid to get tested for the virus.
She went on to say, "Y'all n****s is playin' with me. That's my problem right there. Cause y'all not really saying what it is. And it's like, alright, so tell me what it is and what it ain't. I'm starting to feel like y'all n****s is payin' n****s to say that they got it. If y'all are paying n****s to say that they got it, pay me too! Pay me too! Okay? S**t, 'cause I'm trying to get paid."
Many fans agreed with the singer's theory, replying with comments like, "I mean the thought has crossed my mind," and another wrote, "SIS IS WOKE! like is y’all getting paid or?" Others seemed to be in complete agreement, writing, "EXACTLY!!! You had no symptoms but got tested. But his would you know to get tested... Cardi is righttt." And another user said, "I've been lowkey feeling like this too. All these celebrities with no symptoms are getting tested. But regular Americans who are sick and suffering can't get tested. How is that fair?"
However, others totally shot down the idea, commenting with, "stop posting all this cardi b nonsense," and calling the theory "ridiculous."
This isn't the first time Cardi B has given her opinions on the pandemic. She's previously spoken out on her time in self-quarantine and also wondered whether or not the government was keeping information about coronavirus from the public, wanting to know the truth.
Nicole Pomarico is an entertainment and lifestyle writer whose work has appeared in Cosmo, Us Weekly, Refinery29, and more.