False claims and conspiracy theories are sources of frustration during the coronavirus pandemic

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The coronavirus pandemic has fueled some crazy rumors and conspiracy theories, the most recent being that Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is creating camps where children will be separated from their parents.

Ohio Rep. Nino Vitale, a Republican from Urbana and vocal critic of the governor, even called them “concentration camps.”

The rumor was concocted after DeWine reissued an order that allows Federal Emergency Management Agency to help pay for shelter in cases where those infected can’t return to their homes. He called the claims of so-called “FEMA camps” garbage.

That wasn’t the first time DeWine and his administration had to debunk a rumor related to COVID-19. In March, the governor’s spokesman dispelled claims that the bridges across the Ohio River into Kentucky and West Virginia were being closed to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

At least that rumor was plausible. Some ideas being promoted on the Internet and by shadowy groups are nothing short of bizarre, ranging from wild claims about the origin of the virus to unproven treatments billed as miracle cures.

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The real source of the pandemic

At the top of the list are outlandish claims made about Microsoft Corp. co-founder and multi-billionaire Bill Gates. Among the most vile purveyors of the preposterous has been QAnon, a mysterious band of conspiracy mongers who claim satan-followers and pedophiles are trying to bring down President Donald Trump.

QAnon supporters, along with vaccine opponents and some right wingers, claim Gates had “foreknowledge of the COVID pandemic or even purposely caused it,” according to Cornell University’s Alliance for Science., which has published its top 10 COVID-19 conspiracy theories.

Some anti-vaxxers have also “spread the myth that Gates wants to use a vaccination program to implant digital microchips that will somehow track and control people,” according to the Alliance for Science.

Another debunked claim, shared on social media by actor Woody Harrelson, among others, links the 5G network to the spread of the coronavirus.

“It’s worth repeating, as the World Health Organization (WHO) points out, that viruses cannot travel on mobile networks, and that COVID-19 is spreading rapidly in many countries that do not have 5G networks,” according to the Alliance for Science. “Even so, this conspiracy theory – after being spread by celebrities with big social media followings – has led to cellphone towers being set on fire in the UK and elsewhere.”

Attacks on public health experts

Among the claims that officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have had to address is one stating the death toll from the virus is only 6% of what the CDC has reported.

President Trump was among those passing along the bogus theory.

QAnon followers made the claim after the CDC decided it wasn’t necessary to test people without symptoms, interpreting that to mean the CDC has been lying about the number of people who had died, according to the Daily Beast.

But they based their 6% claim on old death certificate data that showed 94 percent of those who died from COVID-19 also had other conditions that made them more susceptible to death, such diabetes and hypertension, the Daily Beast reports. The 6% are those who did not have any other complicating health factors.

And in Ohio, former health department director Amy Acton, has been the subject of false claims and innuendo. The Anti-Defamation League of Cleveland sounded an alarm after an attack on Acton seemed to dredge up the anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that a Jewish cabal secretly controls the world.

Vitale went so far as to refer to Acton, who is Jewish, as an “unelected Globalist Health Director” in a Facebook post.

Vitale later told Ohio Capital Journal that he was not aware of the anti-Semitic connotation to “globalist” nor that Acton was Jewish, even though she had mentioned her faith several time before during press conferences.

And when Action quit her job as state health director, where did she go? To work for Bill Gates, according to another conspiracy theory that was making the rounds, only it wasn’t true. She went back to work at the Columbus Foundation, which has no affiliation with Gates and where she had previously been employed, according to the Associated Press.

Casting doubt on the crisis

Since early in the pandemic, there have been claims that it’s dangers and severity are overblown.

Trump is among those promoting those ideas. The president continually downplayed the severity of the disease, in one case referring to the health concerns as the Democrats’ new hoax and at other times insisting it was no more serious than the flu.

CDC estimates set the annual deaths from influenza at between 12,000 – 61,000 deaths annually since 2010. The toll from COVID-19 is nearly 200,000 deaths since late January.

Turns out Trump knew better all along.

In his soon-to-be-released book, “Rage”, noted journalist Bob Woodward writes that Trump knew the virus was deadly early on but chose to conceal the information from the public.

He described it as “deadly stuff” in a recorded interview with Woodward on Feb. 6.

“I always wanted to play it down,” Woodward quotes Trump as saying in a March interview. “I still like playing it down, because I don’t want to create a panic.”

Yet, many people took their lead from Trump and undoubtedly engaged in risky behavior, including not wearing masks, that cost some their lives.

In May, Ohio Rep. Bill Dean of Xenia had this to say about the coronavirus precautions that were affecting business.

“This is all perpetrated by the Democrats to get Trump out of office, and some of the Republicans also,” he said during an annual Greene County Chamber of Commerce event. “It’s just a farce. It’s just all BS. We need to eliminate all the rules and let the private sector do what they do best and get back to work. And it’s been perpetrated by a bunch of snowflakes that are running our country. That’s all I got to say,” reported the Fairborn Daily Herald.

The dangers of masks

Another frequent subject of misinformation has been benefit of wearing a mask.

One such claim is that wearing a mask will make you sick because you are breathing carbon dioxide. Not so, states the Mayo Clinic Health System.

“For many years, health care providers have worn masks for extended periods of time with no adverse health reactions,” the Mayo Clinic states on its website. “The CDC recommends wearing cloth masks while in public, and this option is very breathable. There is no risk of hypoxia, which is lower oxygen levels, in healthy adults. Carbon dioxide will freely diffuse through your mask as you breathe.”

Not convinced.

Here’s this from the non-profit Utah-based health system, Intermountain Healthcare.

“Wearing a cloth mask will not cause dizziness, lightheadedness, and headaches (also known as hypercapnia or carbon dioxide toxicity). Carbon dioxide passes through the mask, it does not build up inside the mask. If you feel dizzy or get a headache, you may be dehydrated since wearing a mask doesn’t make it as easy to drink water. We recommend keeping yourself very hydrated.”

Another mask myth suggests the coverings weaken the immune system. A claim debunked by CNET, a tech, culture and science news site.

“The American Lung Association says there’s no scientific evidence that wearing a mask weakens the immune system. However, even if someone who gets COVID-19 is young and healthy, without preexisting conditions, there’s evidence they can and do become severely ill or account for the spread of the coronavirus. For example, in California as of Aug. 5, the age group with the highest number of reported cases was 18-34, according to the California Department of Public Health.”

Unsubstantiated treatments

There have been many unsubstantiated claims about miracle treatments and cures for Covid-19. Among them is Trump’s effusive support for hydroxychloroquine. In May Trump announced that he was taking daily doses of the anti-malaria drug.

The Food and Drug Administration has determined it has no benefit.

More recently, U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson, along with Mike Lindell, a Trump supporter known for his mypillow.com commercials, have pressed Trump on the unproven benefits of oleandrin, which is extracted from the oleander plant.

Both men have a financial interest in the company that produces oleandrin.

“The involvement of the Secretary of HUD and MyPillow.com in pushing a dubious product at the highest levels should give Americans no comfort at night about their health and safety during a raging pandemic,” a senior administration official told Axios.com.