Coronavirus myths: link between human chipping, 5G, and coronavirus
Universal human chipping is one of the myths about the coronavirus that can be found on the Internet. Immunologist Aurelija Žvirblienė says that the myths associated with vaccines existed before the pandemic, so it is not surprising. However, according to the expert, the fact that the vaccine has not yet been developed and the myths are already spreading is strange.
'The myth that people will be chipped has no logic, because if there is a desire to chip, why wait for a coronavirus vaccine? It would be possible to chip everyone now. Sometimes those myths do not have the slightest logic,‘ said the specialist.
It was not only the USA President Donald Trump who believed that the coronavirus was developed in a Chinese laboratory - such an interpretation of the virus's origin is still popular on social networks. The immunologist called such an assumption a myth and emphasized that the virus was not artificially created, but could have spread due to careless behaviour.
‘There is a bit of truth in the claim, as there are some serious analytical articles stating that the virus has spread through experiments with bat cells. But this does not mean that the virus was created artificially in the laboratory. However, there is a laboratory in Wuhan that has worked with bat tissue and the virus may have spread not from the market as thought earlier, but from that laboratory. This is a big difference between claiming that the virus was artificially created and claiming that it spread, for example, through negligence,‘ stated Žvirblienė.
Dissemination of false news divided into three groups
Explaining the spread of lies, Tomas Čeponis, an analyst of the Strategic Communication Department of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, proposed to divide them into three groups: geopolitical, financial and technological. An example of geopolitical lies is the myth that the virus was created in the United States as they seek dominance and want to weaken Chinese influence.
‘The second category is financial. Here, an attempt is made to convince people that the virus was created for some financial gain. For example, there is a myth that pharmaceutical companies have created a virus so that they can sell a lot of products by treating the virus and thus make money,‘ said Čeponis.
The third sector is technology. According to Čeponis, technology is something that is hard to explain and that people often do not understand, so it makes complex things simpler. A good example is the myth of the link between the coronavirus and 5G.
‘Here, two seemingly different myths come together. The myth regarding 5G damage emerged much earlier than the coronavirus situation, but we can see how they merged later. It is said that the virus is spread through that 5G connection, and that this connection weakens the immune system, making it easier for the virus to get into our bodies. It is believed that we will be vaccinated against that virus and microchips will be put into our bodies and this way our minds will be controlled (through 5G connection). This example can probably already be attributed to conspiracy theories,‘ explained T. Čeponis.
Learning to recognize fake news already at schools
With the spread of new conspiracy theories, fake news and myths in the public sphere, the question arises on to how to recognize and distinguish them, what news is reliable and correct and what is fake.
The specialist explained that there is no single answer. In his view, it is important to create a community of people who understand what is going on in the information space and how information can be exploited for bad purposes.
‘Such community should not include only state official. It should be whole society, because we live in a democratic state and it is important to contribute to that. It has to be both government officials and the media, businesses,‘ said the analyst.
Čeponis names the educational system as a means of combating false information. According to him, even schools should be responsible for teaching information and cyber literacy, critical thinking, logical and thinking errors, 21st century media literacy.
‘In addition, different media have more than one section or a journalist writing about it. I think that by preparing articles and making shows, we all contribute to education,‘ said the specialist.
Čeponis advised not to rush to believe and share the news that we have just read or heard. It is important to find the original source of the news and explore it. ‘It should be noted that news that has caused feelings, such as frustration or anger, can be propaganda, because it is news that presents misinformation that affects senses, not logical and critical thinking. It is also important to answer the questions: is this information reliable, or is it an unknown media source,‘ added the analyst.
On the other hand, A. Žvirblienė suggested looking for reliable information related to coronavirus on the pages of official institutions, following the information of the World Health Organization (WHO).
‘Of course, we should always trust our common sense. I think media are behaving quite responsibly in the light of the pandemic; I have never seen any scandalous shows where some kind of fake news bubble is blown. Journalists performed their mission well enough in the pandemic conditions,‘ said the specialist.
Information of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania
