Anatomy of a covid conspiracy

So-called experts spread disinformation

Special to the Chronicle
Posted 2/16/21

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Many of us have long …

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Anatomy of a covid conspiracy

So-called experts spread disinformation

Posted

The Chronicle's covid-related information is available free as a public service. We appeciate our advertisers and subscribers who make this possible.

Many of us have long suspected disinformation in the covid disease spread.
Now the Associated Press has turned up damning data on those who spread covid disinformation and misinformtion.
As the coronavirus spread, so too did speculation about its origins. 
Did the virus escape from a Chinese lab? 
Was it engineered as a bioweapon?
Legitimate questions about the virus created perfect conditions for conspiracy theories. 
In the absence of knowledge, propaganda flourished, the AP reported.
College professors with no training in virology were touted as experts. 
Anonymous social media users posed as high-level intelligence officials. 
From China to Iran to Russia to the US, government officials amplified claims for their own motives.
The Associated Press worked with the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab on a 9-month investigation to identify those behind some of the most viral misinformation. 
Their claims were explosive. Their evidence was weak. 
For more on the superspreaders of misinformation, go to 
https://thetandd.com/news/national/these-are-the-superspreaders-behind-top-covid-19-conspiracy-theories/article_b22dc5d1-0b31-5e4d-9ef2-d068cfd7e4f1.html#utm_source=thetandd.com&utm_campaign=%2Fnewsletter-templates%2Fbreaking&utm_medium=PostUp&utm_content=207aeab3b08929aa30cd8919c03d27b804c86296

covid, disinformation, misinformation, Associated Press

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