DISINFO: Coronavirus is a conspiracy against freedom
SUMMARY
Coronavirus is a conspiracy against freedom.
RESPONSE
An unfounded conspiracy theory, sharing a recurrent pro-Kremlin narrative about political elites controlling world populations and reducing freedoms. Political leaders call on people to adhere to quarantine, not to restrict freedoms and control citizens, but to prevent the rapid spread of the coronavirus. COVID-19 comes from a family of viruses originating in animals that include other viruses such as SARS and MERS. It was first reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan in central China and has been rapidly spreading across the world, with cases being reported in at least 177 countries, territories and areas. The number of COVID-19 cases surpassed 657,000 globally with over 30,000 deaths (with 10,023 in Italy alone) by 29 March 2020. See similar disinfo cases alleging that governments overestimate the threat, that it was made in a laboratory to infect Chinese, that it is an element of hybrid warfare and that the remedy has been developed in Ukraine.