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Talk:COVID-19 misinformation

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WikiProject COVID-19 consensus

WikiProject COVID-19 aims to add to and build consensus for pages relating to COVID-19. They have so far discussed items listed below. Please discuss proposed improvements to them at the project talk page.

General

  1. Superseded by TfD October 2020 and later practice - consult regular {{Current}} guidance.
  2. Refrain from using Worldometer (worldometers.info) as a source due to common errors being observed as noted on the Case Count Task Force common errors page. (April 2020, April 2020)
  3. For infoboxes on the main articles of countries, use Wuhan, Hubei, China for the origin parameter. (March 2020)
  4. "Social distancing" is generally preferred over "physical distancing". (April 2020, May 2020)

Page title

  1. COVID-19 (full caps) is preferable in the body of all articles, and in the title of all articles/category pages/etc.(RM April 2020, including the main article itself, RM March 2021).
  2. SARS-CoV-2 (exact capitalisation and punctuation) is the common name of the virus and should be used for the main article's title, as well as in the body of all articles, and in the title of all other articles/category pages/etc. (June 2022, overturning April 2020)

Map

  1. There is no consensus about which color schemes to use, but they should be consistent within articles as much as possible. There is agreement that there should be six levels of shading, plus gray   for areas with no instances or no data. (May 2020)
  2. There is no consensus about whether the legend, the date, and other elements should appear in the map image itself. (May 2020)
  3. For map legends, ranges should use fixed round numbers (as opposed to updating dynamically). There is no consensus on what base population to use for per capita maps. (May 2020)

To ensure you are viewing the current list, you may wish to purge this page.

This article is written in American English, which has its own spelling conventions (color, defense, traveled) and some terms that are used in it may be different or absent from other varieties of English. According to the relevant style guide, this should not be changed without broad consensus.
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Text and/or other creative content from this version of Misinformation related to the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic was copied or moved into 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic with this edit on 12 April 2020. The former page's history now serves to provide attribution for that content in the latter page, and it must not be deleted as long as the latter page exists.
Text has been copied to or from this article; see the list below. The source pages now serve to provide attribution for the content in the destination pages and must not be deleted as long as the copies exist. For attribution and to access older versions of the copied text, please see the history links below.
The contents of the COVID-19 denialism page were merged into COVID-19 misinformation on 24 February 2023. For the contribution history and old versions of the redirected page, please see its history; for the discussion at that location, see its talk page.
This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 10 January 2022 and 27 April 2022. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Phrenic490 (article contribs). Peer reviewers: Lucyc2.
Section sizes
Section size for COVID-19 misinformation (97 sections)
Section name Byte
count
Section
total
(Top) 6,137 6,137
Overview 17,875 17,875
Virus origin 18,366 138,812
Wuhan lab origin 390 27,605
Bio-weapon 9,943 9,943
Gain-of-function research 5,224 5,224
Accidental release of collected sample 12,048 12,048
Stolen from Canadian lab 5,350 5,350
Accusations by China 17,375 17,375
Accusations by Russia 8,468 8,468
Accusations by other countries 16,833 16,833
Jewish origin 53 9,226
In the Muslim world 5,758 5,758
In the United States 872 872
In Germany 1,249 1,249
In Britain 1,294 1,294
Muslims spreading virus 3,604 3,604
Population-control scheme 2,313 2,313
5G mobile networks 24,868 24,868
American scientist selling virus to China 1,803 1,803
Meteor origin 1,218 1,218
NCMI intelligence report 1,783 1,783
PCR testing 5,245 5,245
Symptoms and severity 2,996 2,996
Incidence and mortality 825 32,657
In China 15 9,819
Chinese under-reporting during early 2020 1,866 1,866
Nurse whistleblower 2,753 2,753
Alleged leak of death toll by Tencent 1,810 1,810
Mass cremation in Wuhan 2,480 2,480
Decline in cellphone subscriptions 895 895
In the US 2,393 10,857
Allegations of inflated death counts 3,660 3,660
Misleading Johns Hopkins News-Letter article 4,804 4,804
Misinformation targeting Taiwan 6,772 6,772
Misrepresented World Population Project map 1,061 1,061
"Casedemic" 3,323 3,323
Disease spread 1,315 43,835
California herd immunity in 2019 3,752 3,752
Patient Zero 1,700 1,700
Airborne 4,439 4,439
Surfaces 1,703 1,703
Susceptibility based on ethnicity 6,501 12,844
Xenophobic blaming by ethnicity and religion 6,343 6,343
Bat soup 5,461 5,461
Large gatherings 799 799
Lifetime of the virus 713 713
Mosquitoes 139 139
Contaminated objects 2,489 2,489
Cruise ships as safe havens 6,204 6,204
Breastfeeding 699 699
Sexual transmission and infertility 1,578 1,578
Prevention 1,149 42,084
Hand sanitizer, antibacterial soaps 3,471 3,471
Public use of face masks 12,538 12,538
Alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs 6,809 6,809
Warm or hot drinks 986 986
Religious protection 9,574 9,574
Helicopter spraying 1,449 1,449
Food 2,391 2,391
Vitamin D 3,717 3,717
Vaccines 272 272
Hospital conditions 1,562 1,562
Treatment 553 31,121
Herbal treatments 2,984 2,984
Vitamin C 2,028 2,028
Common cold and flu treatments 2,430 2,430
Cow dung and urine 3,714 3,714
2-Deoxy-D-glucose 2,333 2,333
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) prescriptions 2,917 2,917
Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine 1,625 1,625
Ivermectin 86 86
Dangerous treatments 2,642 2,642
Silver 4,105 4,105
Mustard oil 832 832
Untested treatments 2,817 2,817
Spiritual healing 1,469 1,469
Organ trafficking 586 586
Other 10 15,346
Name of the disease 1,560 1,560
Simpsons prediction 1,043 1,043
Return of wildlife 4,374 4,374
Virus remains in body permanently 305 305
COVID-19 denialism 2,750 2,750
Antisemitism 2,432 2,432
US anti-vax anti-China covert operation 2,872 2,872
Efforts to combat misinformation 2,821 29,170
Social media 7,476 7,476
Misplaced Pages 2,541 2,541
Newspapers and scholarly journals 2,183 2,183
Podcasts 1,320 1,320
Government censorship 12,829 12,829
Scams 5,908 5,908
See also 266 266
Notes 24 24
References 28 28
External links 2,817 2,817
Total 376,155 376,155

Daily pageviews of this article (experimental)Pageviews summary: size=76, age=113, days=30, min=251, max=530, latest=341. The pageviews file file is stale; please update it; see § Instructions.



Origins of COVID-19: Current consensus

  1. There is no consensus on whether the lab leak theory is a "conspiracy theory" or a "minority scientific viewpoint". (RfC, February 2021)
  2. There is consensus against defining "disease and pandemic origins" (broadly speaking) as a form of biomedical information for the purpose of WP:MEDRS. However, information that already fits into biomedical information remains classified as such, even if it relates to disease and pandemic origins (e.g. genome sequences, symptom descriptions, phylogenetic trees). (RfC, May 2021)
  3. In multiple prior non-RFC discussions about manuscripts authored by Rossana Segreto and/or Yuri Deigin, editors have found the sources to be unreliable. Specifically, editors were not convinced by the credentials of the authors, and concerns were raised with the editorial oversight of the BioEssays "Problems & Paradigms" series. (Jan 2021, Jan 2021, Jan 2021, Feb 2021, June 2021, ...)
  4. The consensus of scientists is that SARS-CoV-2 is likely of zoonotic origin. (January 2021, May 2021, May 2021, May 2021, June 2021, June 2021, WP:NOLABLEAK (frequently cited in discussions))
  5. The March 2021 WHO report on the origins of SARS-CoV-2 should be referred to as the "WHO-convened report" or "WHO-convened study" on first usage in article prose, and may be abbreviated as "WHO report" or "WHO study" thereafter. (RfC, June 2021)
  6. The "manufactured bioweapon" idea should be described as a "conspiracy theory" in wiki-voice. (January 2021, February 2021, May 2021, May 2021, June 2021, June 2021, June 2021, June 2021, July 2021, July 2021, July 2021, August 2021)
  7. The scientific consensus (and the Frutos et al. sources () which support it), which dismisses the lab leak, should not be described as "based in part on Shi 's emailed answers." (RfC, December 2021)
  8. The American FBI and Department of Energy finding that a lab leak was likely should not be mentioned in the lead of COVID-19 lab leak theory, because it is WP:UNDUE. (RFC, October 2023)
  9. The article COVID-19 lab leak theory may not go through the requested moves process between 4 March 2024 and 3 March 2025. (RM, March 2024)
Which pages use this template?
Last updated (diff) on 30 November 2024 by Shibbolethink (t · c)


Lab leak theory sources

This section is pinned and will not be automatically archived.

List of good sources with good coverage to help expand. Not necessarily for inclusion but just for consideration. Preferably not articles that just discuss a single quote/press conference. The long-style reporting would be even better. Feel free to edit directly to add to the list. ProcrastinatingReader (talk) 17:39, 18 July 2021 (UTC)

Last updated by Julian Brown (talk) 23:43, 12 November 2023 (UTC)

 · Scholarship
For the relevant sourcing guideline, see WP:SCHOLARSHIP. For a database curated by the NCBI, see LitCoVID
 · Journalism
For the relevant sourcing guideline, see WP:NEWSORG.
 · Opinion-based editorials written by scientists/scholars
For the relevant sourcing guideline, see WP:RSOPINION.
 · Opinion-based editorials written by journalists
For the relevant sourcing guideline, see WP:RSOPINION.
 · Government and policy
Keep in mind, these are primary sources and thus should be used with caution!

References

Link to Misplaced Pages article "Infodemic"

The reader may find it helpful to refer to the Misplaced Pages article on 'Infodemic'. Please include the link if you agree. WikiAuthor1234567890 (talk) 08:19, 3 March 2024 (UTC)

" to stoke anti-China sentiments, and has led to increased anti-Asian activity on social media and in the real world.

I think that's enough digression for now. No consensus to change our article. — The Hand That Feeds You: 12:46, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.


How exactly are the claims that the virus escaped froma a laboratory in China or whatever is meant to spark anti chinese sentiment? How do you people make this connections? 46.97.169.192 (talk) 13:21, 24 June 2024 (UTC)

The content you quote is referenced to newspaper articles. They are linked in the footnotes so you can read about the details. The "connection" is not made by made Misplaced Pages editors. We merely reflect what reliable sources state. Kind regards, Robby.is.on (talk) 13:31, 24 June 2024 (UTC)
Consider that the official assertion of every US govt and media organization was based on the notion that the Chinese eat rancid wild animal meat from filthy street markets. 1) Is this not very popularly understood to be the most common American stereotype of the Chinese? 2) How is this much different from the AIDS monkey idea?
OP is absolutely right that it defies basic deductive reasoning to claim that the lab leak theory is bigoted and inciting of violence while the former is perfectly acceptable for polite society. It's fine to keep the sources in there, but the language used seems to suggest their assertions as empirical fact when they were pure opinion based on an orthodoxy that was only ever speculative at best and utter nonsense at worst. The paragraph in which the sources are used needs to be stated as dealing with opinion. 2601:246:4A80:FE0:D51A:B88D:80AA:E4B9 (talk) 02:05, 13 October 2024 (UTC)
See PMID:37697176 for some knowledge. Bon courage (talk) 03:01, 13 October 2024 (UTC)
See https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10120873/
It's almost like different people hold different views of subjective issues (even doctors!!!). 2600:1008:B044:87A1:35C8:593C:DB7E:C80 (talk) 06:50, 13 October 2024 (UTC)
Umm, that source analyses the "stigmatizing narratives" and "demonstrate the phenomenology of race-based stress and trauma experienced by Asian individuals" and then goes on to consider the mental health implications. So yeah, I think everybody agrees the lab leak nonsense had racist inputs and caused racist outputs. Bon courage (talk) 06:56, 13 October 2024 (UTC)
Looking at who repeatedly made those comments reinforces that view. HiLo48 (talk) 07:18, 13 October 2024 (UTC)
Yup. See also cat eating migrants. Bon courage (talk) 07:20, 13 October 2024 (UTC)
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

This page needs a section for items once considered misinformation, but are now known to be true.

The history and evolution of misinformation items, especially as they were revealed to be facts, is relevant and should be covered. 76.121.65.204 (talk) 00:10, 13 November 2024 (UTC)

This is a post full of nothing. You've provided no specific edits nor reliable sources to support them. — The Hand That Feeds You: 01:33, 13 November 2024 (UTC)
Cope 2A11:3:500:0:0:0:0:D201 (talk) 13:41, 23 November 2024 (UTC)
After a 2-year investigation, the US Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic has confirmed what the conspiracy theorists determined FIVE years ago: EVERYTHING about the COVID pandemic was fraudulent.
https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/12.04.2024-SSCP-FINAL-REPORT.pdf 95.25.133.157 (talk) 06:36, 4 December 2024 (UTC)
See wp:MEDRS, and we do have an place for the scientific and medical facts, COVID-19. Slatersteven (talk) 11:54, 4 December 2024 (UTC)
You are jumping to conclusions in favour, erroneously, of conspiracy theorists. Report is critical to "mitigation measures" not to the pandemic itself being fake. YBSOne (talk) 15:19, 4 December 2024 (UTC)

US House Results

This topic may need to be updated as the USA House of Congress report concluded there was significant misinformation being spread by the USA government and WHO.

This pertains to masking, vaccine efficacy social distancing, and mass quarantining.

They concluded that there was more harm by the policies than good, and that much of it was not based in science but instead for optics. 155.254.196.211 (talk) 16:29, 21 December 2024 (UTC)

Politicians spreading misinformation is part of the misinformation phenomenon (as in this 'report'). Bon courage (talk) 16:31, 21 December 2024 (UTC)
already been discussed, and it has been discussed before. Slatersteven (talk) 16:32, 21 December 2024 (UTC)
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