Page 30 - bon-dia-aruba-20200418

a30 feature
Saturday 18 april 2020
Virus-fueled conspiracy theories take aim at hospitals

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN to company spokesman
Associated Press Andy Stone. The company
The video lasts just 13 sec- says it removes coronavi-
onds and shows nothing rus-related misinformation
more than the view from from Facebook and Insta-
a car quietly driving past gram that could contrib-
a hospital entrance. But ute to "imminent physical
the person who posted it harm."
on Twitter used the foot- Twitter says it is removing
age to sarcastically ques- COVID-19 content "when
tion reports of "apocalyptic it has a call to action that
conditions" at Mount Sinai could potentially cause
Queens in New York City. harm." One of the first and
That video and dozens of most popular tweets pro-
others like it have been moting #FilmYourHospital
spreading on social media remains on the platform.
through the #FilmYourHos- DeAnna Lorraine, a Califor-
pital hashtag. The people nia Republican who unsuc-
taking and posting videos cessfully challenged House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, post-
ed a video taken outside a
Los Angeles-area hospital
In this April 13, 2020, file photo, a patient arrives in an ambulance cared for by medical workers and urged her followers to
wearing personal protective equipment due to COVID-19 concerns outside NYU Langone Medi- get the hashtag trending.
cal Center, in New York. The video she tweeted on
Associated Press. March 29 has 1.4 million
of quiet scenes outside hos- traffickers in underground ple at an uncertain time." views.
pitals are promoting a right- tunnels beneath medical Friedfeld said the virus has A copycat video post-
wing conspiracy theory tents recently erected in become fodder for old ed on Twitter showed an
that fear-mongering media Central Park. tropes like "Agenda 21," empty parking lot and va-
outlets and Democrats are Many of the social media a conspiracy theory that cant tents outside Univer-
intentionally exaggerating accounts driving that base- a network of global elites sity Medical Center Tucson
COVID-19's deadly toll. The less story and the #FilmY- are using a United Nations in Arizona. "We should be
clip from Queens racked ourHospital campaign be- resolution adopted in 1992 picketing in protest of this
up more than 227,000 views long to followers of "QA- to control citizens and de- hoax!" the user tweeted.
in less than three weeks. non," a far-right, apocalyp- populate the earth. A hospital official said the
"It's very sad because I'm tic conspiracy theory that Other new conspiracy the- exterior appears quiet be-
working with a team of believes Trump is waging a ories being fueled by the vi- cause the medical cen-
thousands of people who secret campaign against rus include one that claims ter is not allowing visitors,
are putting their lives at "deep state" enemies and maps show a link between has furloughed nonessen-
risk. They are struggling Satan-worshiping Demo- 5G networks and corona- tial employees, canceled
every day to provide the crats who prey on chil- virus outbreaks. Another elective procedures and
best care they can in hor- dren. The Twitter user who holds that Microsoft co- stopped using the tents to
rendous conditions," said posted the March 29 vid- founder Bill Gates intends test outpatients with mild
Dr. David Reich, president eo of Mount Sinai Queens to use a COVID-19 vac- virus symptoms. Dr. Chris-
of Mount Sinai Queens has a profile that includes cine to track and control tian Bime, medical director
and Mount Sinai Hospital the QAnon slogan "WWG- the world's population. Fox of the intensive care unit at
in Manhattan. The Mount 1WGA," which stands for News host Laura Ingraham the Tucson hospital, said he
Sinai system has treated "Where we go one, we go amplified the narrative with has treated approximate-
thousands of coronavirus all." an April 7 tweet that said, ly 20 COVID-19 patients,
patients. Alex Friedfeld, an investi- "Digitally tracking Ameri- some of whom have died.
Hospitals aren't the only tar- gative researcher for the cans' every move has been "This is not a hoax. This is
gets of the far-right fringe Anti-Defamation League's a dream of the globalists real. These are real patients
during the pandemic. The Center on Extremism, said for years." who have real families,"
coronavirus has breathed quarantine conditions are U.N. Secretary-General Bime said.
fresh life into old conspir- ripe for conspiracy theo- Antonio Guterres warned A Mount Sinai spokeswom-
acy theories and inspired ries to mutate and quickly Tuesday that COVID-19 an says the lobby inside its
a mishmash of new ones, spread. The purveyors are misinformation is a poison- Queen hospital appeared
with a cast of villains that scared and cooped up in- ous threat to the world empty in the video be-
includes Bill Gates, 5G wire- side their homes with abun- and urged social media cause it also barred visitors.
less technology, the United dant free time to spend on organizations to do more Another Twitter user posted
Nations and President Don- the internet. to counter it. Social media a copycat video outside
ald Trump's political foes. "We are in a time of crisis, so platforms say they are try- Mount Sinai's Manhattan
New York is also the setting people are frightened," he ing to stop the spread of hospital, which normally
for one of the wildest virus- said. "They are looking for coronavirus hoaxes and has about 970 patients but
related conspiracy theories explanations. Conspiracy connect users with reliable had approximately 1,250
circulating on social me- theories can be comfort- information. on Wednesday. Around 700
dia — that the pandemic ing because they basically Facebook is removing con- were COVID-19 patients, in-
is masking a military opera- place order on chaos. A tent related to the "#FilmY- cluding roughly 150 on ven-
tion to rescue thousands of lot of them give you some- ourHospital" hashtag when tilators, according to Reich.
deformed "mole children" body to blame, and that it violates the social net- He called it "the worst crisis
from the clutches of sex can be comforting to peo- work's policies, according of our lifetimes."q