Conspiracy theories of corona virus are currently circulating on the Internet. Now an interview with virologist Christian Drosten is spreading, which causes confusion.
- In times of the corona virus * false reports repeatedly caused excitement.
- Now there is turmoil surrounding an interview with virologist Christian Drosten , after Corona says "no danger" for Germany.
- Here you can find the guide through our reporting as well as basic facts about the Coronavirus * and the Corona News from Germany. We have also listed the current case numbers as a map.
Munich - In times of crisis like this, there are increasing false reports and distorted reports about the corona virus . It is often about an early vaccine *, the risk of infection * or a possible corona immunity *. The messages mostly spread on Facebook or WhatsApp are completely absurd, but still cause panic.
Corona danger "extremely low in Germany" - old interview by Christian Drosten causes excitement
An article by virologist Christian Drosten is currently circulating on the Internet. Specifically, it is an interview that he gave to RTL in 2013. The headline reads: " Deadly corona virus: danger to people in Germany extremely low ".
However, the report does not address the SARS-CoV-2 virus, i.e. the current corona virus, but the MERS virus that was in circulation at the time . Although it also belongs to the family of corona viruses, it does not correspond to the currently rampant virus.
According to the World Health Organization, fewer than 2,500 people have contracted the MERS virus since 2012. The majority of those infected also come from the Arabian Peninsula, according to the Robert Koch Institute. For comparison: According to Johns Hopkins University, 1,935,646 people worldwide were infected by the current corona virus ( as of April 14, 4:05 pm ),
Corona: Quotes from Christian Drosten completely out of context
In the corresponding article, Drosten explains that the MERS virus is "actually not a danger" for Germany . Drosten's quotes would now be deliberately shortened and misrepresented seven years later, which, according to Patrick Gensing, of the Tagesschau fact finders, is a general problem in corona times.
Because “there are people who just want to create confusion and take care of themselves. They take pictures out of context and claim that these are current pictures, even though they come from a completely different year or from completely different events. "
RTL has now responded and added the original article: “The following article with quotes from virologist Christian Drosten was originally published on May 30, 2013. His statements and the classification refer to the MERS-CoV virus, which was mainly prevalent on the Arabian Peninsula at the time, and which differs from the SARS-CoV-2 corona virus that we are currently familiar with. "
Coronavirus: conspiracy theories with absurd claims
In addition to distortions, as in the Drosten case, the current situation is sometimes also deliberately misused to spread conspiracy theories . In essence, three views are propagated in these. For example, the virus is said to have been grown in a laboratory . It is also alleged that the corona virus simply does not exist . In this context, the conspiracy theorists speak of "epidemic inventors." In addition, Covid-19 was only there to reduce the world's population .
Finally, another theory caused excitement: a war, disguised by the massive noise of the Corona crisis, is said to have started on European soil. A 101-year-old towered out of a senior residence because she wanted to congratulate her daughter on her birthday - taking advantage of the police's good faith.
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List of rubric lists: © dpa / Christophe Gateau