Zika is spreading in the United States—Florida Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency in four Florida counties on Wednesday—but Zika conspiracy theories are arguably spreading faster. A week after the WHO declared the virus—which can result in birth defects—a global emergency, here are what crazies are blaming for the virus’s spread:
Genetically modified mosquitoes: Oxitec genetically modifies mosquitoes in Brazil. That’s pretty much the only evidence this is real, because nothing else supports this—its trials are done far away from where the virus emerged, and the mosquitoes it tests are bred with a gene that makes it more or less impossible for them to survive in the wild. Alex Jones believes this theory, though he brings in Bill Gates because of course he does.
The Rockefellers: The Rockefellers created the virus to intentionally kill people, for population control maybe? A website called “Chemtrails Global Skywatch” believes this.
Vaccines are both the culprit and the whole point: There are claims that vaccines caused the Zika virus and claims that the Zika virus was engineered so people would have to get vaccines (which the government would then use to control their minds or something). Anti-vaxxers believe this because they’re bonkers. So does a website called, I shit you not, “Brazilian Shrunken Head Babies.”
Read Dr. Tara Smith’s post on why these theories are nuts here. (H/T Gizmodo)