No one was stoked when the Omicron strain of coronavirus was discovered at the end of November, but most of us weren’t exactly surprised. Viruses mutate — that’s just science. But conservative anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theorists chose to take this mutation as more evidence that there is a massive undercover plot behind coronavirus. It seems like conspiracy theories are mutating in lockstep with the virus, and getting more transmissible and outlandish as they evolve.
Back in July, a particularly misleading video surfaced that supposedly proved that W.H.O. and other global health organizations were systematically releasing new strains of COVID-19. The slide deck shows the names of the next variants and their supposed “release dates.” It has been debunked over and over, but started recirculating again a few weeks ago when Omicron became more of a concern because it supposedly proves that Omicron is not a naturally occurring mutation with a totally predictable name, but is instead the next step in a nefarious deception.
