Conspiracy theorists, wellness influencers , and grifters have already started promoting wild claims about the hantavirus outbreak that began aboard the MV Hondius , a cruise ship on the Atlantic.

Some conspiracy theorists compared the outbreak to the Covid-19 pandemic , claiming it was another effort to control the global population , while others pushed a false narrative that the Covid-19 vaccine caused hantavirus. Many others promoted ivermectin as a treatment, using the incident as a way to sell emergency medical kits featuring the antiparasitic drug typically used as a horse dewormer.

In more recent days, many of these same people spreading conspiracy theories have promoted the baseless and antisemitic claims that the entire incident is a false flag orchestrated by Israel.

Conspiracy theories flooding social media in response to breaking news are nothing new , but what is notable about those being pushed around the hantavirus outbreak is just how closely they echo the conspiracy theories promoted…