Insidious Vectors of Disease: Legacies of Conspiracy, Misinformation, Distrust in the Propagation of Infectious Disease. An Examination of Ebola, HIV/AIDS, and COVID-19

Abstract

Conspiracies surrounding pandemics have existed for centuries, if not millennia.17 Some of the most dramatic and sensationalized pandemics—namely Ebola, HIV/AIDS, and Covid-19—have taken the world by storm. And the conspiracies and mis-information campaigns surrounding these pandemics have persisted in a similar vein. Notably, while there are distinct differences between the terms conspiracy, misinformation, and disinformation, this article does not seek to disentangle these terms and their separate effects. Instead, it treats them all as informational distortions—or infodemics—that all have profound consequences on the propagation of infectious diseases. Thus, the three aforementioned pandemics are worth examining as they are illustrative of the following: the entrenched nature of conspiracy within the human mind and societies; how infectious diseases are perpetuated and exacerbated beyond their inherent infectivity and transmission modalities with spreading infodemics; and why the realm of public health must develop a sophisticated arsenal to cope with these bête noires.