I was out taking my evening walk the other day when I noticed that some local graffiti artists had made a statement over a COVID-19 information poster at the bus station. They had just written two words one was “HOAX” and the other was “LIES” and so I thought it would make an interesting blog post to explore whether or not COVID-19 could actually be a hoax.
I suppose I can see why some people think that it’s not real. After all, it’s a serious thing which has affected all our lives in a detrimental way and people are frustrated. It’s invisible, so we can only conceptualise the harm that it does, plus there are lots of people who have ignored all guidance and have seemingly had no consequences. Plus, there are plenty of people who don’t know anyone with COVID-19 and never had… it makes sense that it seems like a hoax, right?
Well, while I can understand why some people might think that way, it only takes a little bit of critical thinking to debunk it. Look at all the countries which are currently enforcing measures to deal with COVID-19… are they all in on the hoax? If so, who came up with the idea? To what end was this hoax invented? It would require some all-powerful person (or organisation) to be pulling the strings of all the world’s major powers and I feel as though that thought is so outlandish that it doesn’t need anyone to debunk it.
Furthermore, there are plenty of doctors and nurses who are very happy to verify that COVID-19 are real. I know a few and have spoken to them directly about it… why would they lie? Doctors and nurses would have no reason to spread misinformation. They’re primarily concerned with helping people and so you can safely trust anything which comes from them. Plus, it’s not really hard to find heart breaking accounts of people who have lost friends and family to COVID-19 just by looking around online. There are even a few people who thought it was a hoax and then changed their mind once they were struck down with it.
I almost feel like people who believe it is a hoax want it to be one, because the reality is quite horrible. Nonetheless, with a bit of analysis, it’s easy to see that the idea of COVID-19 being a hoax holds no weight whatsoever.
