Snake Oil Selling in the Age of Coronavirus

Snake oil selling is nothing new here in America, but the country’s dramatic descent into a public health epidemic has highlighted the dangers of disinformation and the rejection of scientific facts. With deaths from COVID-19 climbing into the tens of thousands across the country, new attention is being focused on the dangers of misleading the American public.

Many in the media have been at the forefront of promoting dangerous false information. Rush Limbaugh, the longtime radio personality, has continually claimed without evidence that the coronavirus is simply the flu being used as a political weapon. Fox News host Sean Hannity initially cast doubt on the reality of the virus, saying the “media mob” was hyping up this “new hoax." Nine days later he falsely claimed he had “never called the virus a hoax.” Many professional doctors have also utilized the media to mislead the public with dubious or outright false claims, including Dr. Mehmet Oz, Dr. Marc Siegel, and Dr. Drew Pinsky.

Politicians have also contributed to misinforming the public. The president has repeatedly made factually incorrect statements since the beginning of the pandemic, calling it the Democrat’s “new hoax” while falsely touting unproven treatments.

Multiple administration officials have misled the public by declaring that COVID-19 was “contained” here in America during February and March. Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) has repeatedly contradicted pandemic experts, saying, “If you’re healthy… it’s a great time to just go out, go to a local restaurant.” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) mocked the deadly virus by wearing a gas mask on Capitol Hill.

Several myths have circulated on social media in recent months regarding the coronavirus. Some have pushed the conspiracy theory that the virus is actually a government created bioweapon, being used to take away individual freedoms.

Others have suggested without evidence that the virus is caused by 5G phone technology and infected toilet paper. Many have falsely stated that warm or cold weather protects against the virus.

Fake cures have also spread like wildfire. From eating garlic to blow-drying your nostrils, snake-oil salesmen have taken full advantage of Americans' legitimate fears regarding COVID-19. Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and others have used the pandemic to profit financially, peddling untested and unproven supplements; while others outright claim they have proven vaccines. There is no existing coronavirus vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, Vice Provost of Global Initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania, put it bluntly on MSNBC’s "The Beat with Ari Melber". “Don’t believe hucksterism,” Emanuel warned. “Snake oil salesmen come out of the woodwork all the time in these kind of circumstances… It’s very, very important that you listen carefully, but only to trusted sources of truth and science.”

Political division and long standing distrust in institutions has placed America in a difficult situation. A train engineer recently derailed the freight he was operating in an attempt to ram the Navy medical ship USNS Mercy at the Port of San Pedro, in an effort to raise attention to what he believed was an effort to start an authoritarian “government takeover.” As the pandemic stretches from weeks into months, more Americans will be inoculated to facts with the nonstop deluge of misinformation.

Healthcare experts recommend getting information from proven sources, and making sure not to trust what you see on social media without first verifying it. As Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading expert on infectious disease, recently put it on Showtime’s "Desus & Mero", “Social media can really be advantageous for the spread of important information. But it certainly can be damaging for the spread of a lot of garbage.”