90-Second Read: Hantavirus Conspiracy Theories Are Already Spreading Online

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. 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 during the Covid-19 pandemic. 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.

McCullough is also the chief scientific officer for the Wellness Company, which has been described as " Goop for the GOP." The company has used the Hantavirus outbreak to promote a $325 "Contagion Emergency Kit," which includes both ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine. All the false claims and posts about ivermectin gained enough traction online that the World Health Organization responded to say that there is no research to suggest ivermectin is an effective treatment for Hantavirus. Conspiracy theorists have, meanwhile, been pushing the baseless idea that a side effect of Covid vaccines includes a Hantavirus infection. Bowden, a doctor, is a prominent promoter of medical misinformation who has promoted ivermectin as a treatment for Covid-19 and prescribed ivermectin to a Covid-19 patient.

From claims of an Israeli false flag to efforts to sell ivermectin, influencers and grifters are using lessons learned from Covid-19 to push their baseless conspiracy theories. Hours after her first post on Hantavirus went viral, she followed up to say that she is selling ivermectin to Texans. Greene even claimed that not getting the Covid-19 vaccine had somehow allowed her to "develop natural immunity" against Hantavirus. A Pfizer spokesperson confirmed to Reuters that the reference seen in the screenshot does not confirm that the vaccine causes Hantavirus, but is simply a list of notable infections experienced by those trialling the vaccine in December 2020.

The baseless conspiracy theory has also spread on other social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, where many of the posts have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times. Social media platforms being used to amplify disinformation from unreliable sources in breaking news situations is not new; the problem is that more and more Americans get their health news from social media. Findings from a study by the Pew Research Center published this week from 2025 show that around half of Americans under 50 get their health and wellness information from podcasts and influencers.