90-Second Read: The Hantavirus cruise ship outbreak spawned a familiar conspiracy theory: ‘crisis actors’

Even more posts said footage of Rosmarin urging people to get vaccinated during the COVID-19 pandemic is evidence his travel on the Hantavirus cruise outbreak isn't a coincidence. He posted an update on May 3, after the outbreak was announced, confirming that he was aboard the affected cruise. USA Today, ABC News and CNN have reported about the Hantavirus cruise outbreak and have interviewed Rosmarin about his experience as a passenger and during quarantine. Another X post said he "was certainly handpicked for this Honduis-Hanta-CryBaby role" because Rosmarin's related to people who work in healthcare and emergency preparedness.

On April 1, before the MV Hondius departed from Argentina and the Hantavirus was detected on board, Rosmarin shared on TikTok that he was going to spend the next 35 days on the ship. So far, three passengers have died from the virus and by May 12, most passengers and crew members had returned home or were in the process of doing so. We found news reports featuring other passengers including Turkish YouTuber Ruhi Çenet, who also posted on Instagram about the cruise. We asked Rosmarin about these posts suggesting he's part of some concerted scheme and did not hear back.

Rosmarin continued posting updates, saying on May 9 that he was going to be sent to Nebraska for "quarantine and testing." On May 11, he said he had arrived at the National Quarantine Unit in Omaha. Neither is the fact that some of Rosmarin's family members work in healthcare, emergency preparedness and disaster recovery. Credible information often falls short of what people want to know during breaking news events, and they fill that void with conspiracies, said Valerie Wirtschafter, a fellow in the Brookings Institution's Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology Initiative. In these moments, the most important thing people can do is wait for verified information.

We found no legitimate news outlet questioning the veracity of his situation. Rosmarin, who has over 160,000 TikTok followers, has been posting travel photos, vlogs, brand partnerships content, and videos recommending restaurants since at least 2022. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he also urged his followers to get COVID-19 vaccines.