As concerns about the spread of hantavirus emerge, right-wing and far-right figures are spreading conspiracy theories on podcasts and social
Alex Kaplan at MMFA:
As concerns about the spread of hantavirus emerge, right-wing and far-right figures are spreading conspiracy theories on podcasts and social media that the virus came from a lab and may be a new “plandemic” (planned pandemic) created to push vaccines, disrupt upcoming elections, or achieve other nefarious goals. The conspiracy theories are similar to those spread among the right during the COVID-19 pandemic that harmed efforts to mitigate the spread of the virus and contributed to declining vaccination rates.
Hantavirus concerns arise after outbreak on cruise ship
In early May, a cruise ship sailing the Atlantic Ocean experienced an outbreak of hantavirus, a typically rodent-borne virus, causing at least three deaths and at least eight others to become ill or test positive for the virus. In response, passengers from more than 20 countries were flown home and quarantined, including an American who “was suspected of infection after initial testing.”
Nevertheless, the World Health Organization has said that “the risk of hantavirus spreading to the general population is ‘absolutely low,’” with the organization’s head of epidemic and pandemic preparedness saying, “This is not the start of an epidemic, this is not the start of a pandemic.”
A hantavirus vaccine is currently in development, though it could be years before it is released.
“Plandemic” conspiracy theories about hantavirus are spreading online
Some right-wing and far-right figures on podcasts and social media have been baselessly claiming that hantavirus is the beginning of a planned outbreak.
For instance, David Niño Rodriguez, a podcaster whom The Daily Beast described as “a vocal QAnon supporter,” posted on Truth Social about hantavirus, claiming that “they’re moving into desperate territory” and that the death of late actor Gene Hackman’s wife from the virus “was just the beginning. … Here we go again.”Some were more specific about who they thought was responsible for the spread of the virus — like the World Health Organization — and their alleged nefarious reasons, which include forcing vaccines on people and “rig[ging] elections.”
Sherri Tenpenny, a podcaster with a history of spreading vaccine misinformation, suggested that the WHO may have had a role in the outbreak to help secure a treaty, claiming that “they can’t agree” on “how countries … ensure equitable access to vaccines and treatments,” and questioning if the ship outbreak was a “coincidence.”
On conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ network, host Harrison Smith said, “If I was the bad guy, you know what I would do? I’d really release the hantavirus. I would really have an actually super deadly virus spreading from person to person, and then I would release a real vaccine.”
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Several figures suggested that the virus was released to disrupt the 2026 elections.
Podcast host Tim Pool said that the “hantavirus pandemic panic” was “just in time for a midterm election” (though he also said the virus was “no big story”). And a fellow podcaster, Benny Johnson, called the virus “an op to rig elections." A Newsmax host later similarly said, “They are doing it all over again on purpose. COVID started in March 2020, impacted the November elections. Hantavirus started in May of 2026.”A user on the far-right forum previously known as TheDonald wrote that “the best condition for a virus to spread, is an election year.”
And an article on the The Gateway Pundit for a “Contagion Emergency Kit” mused about whether hantavirus was “another plandemic” and a “transparent effort to terrorize Americans and swing the mid-terms against President Trump.”Some social media users also pointed to a 2022 post with the text “2023: Corona ended 2026: Hantavirus” and claimed the post was proof of a “White Hat exposure operation.” A user on the conspiracy subreddit called the post “predictive programming” and said it “feels like yet another planned out, manufactured ritual.” (Pool mentioned it on his podcast as well.)
Right-wing media pundits recycle COVID-era conspiracy theories for the Hantavirus.
