QAnon YouTubers Are Telling People to Drink Bleach to Ward Off Coronavirus

January 29, 2020 1:14PM ET
QAnon YouTubers Are Telling People to Drink Bleach to Ward Off Coronavirus
Dangerous advice is spreading on YouTube and Twitter, despite efforts to stop it
By EJ Dickson


As coronavirus spreads across the globe — with Chinese authorities confirming nearly 6,000 cases and 132 people dead as of Wednesday — the reaction on social media in particular has largely been marked by fear and panic. For some conspiracy theorists, however, it has also served as a prime opportunity to spread misinformation and baseless rumors about the disease — some of which are potentially extremely dangerous.

One terrifying example? QAnon supporters are encouraging people to drink MMS — or Miracle Mineral Solution, a bleaching agent that has been touted as a “miracle cure” by anti-vaxxers and other fringe groups — to ward off coronavirus. And despite restrictions on such content on platforms like YouTube, it is nonetheless fairly easy to find.

According to the Daily Beast, proponents of QAnon — the elaborate conspiracy theory purporting that President Donald Trump is waging a secret war against a ring of Democratic child sexual abusers — have been promoting MMS as a “cure” for coronavirus on Twitter, particularly the MMS-branded “20-20-20 spray,” with one account alleging it “kills viruses instantly.” Another prominent conspiracy theorist tweeted, “#coronavirus is a depopulation program,” recommending colloidal silver (a supplement that, if taken in large amounts, can result in discoloration of the skin and nails, or kidney damage) and MMS to ward off the disease.

These plugs for MMS usually go hand-in-hand with general theories alleging that coronavirus was manufactured in a lab, usually by conspiracy-theorist favorite Bill Gates, for the benefit of the pharmaceutical industry. As Rolling Stone reported last week, prominent QAnon supporter and YouTuber Jordan Sather bears much responsibility for perpetuating such claims.

Since the spread of the disease was initially reported, he has devoted his Twitter account to fomenting misinformation about the disease, (inaccurately) claiming that the virus was the product of a 2015 patent for avian coronavirus and implying that it was created in a Chinese lab.

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https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/qanon-conspiracy-theorists-coronavirus-mms-bleach-youtube-twitter-944878/?fbclid=IwAR3UbkzIYzmzgmQbmLJbwf6wOvQui_xARDtR9IuIBvspTutlbYINI0xwc5I