Apr 28, 2020 16:00:00

A woman who has been tailored as a 'person who brought the new coronavirus from China to the United States' by a conspiracy theorist

by Heather Fulbright / CNN

In the United States, where the number of new coronavirus infections (COVID-19) is the highest in the world, as of April 27, 2020,

nearly 1 million people were infected with the new coronavirus and more than 50,000 died. I am . Meanwhile, a woman named Maatje Benassi who lives in the US is reported to have darkened her life because it was tailored to be 'the first person to bring the new coronavirus from China to the United States ' by a conspiracy theorist. I am.

Exclusive: She's been falsely accused of starting the pandemic. Her life has been turned upside down-CNN
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/27/tech/coronavirus-conspiracy-theory/

Since the spread of the new coronavirus worldwide, various conspiracy theories have been developed on the Internet. In addition to the theory that 'the

new coronavirus is an artificially made weapon ', the conspiracy theory that 'the cause of the COVID-19 epidemic is in the 5th generation mobile communication system (5G) ' has spread, and in the UK It is said that there are many arson damages on the 5G radio tower.

Why did the hoax that '5G is spreading the new coronavirus' spread so often that arson damage to the 5G radio tower occurred? -GIGAZINE

Maatje, a U.S. Army reserve and mother of two, works as a private security guard in Fort Belboa , Fairfax County, Virginia, and her former Air Force officer, Matt, is also in the US Department of Defense . I work as an employee in the private sector. None of the Benassi and Mr. and Mrs. Benassi showed symptoms of COVID-19 and no positive reaction of the new coronavirus was confirmed, but conspiracy theorists said, 'Maatje brought the new coronavirus from China to the United States.' I argue.

Mr. Maatje was not the target of conspiracy theory related to the new coronavirus from the beginning, and the conspiracy theory spread on the Internet while showing various changes, just as the virus repeats mutation with diffusion. . As an early conspiracy theory, there is a groundless assertion that the new coronavirus is a biological weapon of the United States, and in March 2020, a Chinese official said, 'There is a possibility that the new coronavirus was brought in by the US military.' Said on Twitter .

Of China for this remark Cui Tiankai also ambassador to the United States 'ridiculous are' 'not stand in such speculation Whose role, extremely harmful' and objections have been, the United States of Mark Esper is also Secretary of Defense ' representatives of the Chinese government has completely ridiculous to such remarks, and irresponsible it, ' he says .

Meanwhile, conspiracy theorists have noticed the Military World Games held in Wuhan , China in October 2019. Military World Games is a competition for military athletes and has been held every four years for over 20 years since 1995. Maatje was visiting Wuhan in October 2019 to participate in the cycling competition of Military World Games.

Not only Maatje was participating in the Military World Games held in Wuhan, but hundreds of American soldiers were also participating. However, it is because Maatje became a target of the conspiracy theory for some reason, because it was noticeable due to injury such as falling down and breaking ribs during the competition. The claim that 'Maatje brought the new coronavirus to the United States' is spreading on YouTube and social media, as well as on social media in China.

Maatje's life was overshadowed by the fact that it became the target of conspiracy theory. The Benassi's address was exposed online and many messages came from conspiracy theorists even via social media. “Every day, when you wake up from a bad dream, it's like starting a nightmare,” Maatje said in an interview with CNN. Matt consulted with lawyers and local police, but said that he could do little with law enforcement.

CNN points out that even the conspiracy theory, which is apparently false to many people, has a huge impact on real life when it is spread on social media platforms. Mr. and Mrs. Benassi feel helpless about harassment and misinformation, and Maatje says, 'Because net bullying is no longer in my hands, I want everyone to stop harassment,' tearing CNN. I am talking.

The 59-year-old conspiracy theorist George Webb played a central role in the conspiracy theory that Maatje spread the new coronavirus in the United States. Webb regularly publishes on YouTube, with over 27 million views on his channel and over 1 million followers. It seems that Mr. Webb's channel had advertisements until recently, but he said that no advertisement was posted at the time of article creation.

Not only Maatje, but also Benny Benassi , a well-known DJ who has the same surname 'Benassi' as Mr. and Mrs. Webb, 'Webb was an early new coronavirus infected person and one who brought the virus to the United States,' he said. I argue. However, Benny Benassi pointed out in an interview with CNN that he has never been infected with the new coronavirus and has never met Mr. and Mrs. Benassi, and the family name Benassi is common in Italy in the first place. I will.

In a CNN interview, Webb did not justify Maatje's introduction of the new coronavirus into the US, saying he could not reveal sources of allegations against the Benassi.

A YouTube spokesman said that YouTube is committed to promoting accurate information sharing about the new coronavirus, deleting threatening comments to the Benassi and Mr. Webb's several movies. That. However, even if the movie is deleted, the content of the conspiracy theory is spread on the Internet, and sometimes the viewer who saved the movie re-uploads the movie without permission. Mr. Webb's movie seems to be spread with Chinese subtitles on Chinese social media such as

WeChat and Weibo .

Even if the conspiracy theory is completely false, the Benassi couple feel a real threat and fear. Matt said the set of problems could be a new ' Pizza Gate ' and fears that a real-life event could occur someday. In the Pizza Gate case, a pizza store in Washington, DC, has become a hub for trafficking, stemming from the conspiracy theory that people involved in the Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton camp are involved in human trafficking and child sexual abuse. False information spread. Eventually, an alleged man broke into a pizzeria with a rifle and fired.

Matt commented that civilian lawyers were too expensive to pay, so the average person could not afford the cost of civil litigation for harassment. The University of Boston professor Danielle Citron pointed out that the Benassi case is unfortunately uncommon, admitting that law enforcement agencies often do not investigate harassment on the Internet. To deal with cases like this, Citron said the law needs to be changed.