Monday 23 May 2022 04:19 PM Conspiracy theories swirl in China that monkeypox was deliberately leaked by ... trends now

Monday 23 May 2022 04:19 PM Conspiracy theories swirl in China that monkeypox was deliberately leaked by ... trends now
Monday 23 May 2022 04:19 PM Conspiracy theories swirl in China that monkeypox was deliberately leaked by ... trends now

Monday 23 May 2022 04:19 PM Conspiracy theories swirl in China that monkeypox was deliberately leaked by ... trends now

Chinese social media users are saying the US could be the source of the rise in monkeypox cases, which have now spread to at least a dozen countries.

A hashtag on the US reporting two cases of monkeypox has attracted more than 51 million views on the platform as of Monday.

The infectious disease became a tending topic on Weibo after cases were found in the UK, Spain and Australia.

Chinese state media has accused the United States of intentionally spreading Covid-19, which originated in China, but has so far held back from taking the same approach with monkeypox.

Chinese social media users have latched on to an NGO report which modeled a fictional scenario for a monkeypox outbreak as proof the US spread the virus deliberately

Chinese social media users have latched on to an NGO report which modeled a fictional scenario for a monkeypox outbreak as proof the US spread the virus deliberately

The social media speculation is centered around a 2021 report on biosecurity preparedness planning by a US non-government organisation, Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI).

The report suggests a scenario for an outbreak of monkeypox but has been taken out of context by Chinese social media users to suggest the US knew of the pandemic beforehand.

The NTI was created by Ted Turner, an American philanthropist who also used his wealth to create the United Nations Foundation, along with democrat politician Sam Nunn.

The organisation models responses to weapons of mass destruction, focusing on nuclear, cyber, biological, radiological and chemical attacks.

Weibo influencer Shu Chang, who has 6.41 million followers, said the report constituted 'a plan by the US to leak bioengineered monkeypox virus'.

Many Weibo users agreed with her, with more than 7,500 users liking the post, according to Bloomberg.

Monkeypox cases are pictured in the US as of 5/23/2022. As of Friday there were 80 confirmed monkeypox cases worldwide, including at least two in the United States

Monkeypox cases are pictured in the US as of 5/23/2022. As of Friday there were 80 confirmed monkeypox cases worldwide, including at least two in the United States

After the Covid outbreak, the NTI partnered with the Munich Security Conference (MSC) to conduct a tabletop exercise aimed at reducing biological threats.

The example they chose for the exercise was 'an unusual strain of monkeypox virus'.

In the exercise, the two groups modelled the outbreak of the monkeypox strain in a fictional country called 'Brinia' which eventually spreads globally, measured over 18 months.

In the scenario, the initial outbreak was

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