Global health talks clouded by conspiracy theories about pandemic treaty
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Global health leaders gathered in Geneva on Sunday to discuss the pandemic are facing another viral problem: a visceral, passionate online backlash that falsely accuses the World Health Organization of conspiring to take power from national governments.
The World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of the WHO’s 194 member states, is holding its first fully in-person event in two years as some coronavirus-related restrictions are lifted. While the assembly, now in its 75th year, is usually considered a dry, technocratic event, this year it is being framed by conspiracy theorists as a key moment in the battle between democracy and tyranny.
The theories focus largely on the discussion of a “pandemic treaty” — a potential agreement that could one day regulate how countries prepare for and respond to future pandemics. Though such a treaty will not be agreed upon at the assembly, the backlash has spread fast and far beyond the world of global health.
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