Last Updated on May 26, 2022 by Neelam Singh
Quick Take
Various social media users are highlighting the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) report, which suggests that the monkeypox outbreak was planned. We fact-checked and found this claim to be False.
The Claim
Various social media users are claiming that the monkeypox outbreak was planned as established by the NTI. The NTI paper says that NTI partnered with the Munich Security Conference in March 2021 for a tabletop exercise (www.ready.gov/exercises) on reducing “high-consequence biological threats”. It puts a scenario design summary for a fictional country named Brinia that predicts the timeline for the worldwide spread including the outbreak deaths and key issues.
Several social media posts are sharing this report claiming that the outbreak was planned.
Fact check
Is Monkeypox a genetically engineered virus?
No. There is no scientific evidence that proves Monkeypox is a genetically engineered virus. The discovery of Monkeypox goes back to the 1950s. According to the CDC, it was first discovered in 1958 when two outbreaks of a pox-like disease occurred in colonies of monkeys kept for research, hence the name ‘monkeypox’.
Was the Monkeypox outbreak planned?
No. There is no substantial evidence that supports this claim. Increased alertness to any new outbreaks post-covid is a reason why such claims spread more often now. Various factors, such as increased global travel as well as climate change, have accelerated the emergence and spread of viruses. The Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) report describes a fictional scenario with a fictional country called ‘Brinia’ that is under a terrorist attack “using a pathogen engineered in a laboratory with inadequate biosafety and biosecurity provisions and weak oversight.” This was a Pandemic preparedness scenario and symposiums that don’t prove that pandemics are planned. They help in preparing for the worst-case scenario.
THIP Media has already busted few claims related to Monkeypox. Therefore, the claim remains false until there is enough evidence to prove it otherwise.
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