Finance blog Zero Hedge was banned from Twitter after it doxxed a Chinese scientist and claimed they created the Wuhan coronavirus
- Financial blog Zero Hedge had its Twitter account permanently suspended on Friday after it published an article doxxing a Chinese scientist, and claiming that they created the deadly Wuhan coronavirus.
- The story was first reported on Friday by Buzzfeed.
- "The account was permanently suspended for violating our platform manipulation policy," a Twitter spokesperson told Buzzfeed.
- Zero Hedge also published the scientist's email address and phone number.
- Business Insider is not publishing the name of the scientist.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Financial blog Zero Hedge had its Twitter account permanently suspended on Friday after it published an article doxxing a Chinese scientist, and claiming that they created the deadly Wuhan coronavirus.
The story was first reported on Friday by Buzzfeed.
The article, titled "Is This The Man Behind The Global Coronavirus Pandemic?" was published Wednesday, and speculated that a scientist working at Wuhan's Institute of Virology released the virus, which it said was developed in a lab.
"If anyone wants to find out what really caused the coronavirus pandemic that has infected thousands of people in China and around the globe, they should probably pay [the scientist's name] a visit."
Business Insider is not publishing the name of the scientist named by Zero Hedge. Zero Hedge also published the scientist's email address and phone number.
"The account was permanently suspended for violating our platform manipulation policy," a spokesperson for Twitter said in a statement to BuzzFeed.
Zero Hedge's story describes official theories for the spread of the virus as a "fabricated farce."
Below is a short extract from the Zero Hedge story:
"The real reason behind the viral spread is because a weaponized version of the coronavirus (one which may have originally been obtained from Canada), was released by Wuhan's Institute of Virology (accidentally or not), a top, level-4 biohazard lab which was studying 'the world's most dangerous pathogens'."
The story from Zero Hedge provides no specific evidence that the lab is responsible for the virus' spread, beyond citing a Chinese language press release that says the scientist is currently studying why bats which carry the coronavirus don't get sick.
Buzzfeed's story notes that "studying a form of a virus strain found in animals is a standard way to make vaccines, whether for the flu or polio."
Brandon Brown, an associate professor at the University of California, Riverside, and a member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the International Society of Vaccines, and the Global Health Council told Buzzfeed: "One reason why this institute would be doing immune research would be to prevent what we are seeing right now with the novel coronavirus outbreak."
The coronavirus outbreak, which is believed to have originated in a wet market in the city of Wuhan, has now infected almost 12,000 people and killed 259. Cases have been reported in the US, UK, and around 20 other countries outside China.
The virus, officially known as 2019-nCoV, can spread from human to human and has infected some people who have not recently traveled to Wuhan.
Zero Hedge is best known for its sensationalist headlines and bearish outlook on the world.