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Brian with his wife Erin, who died this month
A taxi driver in Florida, who falsely believed that coronavirus was a hoax, lost his wife to Covid-19.
Brian Lee Hitchens and his wife, Erin, had read claims online that the virus was fabricated, linked to 5G or similar to the flu.
The couple did not seek health counseling or seek help when they became ill in early May. Brian returned, but his 46-year-old wife became critically ill and died this month from heart problems linked to the virus.
Brian spoke to the BBC in July as part of a study into the human cost of coronavirus traffic information. Then his wife was on a ventilator in the hospital.
Deadly conspiracy theories
Erin, a pastor in Florida, had existing health problems – she suffered from asthma and a sleep disorder.
Her husband explained that the couple did not follow health guidance at the beginning of the pandemic because of the false claims they saw online.
Brian continued to work as a taxi driver and collect his wife’s medication without following social distance rules or wearing a mask.
They were also unable to seek help as soon as possible when they became ill in May and both were later diagnosed with Covid-19.
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Brian and Erin both came across conspiracy theories on Facebook
Brian told BBC News he “wanted to [he’d] heard from the beginning “and hoped that his wife would forgive him.
“This is a real virus that affects people differently. I can not change the past. I can only live today and make better choices for the future,” Brian explained.
“She is not suffering anymore, but in peace. I am going through times that miss her, but I know she is in a better place.”
“This thing is real”
Brian said he and his wife did not have a firm belief in Covid-19. Instead, they switch between thinking that the virus was a hoax, linked to 5G technology, as a real but mild disease. They came across these theories on Facebook.
“We thought the government was using it to distract us,” Brian explained, “if it had to do with 5G.”
But after the couple fell ill with the virus in May, Brian took to Facebook in a viral post to explain that he was misled by what he had seen online about the virus.
“If you have to go out, use wisdom and do not be mad like I was, that the same thing will not happen to you as it happened to me and my wife,” he wrote.
In May, a BBC team that found incorrect information about coronavirus tracking links to attacks, arson and deaths.
Doctors and experts have warned that the potential for indirect damage caused by rumors, conspiracy theories and poor health information remains enormous online – especially as anti-vaccination conspiracies are spread on social media.
While social media companies have tried to address incorrect information about coronavirus on their platforms, critics argue that more needs to be done in the coming months.
A Facebook spokesperson told the BBC: “We do not allow malicious misinformation on our platforms and between April and June we removed more than seven million pieces of malicious Covid-19 malicious information, including claims regarding false cures or suggestions that social distance does not effective. “
