When the Ebola outbreak hit West Africa, the world was already buzzing with fear, but the pandemic also sparked a wave of wild speculation. Below you’ll find the 10 ridiculous conspiracy theories that people spun about the disease, each more outlandish than the last. Buckle up for a roller‑coaster of imagination, misinformation, and plain‑old fear‑mongering.
10 Ridiculous Conspiracy Overview
10 America Manufactured Ebola
Delaware State University professor Cyril Broderick sent a letter to Liberia’s Daily Observer in September, accusing the United States of engineering the Ebola virus. According to Broderick, Ebola is a genetically altered organism that the U.S. weaponised and trialed in Africa under the pretense of vaccine distribution. He also implicated Canada, the United Kingdom and France as co‑conspirators, and even suggested that the WHO and the UN were somehow tangled in the plot.
Broderick’s evidence leans heavily on Leonard Horowitz, a vocal anti‑vaccination activist who also claims American scientists invented AIDS. He also cites a speculative conspiracy‑theory article and the nonfiction classic The Hot Zone, which in reality offers no support for his assertions.
Delaware State University did not dismiss Broderick or impose discipline for his outlandish claims. The administration stated that he is free to voice personal opinions outside of work, while clarifying that the university does not endorse his letter and that he lacks expertise on the subject.
9 The Ebola Virus Doesn’t Exist
A former nurse sparked a violent uprising at a Sierra Leone hospital after telling a crowd that Ebola was a complete fabrication. She alleged the outbreak was merely a cover for doctors to conduct cannibalistic rituals inside the facility.
The claim rapidly gained traction. In Sierra Leone and neighboring nations, deep‑seated mistrust of hospitals is common, with many patients preferring traditional healers over foreign medical staff. One infected woman was taken from a treatment centre by relatives and handed to a traditional healer; she later died en route to the nearest hospital.
By late July, the unrest escalated: crowds threatened to torch clinics and forcibly remove Ebola patients. At that point, Sierra Leone held the highest patient count, prompting police to guard the main hospital in Kenema. Tear gas was deployed, and a nine‑year‑old boy was accidentally shot. The turmoil also caused Samaritan’s Purse to suspend its outreach after its workers were attacked while attempting to retrieve a patient.
8 Saltwater Cures Ebola
Across parts of Nigeria, a bogus remedy circulated claiming that drinking saltwater could ward off Ebola. In reality, ingesting large amounts of saltwater leads to severe dehydration and can be fatal. At least four individuals, who were otherwise healthy and lived far from any outbreak zone, died after attempting this “cure.”
The World Health Organization issued a warning against unverified treatments, especially those spread via social media. They urged people to seek care from qualified health centres and professionals rather than relying on internet‑borne rumors.
Nevertheless, deep mistrust persists. One man told the Wall Street Journal that because he had never personally witnessed a death from Ebola, he believed the disease to be nothing more than a rumor.
7 God’s Wrath
In July, over a hundred Christian leaders gathered in Monrovia, Liberia’s capital, to discuss a response to Ebola. After a full day of deliberation, they unanimously declared that God was angry with Liberia and had dispatched Ebola as divine punishment for sins such as corruption and homosexuality.
The group advocated for a three‑day national fast and prayer, urging the government to shut down operations during this period. A prominent Liberian Muslim cleric, Sheikh Salah Sheriff of the Salafia Mosque, echoed these sentiments, blaming the outbreak on sins including fornication, adultery, armed robbery, general wickedness, and disrespect for authorities. While he advised followers to heed medical guidance to avoid infection, he insisted that true victory over Ebola required fearing God rather than the virus.
6 Witchcraft
Another pervasive rumor in West Africa attributes Ebola to witchcraft, casting the disease as a supernatural death sentence. This belief undermines treatment efforts, even though medical care can halt spread and sometimes save lives.
For instance, when Doctors Without Borders transported two ill sisters to a hospital in eastern Guinea, both lost hope and resigned themselves to death. Their 12‑year‑old daughter, Rose, refused to accept the witchcraft narrative. She encouraged her mother and aunt, staying upbeat and ensuring they followed medical advice. All three eventually recovered, a rare bright spot amid widespread despair.
Beyond individual cases, the witchcraft myth fuels ostracism. Families often avoid visiting hospitalized patients, especially children, out of fear, despite doctors urging regular contact. The belief also deters many from seeking professional help, as some refuse treatment altogether, convinced that curses, not viruses, are responsible for the fatalities.
5 Doctors Are Purposely Infecting People With Ebola
In certain villages, the suspicion extends beyond distrust to the belief that medical personnel are deliberately spreading Ebola. This fear can lead to villagers confronting or even threatening doctors who attempt to provide care.
One extreme example occurred in Kolo Bengou, Guinea, where residents blocked roads with logs to stop Doctors Without Borders from entering. Their obstruction allowed the disease to proliferate further. The rumor that “witch doctors” possess cures compounds the lack of confidence in legitimate medical professionals.
4 It Started With An Evil Snake
A bizarre tale recounts a woman at the Guinea‑Sierra Leone border carrying a bag. When someone opened the bag, they saw a snake inside; the woman died instantly, and the next person who looked at the snake also perished. The serpent slithered away, and the story claims this was how Ebola entered Sierra Leone.
While the narrative sounds fantastical, it loosely mirrors the factual origin of the outbreak, which is believed to have begun in Guinea before spreading to Sierra Leone.
Believers in the “Ebola snake” assert that those showing symptoms are not ill but cursed, reinforcing the supernatural explanation.
3 Ebola Is Spread By White Demon Worshipers
An image that surfaced on a Nigerian website in September featured an anime‑style nurse clutching a skull, dubbed “Ebola‑Chan.” The article claimed that cults in Europe and America worship this figure as a goddess, performing blood sacrifices and consuming victims’ hearts. Supposedly, these cultists enlist doctors to deliberately infect patients while masquerading as caregivers.
The post did not originate from a concerned Nigerian; it was traced back to a user on 4chan, where “Ebola‑Chan” exists as a meme. Participants on the board are instructed to thank the character and jest about exterminating Africans.
Although it’s unclear whether any Nigerians were duped by the page, most internet hoaxes inevitably fool at least someone.
2 An Ebola Bomb
Cambridge biological anthropologist Dr. Peter Walsh warned that terrorists could fashion bombs containing powdered Ebola virus. He told a UK tabloid that such a device could devastate a major British city, a concern heightened by the fact that Ebola rarely reaches the UK.
In reality, while bioterrorism remains a theoretical threat, Ebola is an unlikely choice for weaponisation. Unlike many pathogens, Ebola is neither airborne nor waterborne, and it is far less contagious than most viruses, making it a poor candidate for mass‑destruction attacks.
1 The Ebola Crisis Will Launch The New World Order
The most outlandish theory alleges that a shadowy New World Order elite engineered Ebola to depopulate Earth, targeting a staggering five billion people to achieve a “manageable” population size.
According to this narrative, the elite employ three primary tactics for depopulation: engineered famine via unsustainable development, fabricated wars, and manufactured diseases. They supposedly hoard cures, releasing them only to themselves.
The claim asserts that Ebola was created to thin Africa’s numbers, with the rest of the world slated as the next target. The news of an Ebola case in Dallas, USA, allegedly fueled the theory further.
Estelle, a resident of Gauteng, South Africa, admits she enjoys conspiracy chatter, but these particular ideas are far beyond the pale.