According to recent UN report, Al-Qaeda and ISIS related groups are spreading conspiracy theories on Coronavirus saying that the virus is punishing the unbelievers, that it is God’s wrath upon the West and incites terrorists to use it as a form of biological weapon.
The report titled Stop the virus of disinformation: the malicious use of social media by terrorist, violent extremist and criminal groups during the COVID-19 pandemic was released by the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) on Wednesday.
It said that criminals and violent extremists are exploiting the pandemic to build their support networks, undermine trust in government and even weaponise the virus.
The rport said: “Groups associated with ISIL and Al-Qaeda have also spread conspiracy theories that assert that the virus is a soldier of Allah that is punishing the unbelievers and the enemies that have damaged Muslims over the last years.”
According to the report, the researchers examined three groups of non-State actors: right-wing extremists; groups associated with the ISIS or Da”esh terror group and al-Qaeda; and organized crime groups.
