A group of unvaccinated attendees at a huge conspiracy conference in Dallas have fallen ill in the weeks since. While the obvious explanation would be that they have developed Covid-19, a pandemic virus that has left the world reeling for two years, they believe something else is causing their Covid-like symptoms: anthrax.
The extreme right-wing conspiracy theorists began circulating the claim after dozens who attended the ReAwaken America tour in Dallas on 10 December began experiencing symptoms indicative of Covid-19.
The event several conservative figures famous in the conspiracy world, including former President Donald Trump's former national security advisor Michael Flynn, right-wing hatchet-man Rodger Stone, MyPillowCEO and election obsessive Mike Lindell, and the former president's own son, Eric.
Dave Clements, a friend of one of the conference speakers, Joe Oltmann, said that his friend and others who spent time in the conference green room were "suffering from symptoms related to an anthrax attack."
Mr Oltmann made similar claims on his Conservative Daily podcast earlier this week. During the video, Mr Oltmann can be seen coughing and sneezing, common symptoms of a number of ailments, including Covid-19.
The podcast host was confident in his claims that he is the victim of an anthrax attack, claiming there was a "99 per cent chance" that the hazardous substance was used against him and the others in the green room.
Another member of the right-wing conspiracy movement, Jovan Pulitzer, reported experiencing severe symptoms which also matched those associated with Covid-19, as well as "body lesions and weeping skin."
Mr Jovan's flavour of conspiracy theory is mostly rooted in election lies; he was a prominent figure in the Maricopa County election audit, which failed to do anything but confirm Joe Biden had won the 2020 election. During the audit he served as a consultant for the Trump-friendly private firm that conducted the audit, Cyber Ninjas.
Despite the confidence of the conspiracy theorists that they've been attacked with anthrax, none have provided any evidence for their claims. Some users who saw videos of the conference commented on a fog machine that was used during the event and claimed it was the vehicle for introducing anthrax into the event.
Anthrax symptoms include fever and chills, the swelling of the neck or neck glands, sore throat, painful swallowing, hoarseness, nausea, bloody vomit and diarrhea and headaches. Many of these symptoms, particularly the ones associated with the respiratory system, are also the symptoms of Covid-19.
According to health officials, the now-dominant Covid-19 variant, Omicron, is highly transmissible.
That theory seems unlikely, as there have been no reports that numerous people are suffering from anthrax symptoms in the greater Dallas area.
Other conspiracy theorists picked up and amplified the claims to their own social media followers. One of the individuals signal-boosting the claims is the man many believe to be the elusive "Q," Ron Watkins. Mr Watkins – the subject of HBO's Q: Into the Storm documentary series – recently launched a Congressional campaign in the state of Arizona.
He asked for "prayers" for all of the individuals affected by the alleged anthrax attack.
