Most popular covid19 conspiracies on Arabic social media:

1) Virus was created by the Jews
2) Virus was created in a US lab by the CIA
3) The virus is punishment for LGBT folks

@IdeasB2 launched a campaign to fight covid19 disinformation

Press release: https://buff.ly/3clGqrt 

Some of this misinformation in Arabic is bolstered directly by the Chinese propaganda machine.

It's extremely well-funded and well-coordinated: https://twitter.com/MsMelChen/status/1250479172281122821

Other aspects of disinformation that are directly harmful to public health come from the religious and cultural realm.

Here are some barriers to fighting covid19 in Iraq:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/14/world/middleeast/iraq-coronavirus-stigma-quarantine.html

Some of the fear surrounding the disease stems from the Muslim rituals surrounding death.

Iraq is not the only Middle Eastern country struggling with the stigma surrounding the virus.

Sadly, low-trust societies face the strongest impediments to tackling a public health crisis.