A buddy forwarded a video with this heading to me:

"Top Doctor EXPOSES EVERYTHING The Deep State Is Trying To Hide About CV"

He added, "I think there is some evil going on out there multiple versions of the same virus, iranian virus the most severe, Israel's biggest enemy iran."

Here is my response:

Jake, please tell me you don't believe in "deep state" conspiracy theories! Jesus!

If there are multiple versions of COVID 19, is that so surprising? Viruses mutate all the time! That's what they do!

We still have much to learn about COVID-19, but the differences in infection & death rates between countries is probably mostly due to differences in social behavior. In Italy and Iran it is customary to kiss both cheeks when greeting. And not taking the threat seriously, they resisted modification of that behavior until after the virus had silently spread to a lot of individuals. Apparently the disease has a fairly long latent stage. People can walk around shedding viruses for days without demonstrating any symptoms.

When attempting to assess the validity of any conspiracy theory, we should not hesitate to make use of Occam's razor. It is a principle that basically says the simplest explanation is usually the correct one.

Conspiracies are intrinsically complicated. A real and effective conspiracy requires that a great number of people (insiders) successfully keep a secret. That is hugely difficult. We all know that people are very bad at keeping secrets.

For example, just look at the Trump Administration's inability to keep its secrets, even among a relatively small group of insiders. A widening circle of Whitehouse and Pentagon staffers were catching on to the attempt to coerce Ukraine into launching a political witch hunt against Biden; a whistle blower appeared; then multiple Administration officials came forward, verifying all.  Ambassador Gordon Sondlin testified that there was indeed a quid pro quo. Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney told reporters that political favors were routinely sought from foreign powers, and we should all "get over it." Senate Republicans saved Trump's ass  by blocking National Security Advisor John Bolton from testifying. Even so, the truth that Trump personally directed the effort to use the US Treasury to extort (bribe) a personal favor from Ukraine came out. This was a relatively small-scale conspiracy, and they still could not keep it a secret.

Your typical conspiracy theory begins with one individual who claims to have an insider's view. They "blow the lid off" this or that set of "secrets." Motives may vary. It could be to forward a political agenda. It could be to target an enemy. Usually it's about money. The conspiracy theorist creates online "click bait" to garner attention, which is then translated into advertising dollars.

This explanation is far more simple than the conspiracy theory: one or a few craven individuals cynically use mass media to play upon the fears and well-known propensity of people to buy into conspiracy theories in order to enrich themselves.

Occasionally the hand of fate dramatically whisks away the mask, revealing the stark and simple truth: that the whole lurid story was fabricated from whole cloth. The "Pizzagate" case is one such example. The theory that Hillary Clinton was involved in a child exploitation ring headquartered in the basement of a D.C. pizza parlor fell spectacularly apart when a credulous person (Edgar Welch, now serving four years in federal prison) naively went to investigate the restaurant (at the urging of Alex Jones, of Infowars) with three guns. The shooting and his subsequent arrest led to the general acknowledgment that the restaurant has no basement.

It takes very little time or effort or talent for a cynical slob (Alex Jones is a shining example) to record a video and post it online, but if their post goes viral, the rewards ($$$$$) can be substantial. Why slave away at an honest living when you can cash in on mass gullibility?

Unfortunately, this is the world we live in now. The internet is not "free." It is paid for with advertising dollars. And there are lots of cynical, lazy, mendacious, assholes chasing those dollars. You want to get to the bottom of the issue? Follow the money!