As soon as monkeypox cases rose in the U.S. this summer and the disease entered the public consciousness, wild —and false — claims began to spread almost as fast as the virus: It's only sexually transmitted, only gay men can get it, the virus is new and was created in a lab as a bioweapon, it's a mutation of COVID-19.
But such errant claims have become so rampant online that the New Jersey Department of Homeland Security has added monkeypox to its "Disinformation Portal" — a website that seeks to counter "any truth-obscuring, manufactured information" spread via social media and other sources.
As with COVID-19, monkeypox has touched political and cultural nerves, while also spawning a tidal wave of false information. “With the latest monkeypox outbreak, we want to avoid a repeat of events, where incorrect information spreads quickly across communities," said Laurie Doran, the Homeland Security director.
The portal's page on monkeypox doesn't go in-depth on debunking myths surrounding monkeypox. So here's a Q&A on some basic questions about the virus.
Anyone can.
But the vast majority of those infected thus far are gay and bisexual men, according to multiple health organizations and studies.
Health officials have been trying to balance giving out clear scientific information as they learn it while also avoiding the stigmatization, condemnation and homophobia that erupted in the 1980s during the AIDS crisis, when the virus was incorrectly labeled...
"I will note that in 2024, troops were -- that was Joe Biden by the way, Joe Biden -- were deployed to polling locations in 15 states," Hegseth said April 29, 2026 before the House of Representati...