[ClumsyPilot]

> a conspiracy theory peddler.

What conspiracy? It’s a theory of lost knowledge / confusion, but no one is conspiring with anyone.

[boxed]

He asked for a citation. Please provide one.

[moomin]

Okay, I just jumped down a rabbit hole trying to figure out what OP might mean. I think they’ve got it sideways. I think they’re talking about vaccinia, a virus related to cowpox (and smallpox) that form the basis of modern smallpox vaccines. The origin of the virus is, entertainingly, lost to time due to poor record keeping.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccinia

There’s also “kinepox”, but I _think_ that’s just a different method of cowpox vaccine delivery.

[jes5199]

I’m not sure what’s sideways, how is this different from what I said?

[moomin]

Actually, you’re right. With the links it’s clear.

[jes5199]

I commented with links to wikipedia’s relevant sections

[Thorrez]

If scientists found out that it wasn't cowpox and then conspired to keep that fact secret, or conspired to say "we all knew it wasn't cowpox from the beginning", that would be a conspiracy.