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In a 2006 report to the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, Waddell and Burke cite the influence of the internet on their self-diagnosed Morgellons patients: "physicians are becoming more and more challenged by the many persons who attempt self-diagnosis on-line. In many cases, these attempts are well-intentioned, yet wrong, and a patient's belief in some of these oftentimes unscientific sites online may preclude their trust in the evidence-based approaches and treatment recommendations of their physician." Dermatologist Caroline Koblenzer specifically faults the MRF website for misleading patients, "Clearly, as more and more of our patients discover this site (MRF), there will be an ever greater waste of valuable time and resources on fruitless research into fibers, fluffs, irrelevant bacteria, and innocuous worms and insects."

The LA Times, in an article on Morgellons, notes that "(t)he recent upsurge in symptoms can be traced directly to the Internet, following the naming of the disease by Mary Leitao, a Pennsylvania mother."[49] Robert Bartholomew, a sociologist who has studied the Morgellons phenomenon, states that the "World Wide Web has become the incubator for mass delusion and it (Morgellons) seems to be a socially transmitted disease over the Internet." According to this hypothesis, patients with delusions of parasitosis and other psychological disorders become convinced they have "Morgellons" after reading internet accounts of others with similar symptoms.[50][51] A 2005 Popular Mechanics article stated that Morgellons symptoms are well-known and characterized in the context of other disorders, and that "widespread reports of the strange fibers date back" only a few years to when the MRF first described them on the internet.[48]

The Dallas Observer writes that Morgellons may be spread via the Internet and mass media, and "(i)f this is the case, then Morgellons is one in a long line of weird diseases that have swept through populations, only to disappear without a trace once public concern subsides."[18] The article draws parallels to several mass media-spread mass delusions.

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Some self-identified Morgellons sufferers and various conspiracy theorists provide their own origin hypotheses: "Perhaps it is caused by chemical spills or bio-terror or even alien abductions. On a radio program called Coast to Coast--popular among people who believe in UFOs and ghosts--a New Mexico doctor reports that a former CIA agent told him the disease was caused by the French. A botched government experiment, he says, contaminated the water. All Evian drinkers are at risk."

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Cognitive_Shift said:

I just don't think people are aware of how much the gov't doesn't really care, they will test what ever they are curious about on us.  They did it with LSD  It's totally reasonable, they want to know everything about us so they can't fear us of getting in the way in what ever the hell they wanna do.

It makes sense to me at least.

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On January 2008 the CDC, in conjunction with Kaiser Permanente's Northern California Division of Research, launched a funded study of the unexplained skin condition known as Morgellons. A press conference was held on Jan 16, 2008 with Dr. Michele Pearson, principal investigator for the CDC, and Dr. Joe Selby, Director of Kaiser Permanente's Northern California Division of Research.[34] During the press conference, Dr. Pearson stated: "What I can tell you is real is the suffering that these patients are experiencing. I cannot characterize this as a syndrome, as disease. I can tell you it's an unexplained illness." Clinical examinations for the study will be done in Oakland, California.

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