> the idea that the "disappearance" of flu is driven by political desire to label all respiratory illnesses as covid cases would be an example of a conspiracy theory.

You’d also have to claim that mislabelling was done deliberately for it to be conspiratorial.

I don’t think politically motivated distortions of perception are conspiratorial if those who are prone to mislabel things due to their belief system do so without realizing.

Not saying that’s an applicable explanation for the disappearance of flu, as it seems way too universal, just going further into semantics.