One of Germany’s top virologists has become a hate figure for conspiracy theorists and the anti-lockdown movement, leading to an ugly spat with the country’s top-selling newspaper and exposing a growing rift over the role of scientists in fighting the pandemic. Christian Drosten, a world-leading expert on coronaviruses, has advised Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government on COVID-19 measures credited with bringing the outbreak under control by early May and keeping the death toll relatively low.