Why people are drawn to COVID-19 conspiracy theories

ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/why-people-are-drawn-to-covid-19-conspiracy-theories-1.4936176

May 12,
2020

TORONTO -- The COVID-19 pandemic has paved the way for a new kind of
outbreak – one involving conspiracy theories.

Different explanations related to the origin and spread of the novel

coronavirus have been circulating over the past few weeks. This peaked
most recently with the release of a conspiracy theory-laden, documentary-
style video titled ‘Plandemic: The Hidden Agenda Behind COVID-19.’ It sheds
light on the idea that the coronavirus pandemic was planned and that the
virus was developed in a laboratory, which no scientific evidence supports.

Despite its liberal use of misleading information and facts that have not
been scientifically proven, the 26-minute video has reportedly been viewed
millions of times across multiple social media platforms. The question is –
why?

According to Maya Goldenberg, an associate professor of philosophy at the

University of Guelph, much of this interest in COVID-19 conspiracy theories
is related to a sense of fear that many are feeling toward the current global
situation.

“The fact that people are drawn to conspiracy theories speaks to the climate
that people are living in, and right now there's a lot of fear,” she told
CTVNews.ca over the phone on Tuesday. “There's a lot of uncertainty and
unknowns around the COVID-19 virus.”

Not only does much remain unknown about the virus itself, but Goldenberg
also points to the fact that government and health authorities across the
world are constantly adjusting their responses to the pandemic, introducing
new policies to prevent it from spreading. This lack of information and
constant change create a sense of insecurity and anxiety among people, she
said.
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David Black, a communications theorist at Royal Roads University in British
Columbia, explains that because of this, people are searching even more
desperately for answers – ones that not only help make sense of what’s
going on, but are easy to accept.

"Conspiracy theory often is more psychologically pleasing and convenient

[than reality] – it makes simpler sense than a complex phenomenon,” Black
told CTVNews.ca on Monday over the phone. “Its primal simplicity cuts
through the noise and confusion and uncertainty that is the world on a
normal day, but especially during a pandemic."

According to Jonathan Jarry, a biologist and science communication expert at

McGill University, people are predisposed to believing in things that are not
true, mainly because we are incapable of knowing the truth about
everything. He also describes the brain as “a belief engine that has to take
mental shortcuts to ensure our survival,” something especially true in the
context of a global pandemic.

“It's easy for our brain to string together otherwise random observations
and see a link between them even though there isn't any in real life,” Jarry
wrote in an email sent to CTVNews.ca on Monday. “We end up seeing
patterns and harmful agents where there are none.”

Black describes conspiracy theory as “a flawed kind of public understanding

of the way in which things work.” A mix of illogical thought and bad faith
reasoning that takes a social form, it constantly challenges figures of
authority, governments and science. Conspiracy theory, he said, discards
facts that are inconvenient and accepts information that serves itself.

"If you take all the classic errors in logic, put them all together, and then
weaponize it, that's where you get conspiracy – it's like the dark side of
magical thinking,” said Black. “It can have catastrophic consequences.”

POTENTIAL FOR DANGER

Conspiracy theories pose a grave threat to public health, warns Jarry,

especially in the context of a pandemic.
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“They use lies and misinformation to fuel distrust in health authorities during
a time of crisis which, depending on the theory being peddled, could lead to
anti-Asian mistreatment, anti-vaccine sentiment, and an increased spread of
the coronavirus due to the abandoning of protective social norms like
physical distancing,” he wrote.

The harmful impact of conspiracy theories is already being seen. United

Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently said that the virus is
unleashing “a tsunami of hate” across the globe, targeting foreigners. A new
poll has also found that acts of racism related to COVID-19 against people of
Asian heritage is spreading in some of Canada’s largest cities .

Adding fuel to the fire is the fact that some of these theories are being
shared by members of the highest levels of government, explains Black,
particularly those in the Western world. He points to some of the rhetoric
from United States lawmakers as an example of political speech that helps
validate conspiratorial claims.

“It's not unfair to say that, whatever one's views on that administration, the
president and certain of his senior cabinet officials have promulgated
conspiracy theories freely and knowingly, and long before this health crisis,”
said Black.

Those in positions of power promoting these types of ideas, which otherwise

tend to exist on the borders of society, helps make them more mainstream,
explains Goldenberg. This essentially blurs the line between what is real and
what is not.

“The effect is a serious destabilizing of how we used to understand

conspiracy theories,” she said. “Conspiracy theories were always fringe, a
little bit on the outside [of society].

“When you get people in the White House repeating these kinds of
comments, it suddenly becomes less clear which side is the wild side and
which side is the more secure and scientific side.”

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THE ROLE PLAYED BY SOCIAL MEDIA

Popular social media platforms have also played a large role in pulling
conspiracy theories into the mainstream. Black points to the design features
of various platforms like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter as helping to
incubate conspiracy theories by allowing users to aggregate content from
various sources into a single feed.

“Such platforms relativize the authority of information, making fringe

sources seem as real and credible as legitimate ones,” he said. “You're
getting a feed from some source, it could be the [Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention] or Health Canada, or it could be some marginal
person on the corners of the internet who is pushing a conspiracy theory,
but all information looks equally legitimate in social media spaces, it's just
coming through your feed.”

Twitter recently announced a new initiative to help tackle misinformation

surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. On Monday, the social media site
tweeted that it will be introducing new labels and warning messages to add
context to tweets with “disputed or misleading information related to
COVID-19.”

This comes after the company updated its safety policy to ban tweets that
“could place people at a higher risk of transmitting COVID-19.”

Facebook is also taking steps to prevent the spread of misinformation

surrounding COVID-19. According to the social media company, it will be
removing content with claims and conspiracy theories that have been
debunked by the World Health Organization or other credible health
experts.

Despite these efforts, Goldenberg is skeptical that they will do much in the
way of limiting the circulation of false information.

“It'll help a little bit, not to have that information being circulated, but it's not
going to solve all the problems,” she said. “The fact that that information is
out there, the fact that people can share it – in many ways it's a good thing,
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this democratization of knowledge that social media has invited, but this is
the downside of it.”

Black agrees. By still allowing users to curate their own information

environment and choose what they would like to see, this can lead to echo
chambers and filtered realities. People are able to expose themselves only
to information that is either appealing or that they think – or want – to be
true.

“We're often talking to people who believe in the same things that we do,
whether about the moon landing or about vaccinations or about QAnon or
about the Illuminati, you name it,” said Black. "Social media platforms are
ideally suited to a proliferation of conspiracy theory."

RESPONDING TO CONSPIRACY THEORIES

According to Black, the simplest solution to avoid promoting these theories

is to do your homework using legitimate sources.

"Get off your social media platforms – go to a newspaper, go to a

mainstream TV or radio broadcast,” he said. “If you're interested, go to fact-
checking sites that are credible.

“Be a detective in your own life."

Not only should people be critical of what they consume online, advises
Jarry, but they should also be mindful of what they distribute.

“Before you share, think twice; what are the credentials of the person
making the claim? A quick Google search can usually help answer this
question,” he wrote.

Jarry also recommends verifying information by using additional sources to

see what other people are saying on the topic. It’s also important to consider
whether it passes the “smell test,” instead of providing an oversimplified
solution to a problem that is much more complex.

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“When in doubt, don't share on social media and turn to experts and fact-
checking organizations for help.”

In terms of the government’s role in limiting the spread of misinformation,

Goldenberg points to Canada’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic as a
good example of maintaining trust between scientific institutions,
government and the public.

Frequent media briefings held with the prime minister and compelling
science communication by health authorities like Dr. Theresa Tam help the
government build trust with members of the public, she explains. This is
done through communicating often and honestly about decisions that are
made and reasons for them as well as areas that can be improved.

“The picture we get here is of a very socially responsive and scientifically

informed government and that is building public trust and that's how you
counter the effect of conspiracy theories,” said Goldenberg. “You have to
keep the relationships between public and scientific institutions strong so
that people don't get distracted by the alternative theories.”

With files from CTVNews.ca's Brooklyn Neustaeter

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