The idea of thinking that you COVID-19 pandemicA hoax may be used in some way to allow individuals to engage with more complex conspiracies, according to a group of researchers at Ohio State University.
Recent analysis of two longitudinal studies that followed participant beliefs in different theories shows that mistrust in experts over real-world events can rapidly turn into widespread acceptance of conspiracy theories that don’t have strong evidence.
This is called conspiracist theory. It measures someone’s confidence that they can explain events using the power of groups to alter outcomes in an unlikely, or near impossible, way. For the study’s purpose, the researchers considered conspiracy theories to be beliefs that aren’t supported by any evidence – and which are actually contradicted by the evidence that does exist.
These are not just words. The MoonLanding was staged in order to make people believe that legitimate elections are rigged.
COVID-19 is a case in point. There are conspiracy theories that the government and media exaggerated the pandemic, as well as the belief that there was an epidemic. ViralA particular agency released the information on purpose for sinister purposes.
“It’s speculative, but it appears that once people adopt one conspiracy belief, it promotes distrust in institutions more generally – it could be government, science, the media, whatever,” says psychologist Russell FazioFrom The Ohio State University.
“Once you begin to view events through this distrustful lens, it is very easy to accept additional conspiracy theories.”
The analysis was conducted on two different studies. The first questioned 107 participants about their beliefs. It was conducted in June 2020. A second study examined how people who thought COVID-19 was a hoax had progressed in conspiracist ideastion. It was done in December.
Statistics showed that people who believed the following: SARS-CoV-2Whether the virus was intentionally released or the severity of the COVID-19 epidemics was exaggerated, they were more likely to doubt the official results of 2020 US elections. In addition, the conspiratorial-minded group members showed an increase in conspiratorial thought between June to December.
The second study used public data from 1,037 respondents, which was conducted between March 2020-December 2020. The belief that the pandemic had been a hoax predicted a rise of conspiracist ideas over the course the year.
“If you read interviews and forums that are frequented by conspiracy theory theorists, it is a phenomenon where people tend go down the rabbithole after something happens in life that triggers interest in conspiracy theories.” says psychologist Javier Granados SamayoaFrom The Ohio State University.
“With COVID-19 there was a large event that no one could control. So how can they make sense? You can do this by believing conspiracy theories.
We don’t yet know why people are drawn to conspiracy theories or how these beliefs may change over time. There are links Personality typeThere are many unanswered questions.
Although these theories may sound harmless hokum, they’re not. Conspiracy theory has been spreading rapidly. It is associated withAn increased risk of violence, discrimination and poor health choices.
This research suggests that financial hardship during the pandemic may have been one trigger for conspiratorial thinking – and identifying these triggers is going to be crucial in limiting the harm that these theories can do.
“These findings demonstrate that we must be prepared for any additional large scale events like COVID-19 to stop conspiracist ideastion. People can fall down the rabbithole and get stuck,” says Granados Samayoa.
The research was published in PLOS One.
