COVID-19: Conspiracy Theories Are jeopardising Public Health

While modern science offers a better understanding of how diseases infect people and how to control them, conspiracy theories COVID-19 are spreading rapidly through social media, unreliable media and our political leaders, including US President Donald Trump.

The result: Many now believe in conspiracy theories regarding pandemic and, alarmingly, the same people are less likely to take steps to prevent the spread of the virus.

In a study by the University of Pennsylvania Public Policy Centre “Anenberg”, published in September in Social Sciences and Medicine, researchers surveyed an 840 group of American adults first in late March, and then back in mid-July 50 to determine how the beliefs and actions of Americans in the pandemic changed over time. In general, they found that the conspiracy theories COVID-19 are not only common, they are gaining attraction. In March, 28% of people believed in gossip, dismissed, that the Chinese government created the coronavirus as a biological weapon; that number rose to 37% by July. About 24% believed that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention exaggerated the risk of the virus to politically harm Trump, despite lack of evidence; by July, this figure increased to 32%. And in March, about 15% of those surveyed said they believed that the pharmaceutical industry created the virus to increase sales of drugs and vaccines another unbased theory compared to 17% in July.

Whether anyone thinks NASA hired Stanley Kubrick to fake the moon landing has little influence on the world beyond this person. But in the case of an pandemic which requires people to follow public health guidelines so that they can keep each other safe, a conspiracy thought can have disturbing consequences. In fact, the study of “Andenenberg” found that only 62% of people who were most likely to believe in coronobius conspiracies said that they wore a mask every day when they are around other people away from home, compared to 95% of unbelievers. Moreover, people who believe the theories of the conspiracy COVID-19 had 2.2 times less likely to say that they wanted to take a vaccine on Mars; by July, they had 3.5 times less likely to be vaccinated.

The belief in the theories of the pandemic conspiracy appears to be an obstacle to minimising the spread of COVID-19”, Dan Romer, director of the Public Policy Centre “Anenberg” and co-author of the study, said in a statement.

Where are people taking the theories of COVID-19? Believers were more likely to be heavy users of social media and conservative media viewers like Fox News, the study revealed. Meanwhile, people watching other news channels were more likely to follow public health guidelines and wish for vaculation. While researchers say they understand how the theories of pandemic conspiracy are spreading, they say it is still a challenge to get believers to reconsider after they are absorbed in them.

Other studies suggest that simply correcting false information usually does not work, and it may even cause some people to believe even deeper plots. “Conspiracy Theories are difficult to move because they explain events that have not been fully understood, such as the current pandemic, play with the distrust of people against the government and other powerful actors and include accusations that cannot be easily controlled by the facts”, Kathleen Hall Jamieson said coauthor and director of the Public Policy Centre, Annenberg. (TIME)