What do the conspiracy theories teach us?

In 331 B.C.E., something unusual was happening in Rome. Throughout the city, the most prominent men were becoming seriously ill and almost all were dying. The losses were as disturbing as alarming. One day, a slave girl approached a street judge and said in a low voice that she knew the reason for those deaths. The girl took a team of investigators to various homes, where she claimed that they would find some high class women who prepared poisons in secret. Team action. The accused were taken to Rome's central square, where they were asked to prove their innocence. Since they claimed that their drugs were for healing purposes, would they be willing to drink themselves? Two of the suspects were forced to drink, immediately falling dead. Numerous arrests followed, and 170 other women were found to be involved in the event. The incident was named a major scandal. After that event, the people of Rome chose an official who would devote himself to the rituals of expulsion of evil, a tactic that had previously been used only as the ultimate solution to major civil unrest.

At least that was the version of events recorded by respected historian Titus Livi, who was born hundreds of years later. But he wasn't convinced that those women were actually responsible for the deaths, and they're not even convinced by modern experts. Instead, Liv gave a far more rational explanation for mysterious deaths - an epidemic. At that time, the city was involved in an unknown epidemic, a common cause of death in the ancient world. On the other hand, massive poisonings were unprecedented. In fact, it was true that women in question were preparing medicine, but the rest of the story was devised. The infamous effects of 331 B.C.E. It is thought to be a conspiracy theory to explain the deaths that had an invisible cause. And, in the midst of current pandemic, this scenario is very popular. Since early April, at least 77 telephone antennas and 40 engineers have been physically attacked in Great Britain, as some people believe the misconception that Covid-19 is being spread by powerful forces in the global telecommunications industry.

Now such gossip has spread to the U.S., where authorities fear it could lead to further acts of violence. Why do these alternative stories spread? What makes a conspiracy of the masses a theory? And can we learn anything from the problems we face?

First, successful conspiracy theories have always found the appropriate “guilty”. Victoria Pagan, a historian at the University of Chicago in the United States, thinks that the success of the conspiracy of poisoning in Rome was based on the fact that he targeted women and slaves of high class families whom the powerful male elites considered to be threatening their positions. Since civilization relied heavily on the exploitation of both groups, men were constantly concerned that their subordinates would rebel. Women with high status were viewed with suspicion and portrayed with many secrets and as dangerous. On the other hand, slaves were known to have often killed their masters.

In the modern world, it is no coincidence that popular conspiracy theories tend to address topics such as aliens, religious minorities, powerful elites, rival nations, mysterious technologies and environmental destruction. And every society has its own anxieties and obsessions, where the theories of the plot enter.

In Romania, many women refuse to have their daughters vaccinated against HPV is responsible for 99 percent of cervical cancer cases. There are several reasons for this rejection. But one study has shown that the main thing is the abundance of conspiracy theories, including the idea that vaccines are an attempt to control the population of the world, making women infertile, and that it is a medical experiment by pharmaceutical industry, although there is no evidence of either.

This factor fits with another common element in the most popular conspiracy theories. They make us feel good about our social grouping, often ignoring those we view as rivals. Stressing the differences between our “group” and “outside our” group, conspiracy theories can lead to stronger social ties, and create a sense of protection against people who are perceived as threats.

Some studies suggest that people turn to conspiracy theories when faced with crisis situations. The idea that 5G technology and other previous mobile phone networks are somewhat harmful to our health has circulated for at least 30 years. However, the appearance of a new mysterious coronavirus in December 2019 forced it into the spotlight.

In times of crisis, we are likely to turn to conspiracy theories, viewing them as a provider. Some psychologists have compared such theories to religious beliefs, which help us to feel more under the control of the situation by analyzing many unpredictable or random events, making them appear somewhat predetermined or dictated by human hands.

The main theories of the plot tend to respond to vague or mysterious events from the inexplicable fall of a plane to the sudden deaths of celebrities. Where authorities cannot, or do not know how to provide more information, these information gaps combine with general distrust, or direct the public to people who claim to have an answer.

When scientist Andrew Wakefield claimed in the 1990s that MMR vaccine could cause childhood autism, it took decades of scientific research to determine beyond reasonable doubt that there is no scientific basis for this claim. Meanwhile, the conspiracy theory had caused serious damage to the health of many youths.

As our societies change, so are the theories of plots. Russell Muirhead, politicalologist at Dartmouth College in the United States, is concerned about the direction these theories are taking. According to him, they are spread by people who are on the outskirts of society, and they are a weapon of the powerless to look for accounts of the almighty.

Today, however, such theories are being supported by the very powerful. Since the beginning of the David-19 pandemic, many leaders have publicly supported the theories of the plot, which are very compatible with their agendas. For example, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly suggested that he has seen evidence that the Coronavirus originated in a Chinese laboratory, while his intelligence agencies claim there is no evidence of that.

In book “Many people are saying”, in which Muirhead is coauthor, is talking about a second new trend in the conspiracy world: mindless plots, such as the theory of a U.S. pedophile network, based on the basement of a pizza in Washington, where there was actually no basement.

Muirhead says part of the problem is that people have gradually lost confidence in powerful experts, governments and institutions. To regulate the system, he suggests we have to re-legitimate democracy, reform our governments, and train our institutions to deal with this phenomenon. /Burimation (with cuts) from: “BBC Futre” /In Albanian by: The world.al/