In the whirlwind of news about the novel coronavirus pandemic, it can be hard to figure out what’s a scam or rumor and what’s vital information. The ways in which the COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, has transformed the way we work and keep ourselves entertained already feels unreal. So, I decided to take a look at an interesting article published on 20 March, by The Verge. They interviewed John Cook, a cognitive science researcher at George Mason University and one of the authors of a new Conspiracy Theory Handbook. A big fan of acronyms, Cook came up with a handy one to recognize when you or someone you know might be headed down a conspiracy theory rabbit hole and how to “inoculate” ourselves and others against it.
When asked about why conspiracy theories worry him, John Cook stated; “They’re not always just a guy with a tinfoil hat in his basement talking on his laptop. It can be actual governments intentionally constructing conspiracy theories for strategic reasons. And so, when you have governments pushing out all these conspiracy theories, they’re quite distracting. It’s not what we need when we need governments all working together to address a global pandemic like this.”
So, when you have conspiracy theories spreading around, one of the things it does is it erodes public trust in institutions, particularly government institutions and medical institutions, who provide accurate information. One way that that can cause damage is then the public doesn’t follow the advice that comes from these institutions. “So, if you have the CDC advising the public to maintain social distancing, don’t gather in public events, don’t go to restaurants, don’t go to concerts or pubs. People are distrusting that advice because it comes from a mainstream institution, then the conspiracy theories are now distracting. And that has direct implications because people start behaving in ways that not only endanger themselves but endanger the public in general”, said Cook.
According to John Cook an empathetic approach is key for having a genuine conversation with people; “There’s a range of different solutions that we list in the handbook. And I think that the general principle that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” applies. It’s better to inoculate people preemptively against conspiracy theories rather than trying to go in afterward and undo the damage. It’s easier to inoculate people against getting infected by a conspiracy theory, rather than trying to convince the conspiracy theorists that the conspiracy theory is not true. But also, when you do address conspiracy theories, do it in a way that doesn’t reinforce or promote them.
Basically, inoculation is delivering misinformation in a weakened form by explaining how it can’t be true and explaining what the facts are instead. For example, with the conspiracy theory that the novel coronavirus was created in a lab, scientists have found that it has natural origins. If your goal is to convince conspiracy theorists, then an empathetic approach is necessary just to have a genuine dialogue.”
While the coronavirus pandemic has isolated family and friends inside their homes, it has in many cases increased online or over-the-phone communication with loved ones, so the Conspiracy Theory Handbook can be very helpful for people in this tough time.
Meral Musli Tajroska – Psychologist, Consultant on violent extremism and radicalization, activist for gender equality.
Image Credit: https://pixabay.com/illustrations/mind-peace-peace-of-mind-unity-2176566/
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This project was funded in part through a U.S. Embassy grant. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed herein are those of the implementers/authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Government.
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