Conspiracy Theories

Did you hear that the Coronavirus started because people were eating bats? Or that it is a biochemical product released by the government? Or that it can be cured by spraying yourself with disinfectant? Each of these statements are false, a conspiracy theory developed by people looking to make sense of something they don’t understand.

During this timely lesson, we will look at scams and conspiracy theories and determine their role in our evolution. We will discuss theories on why people can believe alternative theories, and why this was important in our past. We will then look at the conspiracy theories and scams surrounding the Coronavirus, and offer some tips on determining the truth behind them. Don’t let the false information cloud the facts behind this dangerous and deadly pandemic.

A conspiracy theory is a theory that rejects the standard explanation for an event and instead credits a covert group or organization with carrying out a secret plot. It can be extended to an idea that many political events or trends are products of deceptive plots largely unknown to the general public.

By definition, the mere act of defining it as a conspiracy theory gives it permission to be unsupported by facts, and more of a speculation.

Conspiracy theories are not new. Evolutionary psychologist Mark van Vugt and Jan-Willem van Prooijen discussed their history in their paper entitled “Conspiracy Theories: Evolved Functions and Psychological Mechanisms”.

While some have suggested that conspiracy theories are pathological (Hofstadtler, 1966), recent events have found a large portion of support for conspiracy theories. For example, in 2004, 49% of New York Cities found that the US Government was involved in 9/11 (Sunstein, 2009). Other beliefs include 37% agreed that the FDA is deliberately preventing the public from natural cures for cancer because of pressure from drug companies.

Van Vugt and van Prooijen identify at least five critical ingredients of a conspiracy theory. They include:

1. An assumption of how people, objects or events are interconnected.

2. The stipulation that the plans of conspirators are deliberate (and can contain agencies, such as government agencies).

3. They always involve a coalition (many acting together) and not one individual.

4. They contain an element of threat with goals that are harmful or deceptive.

5. They always contain an element of secrecy and are difficult to invalidate. When they turn out to be true (Watergate or Iran-Contra), they are no longer conspiracy “theories”.

Conspiracy theories are positively correlated with supernatural beliefs. However, a main difference is that conspiracy theories contain that element of deceptive or potentially dangerous combination of humans acting together. This hostile coalition is unique to conspiracy theories.

One common thread among conspiracy theories is that belief in one theory seems to reflect a conspiratorial mind-set, and can be a predictor of belief in different, unrelated conspiracies. Even seemingly incompatible conspiracy beliefs are positively related (such as the belief that Princess Diana staged her own death and the belief that she was murdered), which suggests that the theories are grounded in the same psychology.

An evolutionary psychologist is a person who studies the biology of human behavior. They believe that much of our behavior can be explained by internal psychological mechanisms. They also feel that these internal mechanisms are adaptations and products of natural selection. (Downes, 2018). It is important to note that adaptations and by-products are different results of the evolutionary process. Adaptations are functional solutions to problems of survival and reproduction that evolved through natural selection because they offer better survival prospects. In contrast, by-products do not solve adaptive problems and have no functional properties but are carried along with mechanisms that do have adaptive features.

So, given that distinction, conspiracy theories (according to the evolutionary psychologist) may be merely by-product beliefs. This hypothesis suggests that conspiracy theories are secondary, and emerge from the brain as a thinking, reasoning and gossiping function.

Some take it a little further, suggesting that the brain consists of various psychological mechanisms evolved for different purposes. Conspiracy theories contain some key components, such as pattern recognition, agency detection and threat management. Each of these mechanisms have a broad function, but as a by-product, may cause people to be more susceptible to conspiracy theories.

Below, each of these factors (pattern recognition, agency detection, threat management and alliance detection) are explained in respect to how we may have evolved as a result of them, and how they may contribute to understanding conspiracy theories.

Patterns: (Prooijen, 2018)

Patterns are something that we work with in our BrainHQ program. And they are important for understanding concepts of learning. They help to identify cause and effect, and helped our ancestors to recognize threats and opportunities, see consequences of their behavior and adjust the behavior to fit the situation. This need to make sense of the world may have produced a sensitivity to conspiracy theories. Our brain looks for patterns to survive, and errors in this process can lead to irrational beliefs.

There is a relationship between biases in pattern perception and belief in conspiracy theories. People who believe in conspiracy theories tend to overestimate the possibility that events are connected. They also tend to perceive patterns in random or chaos. For example, they look for the patterns in coin flipping or unstructured modern painting.

Agency detection: (Prooijen, 2018)

Agency detection is the capacity to recognize motives and intentions behind others’ actions. It is closely associated with the basic capacity to understand what others are thinking and feeling. This enabled our ancestors to understand the motives behind each other’s actions, and helped promote empathy with tribe members. Sometimes people detect agency where none exists. Various studies have shown a connection between a hyperactive agency-detection system can produce conspiracy theories as a by-product.

Threat management: (Prooijen, 2018)

Conspiracy theories are nonfunctional consequences of a threat management system. It evolved to help people quickly recognize threatening stimuli and cope with a functional response. These systems can be used to avoid disease or for self-protection. Things which are feared can be better recognized in the environment. (If you are afraid of snakes, you would be more likely to pay attention if you saw one in the wild). People associate dangerous stimuli with other groups as opposed to their own group. Humans may have evolved in being vigilant to all threats, and conspiracy theories may be a by-product of the threat-management system.

Alliance detection: (Prooijen, 2018)

If a conspiracy is a coalition of people cooperating towards a specific goal, it is necessary that people can recognize those within their coalition of mutually cooperating individuals. So when determining their alliances, people evolved to recognize friendly alliances because they assisted in finding food, shelter and mates. In this way, people believe that hostile coalitions are teaming up against them.

We have now seen that it is plausible that belief in conspiracy theories may be wired in our brain. It encourages us to identify things important for survival (pattern recognition, detection of danger or alliances, threat detection and management). But it may have evolved as a by-product, and one that is not correlated with healthy behavior. It is associated with secrecy, anger and hostility. Although it may be a way to explain a situation, it can also be dangerous and unpredictable.

In this part of the lesson, we will look at some of the conspiracy theories and related scams which have resulted from the Coronavirus. Remember these are conspiracy theories and have been debunked as untrue. For a discussion of the theories, refer to the Rolling Stones article. (Dickson, 2020)

· The government introduced the coronavirus in 2018, and Bill Gates is involved.

· There is a vaccine or cure for coronavirus that the government won’t release

· The virus originated by Chinese eating bats.

· The virus is no worse than the common cold.

· Hand dryers can kill the coronavirus

· Coronavirus is a bioweapon engineered by either the Chinese government or the CIA to wage war on America or China

· The virus was predicted in a 1981 novel by Dean Koontz called The Eyes of Darkness

· The virus was predicted by the Simpsons

· A special bleach product can cure coronavirus

· The President will institute a mandatory two-week lockdown, and urges people to stock up on supplies

· If you can’t hold your breath for 10 seconds without coughing, then you do not have the coronavirus. Or, if you drink water every 15 minutes you can flush the coronavirus down your throat.

· Vitamin C can help ward off coronavirus

· Coronavirus will go away by summertime

FEMA has stepped in to debunk (or otherwise explain) some of the rumors going on about Coronavirus. You can view this online. Here are some of the highlights from their rumor page which debunk some rumors:

· Although there will be financial assistance to those who qualify, it will not be sent via phone call, text or email. Also, do not respond to any text or email which offers financial help.

· There are no vaccines or drugs yet available. The FDA has set up a site which lists these claims and warns that they are not only ineffective but may be harmful. These include those products made with Colloidal silver and CBD.

· Callers offering a free COVID-19 test if you provide Medicare information is a SCAM. Only your doctor can advise you on tests available.

· The military is NOT being deployed on a federal level. Some states may be deploying the National Guard.

· Stocking up on food and supplies is NOT necessary, and leads to shortages.

Scams are also on the rise. Some which have made the news in recent days include: (Fedschun, 2020) (Frazier, 2020)

· The claim of an offer of “goodies” from Costco, saying it is part of their stimulus package for loyal customers

· Emails claiming to be from the CDC offering information about the virus

· Websites that claim to track the disease but actually want to steal personal information and money

· Emails asking people to verify their personal information to receive a check from the government

· Robocalls from fake sites like the Social Security Administration, Medicare and small business assistance

· Fake charities (remember to verify charities through Charity Navigator, CharityWatch and the BBB’s Wise Giving Alliance)

The FTC is concerned about scams, and have offered some valuable tips on avoiding the scams. They include:

· Hanging up on robocalls. Don’t press any numbers to either let you speak to an operator or remove you from the call list, as these can spark more robocalls.

· Ignore online offers for vaccinations and home test kits. There are no FDA authorized home test kits available at this time.

· Fact check your information.

· Know who you are buying from. Online sellers may claim to have in-demand products (such as cleaning, household and medical) when they really don’t have these products.

· Do not respond to texts and emails about those checks from the government.

· Don’t click on links from sources you don’t know. This includes emails and texts.

· Check your sources when donating through charities or crowdfunding. Beware of donations in cash, gift card or wiring money.

So where to go for the truth? Stick with those sites which are vetted and backed by science and experts. These are official sites and contain the most up to date information:

· CDC site (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus)

· World Health Organization site (https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019).

· USA government sites. (https://www.usa.gov/coronavirus and https://www.coronavirus.gov/)

· FDA Consumer health fraud scams https://www.fda.gov/consumers/health-fraud-scams/fraudulent-coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19-products

· WHO list of myth-busters: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/myth-busters

· Are you a victim of Coronavirus Fraud, or do you have some evidence of price gorging and hoarding? Visit the DOJ website for resources on dealing with this: https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus

Facebook, twitter and texts. What do they have in common? They are all ways to spread alternative theories and scams. What if you encounter someone who is convinced of a scam or conspiracy theory? Here are some ways to combat them and stop the misinformation. (Robertson, 2019)

· Stop the red flags: Misinformation will have certain characteristics which make it appealing. The information may be designed to make you angry, or vote a certain way, or just scam you. If something grabs your attention, look closer.

o Look for whether there is a strong emotional reaction, or if it is totally ridiculous (or if it completely confirms your beliefs), if it requires that you spend money, or it contains something you want to publish right then.

o If so, look at the source. Reliable sources include a legal filing, first hand interviews with names included, leaked documents or a press release.

· Check out the link: Find the original story if you can. If on Facebook, click on the post and look at the date (also known as a timestamp). Also see if you can find the original source. A bad source may include an inflammatory quote without saying where it originated or a photo with a description that may not be related. Identify the source of photos, videos and quotes, and make sure that the date relates to today. Sometimes people will repost older stories as if they happened today.

· Find the context where the information appeared. The story may be partly right, but out of proportion or can begin with legitimate news and then contain the bad information. In some cases, the source can be satire or a very biased source. In 2018, a Media Bias Chart was created which reflects the bias and truth of certain news sites. It is a very revealing look at how we get our information. (see below)

· Weigh the evidence: Identify how the story works, which parts are complicated, which are accurate, and if this article should change your opinions or behavior. See if important facts are left out or distorted, of some reasons why you would share the story.

Conspiracy theories may be wired in the brain, but you have the tools to make reasonable decisions based on facts and valid sources. Using your brain to combat false information will go far in restoring faith in our information systems. Stick to the facts, and resist spreading unfounded rumors and ideas. Understanding the background of information can go far to having a clear picture of the truth.

Dickson, E. (2020, March 18). Coronavirus Is Spreading — And So Are the Hoaxes and Conspiracy Theories Around It. Retrieved from Rolling Stone: https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/coronavirus-china-bat-patent-conspiracy-theory-942416/

Fedschun, T. (2020, April 1). Coronavirus scams include Costco 'stimulus check' ploy, FBI warns. Retrieved from foxnews.com: https://www.foxnews.com/us/coronavirus-scams-costco-stimulus-check-fbi-warning

Frazier, L. (2020, March 29). The FTC Warns The Public About New Coronavirus Scams. Retrieved from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/lizfrazierpeck/2020/03/29/the-ftc-warns-the-public-about-new-coronavirus-scams/#1d0d468637dc

Prooijen, J. a. (2018, November 1). Conspiracy Theories: Evolved Functions and Psychological Mechanisms. Sage Journals, 770 - 788. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1745691618774270

Robertson, A. (2019, December 3). How to fight lies, tricks,and chaos online. Retrieved from theverge.com: https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/3/20980741/fake-news-facebook-twitter-misinformation-lies-fact-check-how-to-internet-guide

Wood, D. M. (2018, December 06). How Does Misinformation Spread Online? Retrieved from psychologytoday.com: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/web-mistrust/201812/how-does-misinformation-spread-online

Wood, D. M. (2018, August 1). Propagating and Debunking Conspiracy Theories on Twitter During the 2015–2016 Zika Virus Outbreak. Retrieved from liebertpub.com: https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/cyber.2017.0669