Mostrare Revisione 20 creata 10/13/2020 da Jen Prince.

1. Titolo:
   Covid-19: the psychology of conspiracy theories
2. Descrizione:

   Guardian Podcast
   Science Weekly -Psychology
   Presented by Ian Sample and produced by David Waters and Madeleine Finlay
   Tue 5 May 2020 05.00 BST
   https://www.theguardian.com/science/audio/2020/may/05/covid-19-the-psychology-of-conspiracy-theories

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   [Music]
   Intro: The Guardian
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   Welcome to Science Weekly.
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   We're following the Covid-19 outbreak and
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   exploring some of the scientific questions
   that have come out of it.
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   In today's episode, we are looking
   at conspiracy theories:
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   Now, many people are getting
   their information about coronavirus
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   through social media.
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    But not everything that's shared online
    can be trusted.
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    5G mast on fire. **** the 5G!
    Yeah!
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    It lowers your immunity
    and runs people down!
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    The coronavirus pandemic is opening up
    weird new horizons
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    for online conspiracy theorists.
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    The virus was bio-engineered in a lab
    by scientists, to be used as a weapon
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    or a form of population control.
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    Hi guys, do you know
    what you're doing now?
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    You're laying 5G. Yes.
    So, you know that kills people?
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    It absorbs oxygen.
    That's just nonsense!
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    Dangerous nonsense as well.
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    5G was a favourite target
    of conspiracy theorists,
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    long before the new coronavirus appeared.
    And now,
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    the myths have just been
    tweaked a bit.
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    It's not merely an opinion
    or an interesting conspiracy,
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    it's just bollocks.
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    So what is it about conspiracy theories
    that makes them so appealing
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    in a time of crisis?
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    And how can we best combat them?
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    I'm Ian Sample, the science editor
    at The Guardian,
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    and this is Science Weekly.
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    I'm Dr Daniel Jolley.
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    I'm a senior lecturer in psychology
    based at Northumbria University
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    in Newcastle in the UK and my expertise is
    in the psychology of conspiracy theories.
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    Hi Dan, how are you doing?
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    I'm doing well
    thanks so much for having me here.
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    So Dan, let's start with the basics,
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    what is a conspiracy theory,
    as opposed to misinformation, say?
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    So the whole difference
    with a conspiracy theory is the idea
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    that there is a powerful group plotting
    something secret for their own gain.
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    So something can just be fake, that
    there is no hidden motive behind it.
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    I mean there is a cardinal difference,
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    it's pointing the finger
    at a group of people
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    and blaming them for their wrongdoings,
    blaming them for the virus, for example.
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    What is it about conspiracy theories,
    generally,
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    that makes them so appealing to us?
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    Well, conspiracy theories in general
    have been shown to arise
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    in moments of crisis, when we have the
    need to feel in control, to feel certain.
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    And in these kind of rapid crises
    we feel threatened,
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    we feel unsure of what is happening,
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    which is exactly what is happening
    with Covid-19
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    I always thought that believing
    in conspiracy theories
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    would make people feel more anxious,
    but it sounds like, actually,
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    they have the opposite effect.
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    Well, it's a really interesting
    point there.
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    People who have this need to feel
    in control,
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    the influence on them actually may
    just be quite temporal.
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    They may seem appealing,
    but they're not satisfying.
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    Could be shown that people who are
    exposed to conspiracy theories
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    actually have further mistrust
    of those around them.
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    It actually increases their feeling
    of anxiety.
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    Often it is because if you don't subscribe
    to one conspiracy belief,
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    you then start questioning other things,
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    which means its kind of ramping up
    your mistrust,
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    and you kind of feel a feeling of
    uncertainty of you living in your society.
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    So when they emerge in times of crisis,
    they may temporarily
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    make us feel more secure
    but that will not be long-lasting.
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    This must be
    a bit of a boom time for you,
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    as someone who studies conspiracy theories
    I mean, we've seen,
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    you know, a bunch of them around recently,
    from 5G masts,
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    man-made viruses coming out of
    Chinese labs. I mean,
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    what is it about a pandemic
    that seems to drive so many?
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    Covid-19 is not unique in regards to
    having conspiracy theories bloom about it.
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    Thinking back to Zika, 2015,
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    there were conspiracy theories suggesting
    Zika was a man-made weapon.
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    Zika is a mosquito-transmitted virus
    that has led to travel warnings
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    in South America and Caribbean countries.
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    Is Zika caused by
    genetically modified mosquitoes?
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    We're fact-checking this conspiracy theory
    making the rounds on Facebook.
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    It's fair that the conspiracy now to
    emerge,
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    when people are talking about extreme
    uncertainty.
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    So when they felt uncertain, they now (??)
    conspiracy theories was more blooming.
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    And the same thing is happening with
    COVID-19.
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    The Trump administration has repeatedly
    pushed the narrative that the Coronavirus
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    may have escaped from a Chinese laboratory
    in Wuhan, rather than originating with an
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    animal in a seafood market in Wuhan, which
    is the leading medical theory.
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    Because the world is definitely chaotic,
    and it offers some kind of tangible
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    personal group to blame for
    what is happening.
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    It sounds like, then, that it's
    pretty typical to see conspiracy theories
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    spring up around any big event.
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    Do you think we're just seeing more now or
    we're aware of more now, because they're
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    spreading through social media?
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    There's no hard data that
    demonstrates that today with the
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    internet, conspiracy theories are more
    popular. So it may just be us assuming
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    they are. I think it's important, though,
    to really look into this, and to see the
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    peril that social media can have. Thinking
    about the 5G conspiracy, it seemed to
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    emerge from social media, where the
    algorithms and Facebook picked up chatter
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    with regards to 5G, and brought it into
    the trending. And then, during videos
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    people in the comments were talking about
    the masts and how one way to stop COVID is
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    by the masts and pulling them down, etc.
    So that's something that's potentially
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     quite novel in that that fast interaction
     may have actually sped up the kind of
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     insurgence of the conspiracy.
     It's a real
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     interesting problem
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     with regards to
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     Facebook and
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     social media
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     in general, and how they deal with
     conspiracy theories, because someone's conspiracy
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     theory is someone's truth, in essence. So
     it's how do we define what a conspiracy
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     theory is. And indeed, by banning, for
     example, conspiracy theories on platforms
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     will just reaffirm the suspicions that
     people have, that they're trying to hide
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     something. So you may actually increase
     people's conspiracy theorizing, because
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     they are being silenced. So it's that
     balance of insuring there's a space and a
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     platform for people to have free speech,
     to be able to discuss issues, and to, you
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     know, question things, which I think is
     important that we question, but then the
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     balance comes by that things aren't made
     into the trending pages that are not based
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     on truth. So right now, Facebook and etc.,
     are taking down content that they see to
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     be inciting violence, and that can
     actually be a hinder to curbing COVID-19,
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     which is think is a positive first step,
     but it's not going to fix the issue as a
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     broad issue in the future.

     ¶

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     So maybe,
     thinking about the individual as well,
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     and insuring the individual has the skill
     sets to really ask the questions, but also
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     evaluate the evidence. So we know those
     people who lack critical thinking
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     abilities are more likely to believe in
     conspiracy theories, and we also know that
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     people who in believe in conspiracies is
     because they want to understand

     ¶

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     the world, but they're struggling to
     evaluate the evidence. So potentially us
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     trying to instil those skill sets, may
     mean that they're able to resist the

     ¶

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     conspiracy narrative. Let's talk a bit
     more about the psychology of people who

     ¶

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     believe in conspiracy theories or tend to
     believe in them. Are there characteristics
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     or personality traits that make people
     maybe more susceptible to these kinds of
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     theories than others?
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     There are a range of different needs
     that are met by conspiracy theories,
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     while there's also kind of a social
     element whereby we want to affirm
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     ourselves and also the groups that we
     belong in. And interestingly, research in
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     America has found that in regards to
     politics, the conspiracy theories switch
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     depending on who is in power. So it's very
     much a prophecies in play here, where
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     you're just affirming your identity, the
     others, those are the ones who are
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     conspiring, and that can change depending
     on the context.
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     It sounds like some other sort of
     traits might come into play as well,
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     around how people see themselves, their
     social self-image, but also whether
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     people have been sort of marginalized in
     the past?
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     Absolutely. So, research has found that
     being a narcissist is more predictively
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     believing in conspiracy theories,
     and also, it has been shown that people
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     who are from disadvantaged groups,
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     because if you have received
     discrimination in the past,
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     you may be more likely to perceive
     that people are out to get you.
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     Because once upon a time, maybe they were.
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     So prior experiences may also play a role
     in making you more susceptible.
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     And then, when you're in an environment
     that increases your uncertainty,
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     increases your threat, like COVID-19,
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     you may be more susceptible
     to subscribe to these conspiracy theories.
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     And indeed, a consistent finding
     in the literature is
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     that if you believe in one conspiracy,
     you believe in many others.
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     Also, interestingly,
     researchers find that
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     you can believe in mutually exclusive
     conspiracy theories. Because, it's all
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     based around this world view that
     conspiracy theories in the world. So that
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     means that someone may believe that the
     virus was human-made, but also believing
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     it is caused by 5G. Whilst these two
     things can't necessarily happen at the
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     same time, it's in this process if you
     feel distrust, of society, of people who
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     we see to be in power, you can subscribe
     to these ideas. [Music]
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     When I've seen conspiracy theorists
     talking about their beliefs, it's clear
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     that there's a real urge to pull together
     strands of evidence, and to collect
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     evidence, and say, pull together these
     sort of desperate things, and many of them
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     seem to see themselves as like, the real
     critical thinkers, but I'm wondering what
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     kind of biases are coming into play there,
     that are actually within those people, to
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     make them believe these kinds of theories.
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     (DJ) One of the biases is confirmation
     bias, that we're all susceptible to.
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     This is the idea that we only really
     listen to evidence that supports our prior
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     beliefs. Things that go against it, that
     discredit our beliefs, we ignore.
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     There's also biases based around
     personality bias, with COVID-19, it's such
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     a large event, worldwide, to explain this
     as something from animals doesn't really
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     make sense. But to explain this as a
     conspiracy where it was human-made,
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     the proportionality matches the cause,
     it all kind of fits together.
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     So, we can, in situations where these
     events arise, be more drawn to conspiracy
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     narratives. We then stay in our echo
     chambers in our online world.
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     It can be tough debating and arguing
     with people who believe in conspiracy
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     theories, and okay, some of them are
     harmless, but some of them really aren't.
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     I mean, as someone who really studies
     them, do you have a sense of how best
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     we can combat them, the ones that are
     dangerous?
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     Interventions are really challenging,
     but of course, as you say, they're really
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     important, so potentially targeting the
     general population, and targeting those
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     who are hardened conspiracy theorists,
     may be slightly different.
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     So for example, we know that using counter
     arguments, giving people facts, can reduce
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     belief in conspiracy theories. But, if you
     harbor a conspiracy belief, and you see
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     some counter material from the government,
     you are going to discredit that, because
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     of your confirmation bias. So indeed, for
     others, it may be having people become
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     trusted messengers, where you're not
     aggressive, but instead, talk to them
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     about their beliefs, get them to really
     kind of think hard about the evidence
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     that they are, you know, really kind of
     suggesting is the be and end all, and
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     that maybe that kind of thinking process
     and get them to re-evaluate may start
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     changing their beliefs. Of course, this
     I'm sure would work for the general
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     population as well, so I think with
     ensuring that the landscape on Twitter, on
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     Facebook is full of facts is really
     important, but then still acknowledging
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     that those who are on the hardened end
     of the conspiracy theorizing may distrust
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     that straight away. So it's definitely a
     challenge, but I think it's important to
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     really evaluate.
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     Dan, finally, how do you think you
     fair in all of this? I mean, do you feel
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     you're immune to conspiracy theories that
     you can tell pretty much on contact
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     whether something's real or BS?
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     It's really difficult to tell the
     truth from the untruthful, from the fake
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     news, but the conspiracy's always based
     around pointing the finger at those in
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     authority, and suggesting that they are
     conspiring. I try and have trust in the
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     gatekeepers, where I also trust the
     journalists, to ask the questions, and
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     the conspiracy theories that have been
     proven to be true, have always been driven
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     by journalism. So, having the trust in our
     society that if a conspiracy is occuring,
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     it will come out by these natural
     processes.
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     Wonderful stuff. Dan, thank you so
     much for joining us.
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     Pleasure, thank you so much.
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     Thanks to Dan for joining me this
     week. As we continue to follow the
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     COVID-19 outbreak, we'd love to keep
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