The Science Behind Conspiracy Theories

 by Yolanda Ridge

Sci Why Post: March 5, 2021

The Science behind Conspiracy Theories

It’s been almost one year since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. We know a lot more about the coronavirus than we did then but there’s still lots of conspiracy theories about it and many people who believe them.

What is a conspiracy theory?

It’s an attempt to explain tragic events by the actions of a small, powerful group of people who are usually seen as evil. Conspiracy theories often suggest that some important secret is being kept from the general public.

Top coronavirus conspiracy theories:

• It spread through the 5G network.

• It was created by Bill Gates so he could implant microchips in people through vaccination.

• It escaped from a Chinese lab.

• It was developed as a biological weapon.

• There’s some type of miracle cure for COVID-19.

• It doesn’t exist.

Where do conspiracy theories come from?

There’s usually a small grain of truth that starts a conspiracy theory. It spreads from there, mostly through fear.

For example, people blamed 5G because there was a rapid rollout of 5G networks taking place at the same time the pandemic hit (truth). A meme linking the two went viral thanks mostly to anti-vaccine activists who also believe that electromagnetic radiation is bad (fear).

The World Health Organization has been very clear that viruses cannot travel on mobile networks. It’s also true that COVID-19 is spreading rapidly in many countries that do not have 5G. Even so, this conspiracy theory led to cellphone towers being set on fire in some part of the world.

Why do people believe conspiracy theories?

People who believe in conspiracy theories instead of explanations grounded in fact and science are not necessarily crazy. Or dumb.

Here are a few reasons people are especially likely to believe COVID-19 conspiracy theories:

• When we feel insecure and isolated, our brains are more likely to buy into what we consider popular opinion (especially if those opinions are supported by celebrities or other influencers).

• Our brains often confuse familiarity with the truth, which means we tend to believe things we see over and over again thanks to social media algorithms.

• Simple explanations for random events help us feel more in control.

• When we’re anxious we use cognitive shortcuts—unconscious beliefs or biases—to make fast decisions about what to believe.

• Once we’ve decided to believe in something, we seek out information that supports that belief.

• Conspiracy theories allow us to cope with threatening events by blaming a specific group of “other people”.

Are conspiracy theories bad?

Yes! It’s estimated that 46% of Canadians believe one of the big conspiracy theories regarding COVID-19 and 28% of Americans believe the coronavirus was created by Bill Gates. Burning cellphone towers is bad, obviously, but conspiracy theories are especially dangerous when they stop people from taking reasonable actions like getting vaccinated.

According to two surveys done at the end of 2020, 35-40% of Americans say they will not get the COVID-19 vaccine. Since fighting the pandemic requires the vast majority of people to get vaccinated, this is not good at all.

People who believe in conspiracy theories are also less likely to follow health guidelines such as wearing masks and social distancing.

How can you avoid conspiracy theories?

It’s not easy to convince someone who believes in a conspiracy theory that they’re wrong. Here are a few ways to make sure you don’t become one of them:

• Get information from reliable sources like reputable news organizations instead of social media.

• Be aware of your own cognitive shortcuts and biases such as racist attitudes or political opinions.

• Use critical thinking to interpret data and information.

• Look for facts and science-based evidence that support beliefs or claims.

• Think before you share information.

Yolanda Ridge is a middle grade author and science writer from Rossland, BC. Her most recent nonfiction book for young adult readers, CRISPR: A Powerful Way to Change DNA (Annick, 2020) is available wherever you buy books. Visit www.yolandaridge.com to find out more.

Image Credits

1. Conspiracy Theories by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Alpha Stock Images

2. Shhhh… clipart image from pixy.org

3. 5G image from Pixabay

4. Cartoon Monkey is Scratching His Head vector clipart from pixy.org

5. Face Mask image by ArtJane at Pixabay

6. A_NEW_TRUTH.jpeg by Mossado at Wikimedia Commons

Source Information

1. https://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/blog/2020/04/covid-top-10-current-conspiracy-theories/

2. https://www.statista.com/chart/23105/share-of-coronavirus-misinformaton-identified-as-conspiracy-theories/

3. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/why-people-latch-on-to-conspiracy-theories-according-to-science

4. https://www.damemagazine.com/2020/04/06/the-brain-science-behind-conspiracy-theories/

5. Timothy Caulfield’s University of Alberta Alumni presentation “Relax Dammit: Don’t Let Health Misinformation Stress You Out!”

6. https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2020/12/03/intent-to-get-a-covid-19-vaccine-rises-to-60-as-confidence-in-research-and-development-process-increases/

7. https://news.gallup.com/poll/327425/willingness-covid-vaccine-ticks.aspx

How You Doing?

By Raymond Nakamura

I hope you are as well as can be expected under the circumstances. The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed us into a new world. Dealing with the pandemic has spread beyond an issue of science communication to sharing an historic experience.

If you are feeling overwhelmed by the threat and the many impacts of self-isolating, other posts on this blog have already shared some helpful information. Increasingly, the importance of finding common ground with your audience is being recognized as an important part of science communication. This post is more about sharing my experiences with some little comics I have been posting online, as my way to stay connected with friends and perhaps offer some encouragement.

Many people seem to be working from home for the first time. As a freelancer, intermingling work work and house work is normal, other than having to avoid people who usually aren’t there while I’m walking my dog.

What has changed for me has been the act of buying groceries. Deliveries of groceries have skyrocketed, but to leave that service to those more desperately in need, I have gone in person, only to realize how things have changed.

Even before this situation, I did not get out much, but have been meeting with my writing group every Monday for the past twenty years. Recently, we did our first videoconference. It worked out quite smoothly, but of course we missed the snacks and hugs.

We are still learning about the effects of this novel coronavirus, but in my case, just the possibility of it seems to have affected my senses.

It does seem that the reduced traffic and general mayhem makes it easier to hear the birds when I go out to walk my dog.

If you can, get outside a little without your devices and maybe it will help your frame of mind. Take care.

For those of you interested, I drew these cartoons on an iPad with an Apple pencil, using an app called Tayasui Sketches.

Testing for COVID-19

By Yolanda Ridge

It’s hard to write about the science of COVID-19 right now because our understanding of the virus is still evolving. But it’s also hard to think about anything else.

One thing everyone wants to know is how and when this pandemic will end. In the best-case scenario, a vaccine becomes available and life goes on as normal. The problem is that it will take at least a year – even with international cooperation, dedication and determination – to develop, test, and then distribute the vaccine worldwide.

To find out more about viruses and vaccines, click on this link to read Virus VS Bacteria – Know Your Enemy on Sci/Why, written by our own Adrienne Montgomerie.

In the meantime, everyone will have to stay at home unless we can find a way to quickly and accurately identity who has the virus and who doesn’t. Unfortunately, testing for COVID-19 has been difficult.

There are two main steps to testing a person to see if they’ve been infected with COVID-19.

Step One: Collect the Sample

The sample must be collected by someone wearing a mask that can protect them from getting infected. It’s done with a nasopharyngeal swab, which is basically a long cotton swab that goes into the nose. 

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

Unfortunately, both face masks and swabs have been in short supply due to huge demand and manufacturing disruptions. One of the largest makers of nasopharyngeal swabs is in Lombardy, Italy where a lot of people are affected with COVID-19.

Step Two: Test the Sample

Getting enough lab space to do the testing has been difficult as well, since the lab has to be specially designed so the virus won’t spread. The test itself requires specific chemicals and machines, which have also been in short supply.

To find out whether there’s any COVID-19 virus in the sample, scientists look for its RNA. Like DNA in humans, RNA is a set of instructions that makes each type of virus unique. To cause an infection, the COVID-19 virus injects this genetic material into a human cell (it really likes lung cells) along with instructions on how to make copies of it. This allows the RNA to be copied over and over again until the cell dies. Then all those copies of RNA are released in the form of new COVID-19 viruses that can attack other cells.

To find out more, click on this link to watch The Coronavirus Explained & What You Should Do on Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell.

If someone has the COVID-19 virus, there will be pieces of its RNA in the sample collected during step one. The most common way to test a sample for viral RNA is by something called polymerase chain reaction (PCR). It sounds complicated but PCR is really just way of making more RNA using the virus’s genetic material as a template – not that different to what the virus does itself when it causes an infection. If the virus is in the sample, PCR will produce enough RNA to been seen using a special microscope.

Artist's image of DNA, from the National Institute of Health

Scientists all over the world are trying to find different ways of making step two faster and more efficient. One way is to use CRISPR, a gene editing tool that works like the find and replace function in a word document to change DNA in ways that have never been possible before. With cool names like SHERLOCK and DETECTR, these tests could get results in as little as 5 to 10 minutes by a process that may eventually be used to not only detect the virus but destroy its genetic material as well.

My book, CRISPR: A Powerful Way to Change DNA, comes out this fall from Annick Press. It will go to press before we know how much CRISPR will be used in the fight against COVID-19.

It’s exciting to think about how new technologies might stop future viruses through testing, treating and even developing vaccines. But the current pandemic is teaching us that the supply of basic stuff - masks, swabs, lab space and equipment – is really the most important thing of all.

Free Homeschooling Resources for Isolating Families

Hey, people who read Sci/Why website! We've got new resources added to this post.

With the coronavirus pandemic, nearly all the schools, libraries and museums are closed for most of our readers. Here are some free online resources that will be useful for families who are doing some homeschooling, or just want to have interesting things to do. If you have more free online resources to recommend, please share them in the comments below.

Due to the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus, Binogi will open up its content to all Canadian teachers, students, and parents to provide remote teaching and learning throughout spring 2020. This platform looks terrific! We learned about it from this article at Sooke Pocket News. The article explains more about Binogi and their learning program, with links to Binogi's website, so check it out.

There's a page of resources for educators at the website for Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory, which you can find at this link.

Remember, if you're a family with kids home from school, you might have no need to set up formal homeschooling lessons! It's probably best to start with a wander through these amazing books and videos, to find what is interesting for you. Maybe you will read through an entire unit and learn a formal lesson, or maybe you'll find that it's animal webcams that make your family happy about science. There's no wrong answer.

Our own LE Carmichael has just launched a new book, The Boreal Forest. Check out our Sci/Why blog at this link for the post she wrote about her event  If you're missing the public library or bookstore, she says: "Click over to Youtube to enjoy this video of me reading from The Boreal Forest on #IntlForestDay" 
Here's the link for that reading! 

Here are some great comments on writing about science for young people, from Sci/Why's own Joan Marie Galat, who wrote on this topic for Edmonton Public Library. Click here for a link to read what she and several other Canadian writers have to say about researching and writing our books!

Now that we're all practising social distancing, we can't go to libraries or museums. Though many of us can go for a walk to a park or beach or hiking trail, some people don't have that option for a field trip. Here's a link found by Sci/Why's own Margriet Ruurs, which leads to over THIRTY virtual field trips you can take on a computer. You and your kids can visit animal webcams, the Louvre and other museums, or even Mars! Just click on this link:
https://abdodigital.com/?tk=414F33301B8E136DEE3F0A93BF1795E1

If you're into the space program or astronomy, the NASA website at http://nasa.gov will lead you to an amazing amount of science and space program resources you can read, download, and more. NASA also has a Kids' Club (click here for the link) with games, stories, calendars, and more.

Remember that Canada's National Film Board has over 400 Canadian films in English and in French available for anyone to watch online at http://nfb.ca .

If you or your child are a high school student in Canada, do not panic about school credits for graduation! Every province in Canada is working on this issue, and there will be a way to ensure students can finish school credits. E-mail your school and your province's Ministry of Education to learn what is being done in your area.

There is particularly good news from Alberta on this matter, from Alberta Distance Learning Centre which has resources used by many Canadians across the country and around the world. Their website is http://adlc.ca and they have 300 courses being used, 200 of which are online. They advise other distance learning programs nationally. They are used to hearing from parents and school boards.
Click here for a link to an article by CBC News about this amazing distance learning centre, and what they're doing to help students who had not planned to need to study at home.

I'll add right now the particularly bad news that the Alberta government had JUST announced they were reducing funding this year for the Alberta Distance Learning Centre and CANCELLING it entirely. If you're living in Alberta, let your government know what you think of cancelling this excellent and cost-effective education program, which is a major employer for the town of Barrhead as well as employing many teachers and tutors who work online.

Scholastic Books is promoting their Learn At Home website (click here for the link) which has learning content for children from pre-Kindergarten to Grade 6. There are five days' worth of materials, with more on the way.

Abdo Digital Publishing has sent out word that they are making their digital library FREE for people to download and use from their website, http://abdodigital.com. This American publisher has resources including books in Spanish as well as English.
They have both an Elementary Digital Bookshelf for pre-Kindergarten thru Grade 8 at this link
https://abdodigital.com/?tk=414F33301B8E136DEE3F0A93BF1795E1
and a Secondary Digital Bookshelf for Grades 5 through 12 at this link
https://abdodigital.com/?tk=840BC558E6676AB1F4C9FA29D8EC6D69 

As their note today said:

To help stop the spread of COVID-19, schools and libraries are closing across the country. ABDO wants to ensure that readers everywhere continue to have the opportunity to learn and grow during this unprecedented event. Our digital products are available for free now through June 2020.