Why are there so many coronavirus conspiracy theories?
LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Have you heard that the coronavirus is a hoax? or that all those vaccines we’ve been getting for years are the actual cause of COVID-19?
Maybe you’ve heard that a billionaire created this virus to thin the human population.
That one, by the way, is both the plot of Dan Brown’s book Inferno, and an actual conspiracy theory now making its rounds on social media.
As the economy reopens, the dangers of coronavirus are still there, and so are the conspiracy theories. One expert helps break it all down for us.
“They’ve been everywhere for a long time. If you look at the theories, they’re only a few words different than the theories they were spreading about Sars or Zika or AIDS,” said political scientist Joseph Uscinski.
Uscinski is the author of the book Conspiracy Theories: A Primer. He has his own favorite COVID conspiracy:
“When it first started, people said the virus was known about 40 years ago, and Dean Koontz wrote about it, in which he has a virus called the Wuhan-400,” said Uscinski.
While conspiracy theories are nothing new, we are in a unique time. A pandemic is killing tens of thousands. The government is telling businesses to shut down. The economy is hurting, and we are all stuck inside.
Add to that the fact that powerful Americans seem to be spreading conspiracy theories -- from politicians sharing the controversial movie plandemic to our president who just sunday morning tweeted a conspiracy theory implicating Joe Scarbourogh of Morning Joe in a murder.
“This is the real problem. When you elect politicians who use conspiracy theories for their own benefit or their party’s benefit, that can convince a lot of people,” said said Uscinski. “There’s a lot of talk on Facebook, but if Joe Shmoe puts it on Facebook it’s not going to reach a mass audience. But when a president or senator spread [them], they’re going to reach masses and convince all the people who trust them.”
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The reality is, conspiracy theories have always and will always be a part of life, but they are dangerous when they put people’s health and safety at jeopardy
So, what do we do with that one relative or Facebook friend that starts sharing them? Ucinski has an idea.
“One thing my wife does when her in-laws send her weird things is that she asks for the source,” said Ucinski. “This does a few things. It says sources matter. If they don’t have a source, they have to admit that. Then, if their source is ConservativeEagleNewsPunch.com, and they have to say that out loud, it should give pause and say that’s not a reliable source of information.”
