By Adriana Palloks
On July 27 a video featuring a group of doctors pledging that they have found a cure for COVID-19 went viral after being published by Breitbart News Network, an American far-right populist news opinion and commentary website. The doctors calling themselves “America’s Frontline Doctors” were hosting a press event in front of the Supreme Court in Washington D.C. where they claimed that use of face masks is unnecessary to prevent the spread of the virus, that they have found a cure and that any recent studies showing otherwise are fake science. One of the doctors alleges that she has treated over 350 corona patients with hydroxychloroquine, which she also uses to prevent infections and that each of these patients was cured.
According to the Washington Post the doctor making those claims is the same doctor who has advocated several conspiracy theories in the past: insisting that “DNA from space aliens is infused in medicine or that sexually transmitted diseases and infertility come from having sex with demons.”
The video was posted on several social media platforms and had over 17 million views on Facebook alone, before it was deleted by all networks declaring it to be fake news. What’s alarming is that even the president and his son shared the video on their Twitter profiles, encouraging the statements of these doctors.
However, evidence-based studies found that the antimalaria drug hydroxychloroquine does not cure nor does it improve the health of COVID-19 patients any more than “standard clinical care.”
Another big conspiracy theory is that 5G networks contribute to the spread of the virus. Rumors say that 5G radiation damages human cells, that it causes the immune system to be defenseless against COVID-19, and that the pandemic was intended to cover up the health damage which was initially caused by 5G radiation.
After the launch of the 5G network in Wuhan, China on November 1, 2019 people allegedly “dropped dead” as the pandemic broke out. Those type of conspiracy theories were shared via social media mainly by anti-5G-activist, who fear possible harm from 5G radiation.
The WHO declared this theory to be false, since “it is biologically impossible for viruses to spread using the electromagnetic spectrum. The latter are waves or photons, while the former are biological particles composed of proteins and nucleic acids.”
Since the outbreak of the corona-pandemic fake news, misinformation and conspiracy theories have proliferated all over the internet. Conspiracy theorists use social media to spread false claims like “covering your body in chlorine” or that “eating garlic” are effective methods of fighting the virus, that it “was intentionally created in a Chinese laboratory” or that “Bill Gates and the World Health Organization (WHO) are funding the creation of a vaccine against COVID-19, while in reality they plan to inject microchips into our bodies which will ultimately give them control over humanity”. In times of big uncertainty, these assumptions can get a lot of attention.
But what comprises a conspiracy theory and how does the American society perceive such ideas?
The term conspiracy theory includes the word "theory". Now "the goal of a theory" according to German philosopher Karl Hepfer is "to find clear and logically consistent answers to certain questions by generalization and by focusing on specific characteristics of a phenomenon." In doing so, people intend to explain the origin or the development of certain events on the basis of theories due to curiosity or fear. The purpose of theories therefore is to satisfy people’s thirst for knowledge and to reduce their fear of the unknown. Comparable to the origin of theories is the creation of conspiracy theories: "because these, too, want to take away our fear of the unknown and tackle our ignorance with simplifications and abstract models," Hepfer explains. In modern times, the development of conspiracy theories is generally based on the distrust between two opposing groups in society. One group suspects that the other one conspired against them in order to harm them. Thus, it is not surprising that people who live in fear of the corona virus gravitate towards conspiracies.
The Pew Research Center, a famous American research institute, conducted a study in late July: “A look at the Americans who believe there is some truth to the conspiracy theory that COVID-19 was planned”. The results indicate that most Americans (71%) have heard about a conspiracy theory on the internet which “alleges that powerful people intentionally planned the coronavirus outbreak”. A quarter of them believe it to be true, as 5% say it is definitely true and 20% say it is probably true. The results also show that the tendency towards this conspiracy thinking strongly correlates with the professional qualification level of the individuals. As people with a lower educational background (high school diploma or less education) are more likely to support the theory compared to people with a university degree.
While it is understandable for certain individuals to seek comfort in questionable theories coming from the internet and social media in times of uncertainty and fear, it is also very crucial to remain reasonable and to trust that the ongoing efforts of the scientists including their research and monitoring of the virus will eventually lead us out of this crisis.
