Are Conspiracy Theories Dangerous?
In a situation in which one group feels threatened by another group (perceived as an enemy and identified as enemies by unscrupulous leaders), the potential for distrust, anger and violence is heightened. As described above, belief in conspiracy theories can have dangerous consequences. For example, the frequently quoted Pizzagate conspiracy theory where QAnon proponents believed that high-profile Democrats (in particular, the Clintons) were sexually abusing children at a Washington D.C. pizzeria, eventually led to an armed attack by a gunman, Edgar Maddison Welch, who believed the theory and wanted to protect children from abuse. This is just one of many such events extensively researched and documented.
Conspiracy theory believers do society an injustice by undermining confidence in experienced leaders, scientists and experts in general, fostering doubt on important issues related to health and safety amongst other important topics. Joseph E. Uscinski (2018a) observes that:
….. Conspiracy theorists are often accused of being anti-science. There is something to this claim. Sizable portions of the public reject the science on vaccines, GM foods, fluoride, and climate change amongst other fact based scientifically well-researched topics, painting scientific experts as “baffled. By undermining public confidence in the scientific method and the expertise of the scientific community in this way believers can place themselves and others in harm’s way.
The impact which conspiracy theories have is widespread—impacting society at all levels.
The personal damage of conspiracy
Van Prooijen tells how belief in conspiracy theories concerning the pharmaceutical industry can lead to people not having their children vaccinated and thereafter getting seriously ill. This is also true for Covid-19 where people have died needlessly for believing that Covid vaccines are part of a grand conspiracy by government and the pharmaceutical industry, rejecting evidence-based research and expert advice from scientists in countries around the world.
Conspiracy theories can even be purposely used as a weapon against enemy out-groups, as we are seeing play out in the Russian attack on Ukraine, in which the Russian leadership describe Ukrainians as “Nazi’s”, and less than human, thus justifying atrocities against civilians. Machiavellian leaders are able to exploit the gullibility of followers who blindly follow their every word against the advice from other leaders and experts simply because these leaders and experts are not part of the in-group.
Van Prooijen indicates that conspiracy theories (in their perceived threat to the in-group) can give extremist fringe groups the feeling that violence is the only remaining option. More specifically, conspiracy theories can add to the sense that the group – or the cause that the group stands for – is under imminent attack by a hostile enemy and there is an urgent need for a response, often violent, and that a peaceful reaction is unlikely to be effective”. Indeed, as we have seen with initial finding of the January 6th Commission, conducting the investigation into the attack on the US Capital, a number of the individuals and groups under investigation have discussed and planned the use of violence in this event.
While conspiracy theory believers and backers can clearly cause violence and physical damage, they can also cause psychological damage. For example, the far-right media personality Alex Jones, who fostered a conspiracy theory about the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting, suggesting they were staged, caused immense distress to the families who lost children in that event. These fabrications foster distrust in the media reporting on these events and in the leaders and experts who are responsible to dealing with these tragedies.
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