Why conspiracy theories are dangerous

Amysterious new video documentary, slickly produced and offering answers to the Covid-19 pandemic, has been viewed millions of times on the Internet in spite of the fact that various platforms have repeatedly removed it.

The "Plandemic" video is, according to the British Broadcasting Corporation, "filled with medical misinformation," and claims that "the virus must have been released from a laboratory environment and could not possibly be naturally occurring; that using masks and gloves actually makes people more sick; and that closing beaches is 'insanity' because of ' healing microbes' in the water." It offers a scientific and authoritative-sounding basis for the far-right antilockdown activists protesting across the country, some of whom are even holding up signs that say "Plandemic."

Why do so many people believe in vast and incredible-sounding conspiracy theories? Psychologists have attempted to answer this question for years, and some have suggested that moments of crisis and the resulting stress humans feel make us more susceptible to accepting far-fetched claims as we try to make sense of the world.

One published study in the journal of the American Psychological Association found that "more stressful life events and greater perceived stress predicted belief in conspiracy theories."

While choosing to believe in conspiracy theories may result in the believers feeling empowered with knowledge that only they have, the consequence of a collective belief in nonsensical ideas usually results in regressive policies. It hampers progressive political organizing and undermines the credibility of the left. It more often than not feeds into right-wing ideas and policies.

In the case of the "Plandemic," the discredited scientist at the heart of the film, Judy Mikovits, even thanked US President Donald Trump on Twitter for throwing America's leading infectious-diseases expert, Dr Anthony Fauci, under the bus and, like so many of Trump's own supporters, repeatedly attempts to undermine Fauci.

Mikovits' bizarre and dangerous theories about the origins of the virus echo Trump's own idea that China created the Covid-19 virus in a lab. She continues to be interviewed widely about the film as per her Twitter feed, suggesting that the film continues to be promoted. Nearly two decades ago, when the US was hit by the earth-shattering events of September 11, 2001, Americans similarly were drawn to wild conspiracy theories that coalesced around what came to be called the "9/11 Truth Movement."

The idea that George W Bush's administration was somehow in on the horrific terrorist attacks that killed thousands of Americans was apparently a comforting thought to those who simply could not accept that they were inspired by the blowback of decades of destructive American foreign policy. In the years following the attacks, millions of Americans watched and shared the film Loose Change, which was held up as a central document of the "truther" movement.

Ten years after Loose Change was released, its creator Dylan Avery explained his motive for making the film, saying:

"September 11 was 'welcome to the real world' for me. My best friend was overseas fighting this war that was a direct consequence of this event, and that's one of the main things that drove me during those years. If I could somehow raise awareness that this event was fraudulent or faulty, maybe my friend could get home quicker.… I was angry about something at the time, and that was my way of expressing it."

Avery even admitted that one of the main claims of the film - that footage of Osama bin Laden was fake - may have been because, "What I think happened was the aspect ratio got screwed up, and when the footage was put on the Internet, he looked fatter."

One of the most prominent proponents of the "9/11 truth" movement was Alex Jones, the now-discredited media figure behind Infowars who has promoted dozens of wild theories that his followers take seriously. Among his believers was a presidential candidate named Donald Trump, about whom Jones said, "It is surreal to talk about issues here on air and then word for word hear Trump say it two days later."

But plenty of people on the left are also routinely seduced by films promoting conspiracy theories. In fact, Loose Change first gained widespread traction on the California radio station where I work, KPFK - a fact that is mentioned on the Amazon listing of the film ( yes, it is still listed there). Recently, since the release of "Plandemic," I have gotten several e-mails from listeners of my show on KPFK asking me to watch and cover the film - which is incidentally where I first heard of the dubious documentary.

Conspiracy theories offer an easily digestible worldview that helps to make sense of our perplexing circumstances. But they are destructive and antithetical to constructive political organizing.

Imagine if the energy wasted on believing that "9/11 was an inside job" had instead been poured into fixing American foreign policy in the Middle East. Claiming that the attacks were a pretext for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq has done little actually to end those wars.