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The storming of the Capitol left at least 5 people dead. The police shot a woman, 35-year-old US Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt, dead. Three people died from medical emergencies. And it was confirmed on Thursday night that police officer Brian Sicknick died in hospital after he was injured. Fourteen officers in total had been injured. So far, at least 68 people have been arrested while the FBI is aiming to identify everyone who took part in the events. Meanwhile, there are growing demands for Trump to resign. Many believe he’s to blame for the events because of his claims about voter fraud and other unfounded theories.
To get to understand people's belief in conspiracy theories better and what leads to their spread, Bored Panda reached out to Joseph M. Pierre, a professor of psychiatry at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. It might sometimes seem like more people are vulnerable to conspiracy theories than at any other point in history, and there’s evidence both in support and against this. The internet may have a lot to blame for the rise and proliferation of a lot of conspiracies like the QAnon theory, but the other half of the equation is the lack of trust in authorities.
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According to Professor Pierre, researchers like conspiracy theory expert Joe Uscinski would say that there’s little evidence that would suggest that more people believe in conspiracies now than back in the past. Meanwhile, Pierre’s own ‘mistrust and misinformation’ model shows that there is some evidence to support “an ebb and flow in belief in misinformation including conspiracy theories over time that tracks with new informational technologies” like the internet, TV, radio, and newspapers. Similarly, the professor said that there are ebbs and flows in (mis)trust of institutions of authority for a variety of reasons.
Pierre’s model of conspiracy theory belief is a two-component model that consists of “mistrust in authoritative sources of information leading to vulnerability to misinformation and disinformation.” So if you ever find yourself in a situation where you’re trying to change a conspiracy theorist’s mind, the professor suggests talking to them about trusted sources of information. “Until you can find some common ground there, meaningful debate will probably be elusive,” he said.
“I think we can put some blame on the internet for the popularity of conspiracy theories today,” Pierre said. “Without YouTube, conspiracy theories might very well be less popular. But the other part of the blame pie can be attributed to a decline in trust, whether in government or in scientists, over the past half-century. We’re also living in a time unprecedented in our lifetimes in which American politicians have endorsed and exploited conspiracy theories as propaganda to this degree.”
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