Conspiracy theories – How to identify and produce misleading information
- Are you convinced that Angela Merkel is in contact with UFOs?
- Do you think that President Kennedy was the victim of more than one assassin?
- Do you get the feeling that we are being watched whatever we do and where ever we go?
- Do think that aliens landed in New Mexico in 1947?
- Do you think the death of Lady Di was planned by the Queen?
- Do you think that SARS-CoV-2. doesn´t exist at all?
- Do you think that children don´t catch and transmit SARS-CoV-2.?
Then you are probably a believer in conspiracy theories…
The coronavirus pandemic has seen a huge rise in harmful and misleading conspiracy theories, mostly spreading online. The pandemic has lent itself to endless headlines about the virus; from its spread across the globe, border closures, worldwide lockdowns and the hunt for a vaccine.
But in times of crisis, conspiracy theories can spread just as quickly as the virus itself.
Our course, EF Social Sciences, thought that this is a good reason to deal with conspiracy theories in politics classes. First we looked at characteristics of conspiracy theories by analyzing various examples . Then we used this knowledge to create our own conspiracy theories. Of course these theories are not harmful. The students of this course only want to show how easy it is to create a conspiracy theory.
They have chosen a topic area and created their own scenario from which a conspiracy theory might emerge.
(January 2021, LW)
If you want to know more about typical characteristics of conspiracy theories click here
And here are some examples of conspiracy theories written by students of the Social Sciences Course:
- Overfishing- fishfingers threatened by extinction (Jasper)
- Covid-19 cured by listening to music? (Tatyana)
- Just as the Simpsons said: America´s president is dead (Zeena)
- !WE ARE BEING SABOTAGED!(Mariam)
- Broadway theatres in New York are opening again(Marissa)
- Bear escapes in Bielefeld (Lenn)
- The story of Walter Taylor (Malte)
More to come…