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Health authorities and companies conspiring to withhold important information from the public
In general, conspiracy theories tend to become more prominent when people feel threatened or fear a loss of control, because the theories allow people to cope with threatening events by focusing blame on a set of presumed conspirators.
Not everyone who engages in conspiratorial rhetoric is a firm believer in a conspiracy. Sometimes conspiracy theories are used as a rhetorical tool to escape inconvenient conclusions. For example, some people will allude to a conspiracy among scientists to explain away a scientific consensus they oppose, such as climate change, but the same people will not do so when a scientific consensus is of no relevance to their personal attitudes. In general, debunking is easier with individuals who adopt conspiratorial rhetoric only for convenience.
However, some individuals are deeply committed to their conspiratorial beliefs, which may have become part of their identity. Debunking is much more challenging with those committed individuals. People who are committed believers tend to be devoted to more than one conspiracy theory.
Belief in multiple conspiracies (that COVID is a hoax and that the government is hiding people killed by the vaccine) is therefore a good indicator of beliefs that are probably deeply held. In addition, people who are committed believers also tend to exhibit other diagnostic attitudes and attributes. For example, people high on narcissism are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories, as are people who engage in magical thinking (e.g., claim to have experience with the supernatural) and are high in Machiavellianism (and hence low in trust).
The variables that drive belief in conspiracy theories tend to be emotional in nature and revolved around fears and a sense of loss of control.
This theme claims that authority figures—typically governments, but also pharmaceutical companies, doctors, health organisations, or the media—are conspiring to lie, cover up, or withhold important information about vaccine dangers from the public.
Conspiracist arguments about a cover up often—though not always—feature a hidden profit motive, related to the ‘Big Pharma’ theme, where the authorities are hiding their links to pharmaceutical companies from the public. However, conspiracist arguments about a cover up may occur without linking it to a profit motive.
Real conspiracies exist. Volkswagen conspired to cheat emissions tests for their diesel engines. The U.S. National Security Agency secretly spied on civilian internet users. Real conspiracies are typically revealed by whistleblowers or the media, who engage in investigation and critical thinking. Critical thinking is a very important skill, and we should all be open to evidence of a conspiracy.
Dialogue between patients and healthcare professionals is most productive if it is guided by empathy, and an opportunity for the patient to affirm the reasons underlying their attitudes and to express understanding for that. That’s why it is important to understand the attitude roots behind people’s overt opinions. To affirm a person’s underlying attitude root does not mean we need to agree with the specifics of their argument. For example, we can acknowledge that:
Real conspiracies exist. Volkswagen conspired to cheat emissions tests for their diesel engines. The U.S. National Security Agency secretly spied on civilian internet users. Real conspiracies are typically revealed by whistleblowers or the media, who engage in investigation and critical thinking. Critical thinking is a very important skill, and we should all be open to evidence of a conspiracy.
The bodies that are advising the government about the safety of vaccines are composed of independent experts and are not under the government’s control. In many countries, such as the U.S., advisory bodies deliberate in public, and anyone can watch their decision making on YouTube.
In addition, all side effects from vaccines are reported and tracked. In many countries, these reporting sites are public and open to anyone. In the UK we have the Yellow Card Scheme for example.
Whenever any safety concerns are raised, agencies take them very seriously and may even pause administering a vaccine—as happened in 2021 in younger age groups in the UK with the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19.
Additional information:
Academic references:
In general, conspiracy theories tend to become more prominent when people feel threatened or fear a loss of control, because the theories allow people to cope with threatening events by focusing blame on a set of presumed conspirators.
Not everyone who engages in conspiratorial rhetoric is a firm believer in a conspiracy. Sometimes conspiracy theories are deployed as a rhetorical tool to escape inconvenient conclusions. For example, some people selectively appeal to a conspiracy among scientists to explain away a scientific consensus they oppose, such as climate change, but the same people will not do so when a scientific consensus is of no relevance to their personal attitudes. In general, debunking is easier with individuals who deploy conspiratorial rhetoric only for convenience.
However, some individuals are deeply committed to their conspiratorial beliefs, which may have become part of their identity. Debunking is much more challenging with those committed individuals. People who are committed believers tend to be devoted to more than one conspiracy theory. Belief in multiple conspiracies (that COVID is a hoax and that the government is hiding people killed by the vaccine) is therefore a good indicator of beliefs that are probably deeply held. In addition, people who are committed believers also tend to exhibit other diagnostic attitudes and attributes. For example, people high on narcissism are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories, as are people who engage in magical thinking (e.g., claim to have experience with the supernatural) and are high in Machiavellianism (and hence low in trust). The variables that drive belief in conspiracy theories tend to be emotional in nature and revolved around fears and a sense of loss of control.
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