Nov 2, 2021 | Arts & Culture
By Anders Furze Although scientific evidence says the Earth is a sphere orbiting the Sun, there are some people around who still think our planet is flat… and social media plays a role. If you type ‘flat Earth’ into Google, you’d be joining a group of people...
Sep 13, 2021 | Arts & Culture, Politics & Society
Conspiracy theories have marked American politics throughout the nation’s history. The most recent popular conspiracy centres around a shadowy figure who posts online under the pseudonym Q. The conspiracy is known as QAnon, and it poses a challenge for both law...
May 12, 2021 | Politics & Society
While President, Donald Trump regularly complained that a deep state was undermining his policies and his decisions. He painted a picture of a conspiracy that unelected government officials were seeking to overthrow his Presidency. What is the so-called deep state?...
May 4, 2021 | Arts & Culture
By Matthew Marques, James McLennan, John Kerr, Matthew Ling & Matt Williams Research suggests avoiding ridicule, showing empathy, affirming critical thinking and appealing to trusted message sources can help when talking to someone who believes in conspiracy...
Jan 11, 2021 | Arts & Culture, Politics & Society
By Danny Osborne “By situating the cause of these events in the hands of a few nefarious actors, conspiracy theorists are able to take the unpredictability out of life and regain a sense of control.” From bushfires to a pandemic that led to nation-wide...
Dec 16, 2020 | Science & Technology
By Fiona Crichton What has become starkly apparent in the age of the SARS CoV-2 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is that the effective communication of science-based health messages is no easy task. What has become starkly apparent in the age of the SARS CoV-2 novel...
Aug 31, 2020 | Politics & Society, Science & Technology
Misinformation is rampant about COVID-19, and in some cases, it has caused death, blindness, emergency health issues, widespread stigma, and social ostracization. Holly Seale and Md. Saiful Islam were part of a team that studied the rumors, conspiracies, and...
Aug 27, 2020 | Arts & Culture, Politics & Society
By M Dentith Polls indicate that the public broadly supports the coalition government’s COVID-19 pandemic response, and public condemnation of conspiracy theories about COVID-19 is easy to find. When the Prime Minister, Jacinda Arden, and the Director-General of...
Jun 14, 2019 | Arts & Culture
Post-truth. Alternative facts. Fake news. We are living in a world where conspiracy theories are allowed to flourish. With every mass shooting, terrorist attack, and new political policy announcement, it seems like a new conspiracy theory will be dreamt up somewhere...
Dec 6, 2018 | Arts & Culture, Politics & Society
By Heather Wood & Leslie Hahner Heather Woods and Leslie Hahner discuss how mainstream media helps to weaponize far-right conspiracy theories. Once an anti-Semitic rumor moved from fringe to the mainstream, it took less than two weeks for violence to erupt. The...