The pandemic’s parallel dimension
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Start ’em young. We’ve written in the past about how conspiracy theories fly on TikTok. Outlandish QAnon tropes like #pizzagate have found fertile ground among Gen-Zers, while the hashtag #glitchtok is full of conspiracy videos, spread by young people who believe we have entered “a parallel dimension” during the pandemic. According to research by psychologists at the University of Northumbria in the U.K., belief in conspiracy theories is heightened at the age of 14 and begins to flourish during adolescence. These young people are going to be voting adults in a few years, so encouraging fact-based critical thinking from an early age could be vital in preventing a more monstrous infodemic than the one we’re currently battling.
An orthodox priest in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, took to social media this week, sermonizing about a bizarre alleged discovery. “Vaccinated people can connect to Bluetooth,” he solemnly told his followers. He also made similar statements to the media, but – oddly – refused to demonstrate his claim for TV cameras. The Church itself, which has huge influence and power within the country, is split over vaccines. Some priests have spread fear over the shots, while others have been injected publicly and staunchly denounced misinformation like the Bluetooth rumor.
Spotlight: Learning to leave the New Age movement
I’ve recently been interviewing people who stand out as anomalies in the conspiracy world. Individuals who fell down the rabbit hole, stayed there for many years and then — against all odds — clambered out. They’re now in the process of deprogramming themselves, and the experience can be traumatic.