Science Denial and COVID Conspiracy Theories

Abstract

The US public health response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been dismal, characterized by antimask behavior, antivaccine beliefs, conspiracy theories about the origins of COVID-19, and vocal support by elected officials for unproven therapies. Less than half of the people in the US heed health recommendations to wear a mask when out in public. 1 Antiscience rhetoric has consequences. While only 4% of the world's population resides in the US, the US has accounted for 20% of the world's deaths related to COVID-19 and has performed less well than several other wealthy nations. 2 Low science literacy contributes to denial of science. The relationship between antiscience viewpoints and low science literacy underscores new findings regarding the brain mechanisms that form and maintain false beliefs. Science Literacy Is EssentialCOVID-19 science is complex, and the public is presented with a dizzying array of graphs, statistics, and proposed therapies. Also, communications by scientists changed as they learned about the infectivity and virulence of COVID-19, exacerbating mistrust of scientists by some. In 2015, in a survey of 11 000 12th-grade students

Viral Visualizations: How Coronavirus Skeptics Use Orthodox Data Practices to Promote Unorthodox Science Online

“…Similarly, these groups' impulse to mitigate bias and increase transparency (often by dropping the use of data they see as "biased") echoes the organizing ethos of computer science research that seeks to develop "technological solutions regarding potential bias" or "ground research on fairness, accountability, and transparency" [7]. In other words, these groups see themselves as engaging deeply within multiple aspects of the scientifc process-interrogating the datasets, analysis, and conclusions-and still university researchers might dismiss them in leading journals as "scientifcally illiterate" [74]. In an interview with the Department of Health and Human Services podcast, even Anthony Fauci (Chief Medical Advisor to the US President) noted: "one of the problems we face in the United States is that unfortunately, there is a combination of an anti-science bias [...] people are, for reasons that sometimes are, you know, inconceivable and not understandable, they just don't believe science" [41].…”

COVID-19 false dichotomies and a comprehensive review of the evidence regarding public health, COVID-19 symptomatology, SARS-CoV-2 transmission, mask wearing, and reinfection

“…The other has vociferously disparaged the use of "muzzles" or "face nappies" based on unwarranted or negligible physiological concerns (e.g., increased risk of hypercapnia, clinical worsening of infected individuals, increased risk of skin infections) [453][454][455], infringement on libertarian values [19,456,457], toxic masculinity [458,459], or plain mask denialism [460,461]. Unsurprisingly, deep-seated conspiracy theories, scientific illiteracy, strong political views, and countervisualizations 20 have stoked the anti-mask sentiment of the latter group, aiming to overturn mask recommendations and mandates [19,462].…”

Mind and Heart As Partners

“…Science denial, aggravated by widespread science illiteracy, was a major factor in the United States' dismal early response to the COVID-19 pandemic (Miller, 2020). As Miller (2020) says, "Rather than engaging with information that is difficult to 'see' and that may require changes in behavior, it may be easier to take in data that are simple and reassuring" (p. 2256).…”