How to Spot COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories

The guide identifies seven telltale traits of conspiratorial thinking: contradictory beliefs, overriding suspicion, nefarious intent, the conviction that 'something must be wrong', a perceived role as a persecuted victim, immunity to evidence, and the re-interpretation of randomness. To illustrate these patterns, the authors asked 42 Georgians to invent COVID-19 conspiracy theories, finding that such narratives are often used by opposing political sides to undermine one another. The document argues that recognizing these tactics is essential for building resilience against misinformation during times of crisis and uncertainty.

• Conspiratorial thinking is characterized by seven specific traits: contradictory beliefs, overriding suspicion of official accounts, the assumption of nefarious intent, a persistent belief that 'something must be wrong', the perception of being a persecuted victim, immunity to evidence through self-sealing narratives, and the re-interpretation of random events as intentional patterns.
• In a study involving 42 Georgians asked to invent COVID-19 conspiracy theories, the results showed that these narratives were frequently political and were used by both Democrats and Republicans to target the opposing side.
• Conspiracy theories are described as 'self-sealing', meaning that evidence contradicting the theory is not used to disprove it, but is instead re-interpreted as being part of the conspiracy itself.

APA

Lewandowsky, S., Cook, J., Ecker, U., & van der Linden, S. (2020). How to Spot COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories. Center for Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/How-to-Spot-COVID-19-Conspiracy-Theories.pdf

Chicago

Lewandowsky, Stephan, John Cook, Ullrich Ecker, and Sander van der Linden. How to Spot COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories. Center for Climate Change Communication, 2020. https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/How-to-Spot-COVID-19-Conspiracy-Theories.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Lewandowsky |first1=Stephan |last2=Cook |first2=John |last3=Ecker |first3=Ullrich |last4=van der Linden |first4=Sander |title=How to Spot COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories |publisher=Center for Climate Change Communication |date=May 2020 |url=https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/How-to-Spot-COVID-19-Conspiracy-Theories.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lewandowsky2020how, author = {Lewandowsky, Stephan and Cook, John and Ecker, Ullrich and van der Linden, Sander}, title = {{How to Spot COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories}}, institution = {Center for Climate Change Communication}, year = {2020}, month = may, url = {https://climatecommunication.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/How-to-Spot-COVID-19-Conspiracy-Theories.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }