Conspiracy theories prevent society from seeing the truth

Sociologist Dr. Berat Dağ evaluated the reasons behind the rapid spread of conspiracy theories in society today and their effects, stating, “Conspiracy theories are actually used to cover up real conspiracies.”

Emphasizing that conspiracy theories spread most rapidly and effectively through the media and digital platforms, Dr. Berat Dağ said, “Especially in societies with a low level of critical media literacy, there are many examples where polarizing theories presented in the media are accepted as reliable and valid without any verification.”

Dr. Berat Dağ from the Department of Sociology at Üsküdar University Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences evaluated the reasons behind the rapid spread of conspiracy theories in society today and their impacts.

Conspiracy theories are essentially simple constructions

Stating that conspiracy theories are simple constructions produced for diagnosing and explaining political, economic and social problems, Dr. Berat Dağ said, “Therefore, these theories do not require multidimensional, in depth and holistic evaluations of events and processes. In other words, conspiracy theories can generally be seen as a collection of claims that cannot be proven or falsified. From this perspective, it can be expected that societies with a declining level of critical awareness become trapped in such reductionist, superficial and fragmented ready-made answers.”

They are used to cover up real conspiracies

Saying that “Conspiracy theories are actually used to cover up real conspiracies,” Dr. Berat Dağ continued as follows: “In this sense, individuals who become massified by swinging toward excess or deficiency through conspiracy theories are constructed. As a result, it becomes very difficult for individuals and societies that become excessively passive or excessively active to sustain an original and continuous struggle for justice. For example, if an individual believes that the world is governed by five families, they may fall into despair and come to see even the simplest struggle for rights as meaningless. This means that a suitable ground is prepared for structures and interaction patterns that continuously reproduce inequality, oppression and othering.”

Insecure and isolated societies are more prone to conspiracy theories

Dr. Berat Dağ stated that it can be argued that individuals and societies who are unconscious, have lost their sense of trust, become isolated and feel helpless tend to turn to conspiracy theories more often, adding, “In societies where no one trusts anyone, individuals who are left alone are deprived of the knowledge and support needed to solve the problems they face. This state of deprivation causes individuals and societies to see answers that provide short term relief as absolute truths. Of course, it is clear that while these answers may be functional in the short term, they do nothing more than deepen the source of problems in the long term.”

Conspiracy theories prevent societies from seeing real problems

Noting that conspiracy theories prevent individuals and societies from making decisions oriented toward what is good, right and just, Sociologist Dr. Berat Dağ said, “Examples of famine, poverty and genocide still continue around the world. Despite this, instead of seeking solutions to the roots of these problems, masses choose to attack different ethnicities, religious lifestyles or sexual orientations. For instance, when a social crisis deepens, individuals and communities may directly blame migrants, religious people or homosexuals without conducting any research on imperialist capitalist inequalities. This, in turn, means that such crises deepen even further. Therefore, we can say that conspiracy theories consciously misguide individuals, communities and societies for the interests of privileged classes and identities that remain in the minority.”

Media and digital platforms are the fastest channels for the spread of conspiracy theories

Drawing attention to the fact that conspiracy theories spread most rapidly and effectively through media and digital platforms, Dr. Berat Dağ said, “In fact, these platforms possess a technological nature that allows broad participant networks to establish rapid interactions freely. However, these positive features also contain the potential to turn into their opposite. Especially in societies with low levels of critical media literacy, there are many examples where polarizing theories presented in the media are accepted as reliable and valid without any verification. With this in mind, it is reasonable to view media and digital platforms as tools that can both spread and prevent conspiracy theories.”

How can ‘conspiracy theory literacy’ be developed in society

Emphasizing the importance of building a holistic struggle against conspiracy theories, Dr. Berat Dağ said, “In concrete terms, it is meaningful for institutions such as family, religion, education, media, economy and politics to undergo coordinated transformations that will equip individuals with awareness against conspiracy theories. At this point, every individual needs to acquire the habit of deeply questioning unfounded claims from childhood onward. It can be argued that as calm, measured and critical perspectives increase in a society, the influence of conspiracy theories will decrease.”

The disconnect between scientific knowledge and society strengthens conspiracy theories

Pointing out that there are many reasons why scientific knowledge capable of neutralizing conspiracy theories does not gain sufficient social prevalence, Dr. Berat Dağ said, “Here, it is critical to first recognize that scientific structures themselves are fragmented. Even today, there are scientific institutions that continue as closed circuits disconnected from society, accompanied by rhetorical and patronizing forms. Likewise, the failure of other social institutions to take coordinated measures against conspiracy theories is also a problem. Because individuals who cannot be equipped against conspiracy theories at every stage of life will have a lower rate of forming strong interactions with scientific knowledge. In short, when an organic bond cannot be established between scientific knowledge and society, the influence of conspiracy theories may increase.”

Strengthening critical thinking is the most effective protection against conspiracy theories

Dr. Berat Dağ concluded by stating that organizing all social institutions within the framework of independent, multidimensional, balanced, in depth and holistic critical thinking can contribute to preventing conspiracy theories, saying, “Accordingly, it is highly beneficial for each individual to shape their family relationships, religious life, educational processes, media interactions, economic actions and political preferences in a critical manner. In this way, individuals, communities and societies can be prevented from seeing conspiracy theories as truth and engaging in destructive actions based on these theories.”