From Anti-Measure Activism to Anti-State Extremism? The "Querdenker'' Protest-Movement and Its Interrelation ad Dynamics with the 'Reichsburger' in Germany and Austria

IntroductionConspiracy theories are popular during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conspiratorial thinking is characterised by the strong conviction that a certain situation that one sees as unjust is the result of a deliberate conspiracy of a group of people with bad intentions. Conspiratorial thinking appears to have many similarities with paranoid delusions.ObjectivesTo explore the nature, consequences, and social-psychological dimensions of conspiratorial thinking, and describe similarities and differences with paranoid delusions.MethodsCritically assessing relevant literature about conspiratorial thinking and paranoid delusions.ResultsConspiratorial thinking meets epistemic, existential, and social needs. It provides clarity in uncertain times and connection with an in-group of like-minded people. Both conspiratorial thinking and paranoid delusions involve an unjust, persistent, and sometimes bizarre conviction. Unlike conspiracy theorists, people with a paranoid delusion are almost always the only target of the presumed conspiracy, and they usually stand alone in their conviction. Furthermore, conspiracy theories are not based as much on unusual experiences of their inner self, reality, or interpersonal contacts.ConclusionsConspirational thinking is common in uncertain circumstances. It gives grip, certainty, moral superiority and social support. Extreme conspirational thinking seems to fit current psychiatric definitions of paranoid delusions, but there are also important differences. To make a distinction with regard to conspiratorial thinking, deepening of conventional definitions of delusions is required. Instead of the strong focus on the erroneous content of delusions, more attention should be given to the underlying idiosyncratic, changed way of experiencing reality.DisclosureNo significant relationships.

Conspiratorial thinking, selective exposure to conservative media, and response to COVID-19 in the US

In this study, we tested the validity across two scales addressing conspiratorial thinking that may influence behaviours related to public health and the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the COVIDiSTRESSII Global Survey data from 12 261 participants, we validated the 4-item Conspiratorial Thinking Scale and 3-item Anti-Expert Sentiment Scale across 24 languages and dialects that were used by at least 100 participants per language. We employed confirmatory factor analysis, measurement invariance test and measurement alignment for internal consistency testing. To test convergent validity of the two scales, we assessed correlations with trust in seven agents related to government, science and public health. Although scalar invariance was not achieved when measurement invariance test was conducted initially, we found that both scales can be employed in further international studies with measurement alignment. Moreover, both conspiratorial thinking and anti-expert sentiments were significantly and negatively correlated with trust in all agents. Findings from this study provide supporting evidence for the validity of both scales across 24 languages for future large-scale international research.

The anti-scientific and anti-vaccine movements gained momentum amidst the health and socio-economic crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. These widespread pseudoscientific beliefs and the endorsement of conspiracy theories likely contributed to the COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. The aim of this study was to explore which variables best differentiated between groups of vaccinated (n = 289), vaccine-hesitant (n = 106), and vaccine-refusing (n = 146) young adults. The study was conducted online at the beginning of the mass vaccination campaign in Croatia when the vaccine just became available for younger and non-vulnerable members of the general population. The demographic variables, COVID-19 anxiety, and conspiratorial thinking regarding COVID-19 were entered into the discriminant analysis. The function explaining 89.2% of the group differences, mostly between the vaccinated and vaccine-refusing, was largely defined by conspiratorial thinking regarding COVID-19 (0.852), followed by variables with substantially less discriminative power, including COVID-19 anxiety (0.423; lower in the vaccine-refusing group), political orientation (0.486; vaccine-refusing leaning less to the left), financial and educational status (0.435 and 0.304, respectively; both lower in the vaccine-refusing group), and religiosity (0.301; higher in the vaccine-refusing group). These results confirm that among young adults, the decision to vaccinate against COVID-19 might be heavily influenced by one’s proclivity to engage in conspiratorial thinking.

يهدف البحث الحالي إلى التعرف على معدلات انتشار التفکير التآمري والتفکير الإيجابي والقلق لدى الکويتيين خلال فترة جائحة کورونا، فضلا عن معرفة العلاقة بينهم، وذلک لدي عينة من الکويتيين الذکور قوامها(50) فردا، تراوحت أعمارهم ما بين (27-65) عاما، وقد تم اختيار العينة بشکل قصدي، وقد طبق عليهم مقياس التفکير التآمري ومقياس جامعة الکويت للقلق ومقياس التقکير الايجابي بعد عمل نسخة الکترونية من المقاييس وارسالها عبر الانترنت، وذلک من خلال أحد برامج التواصل الاجتماعي (WhatsApp) . وأظهرت النتائج ارتفاع معدلات التفکير التآمري والقلق وانخفاض معدلات التفکير الايجابي لدى الکويتيين کما کشفت النتائج أيضا إلى وجود ارتباط سلبي دال جوهري بين التفکير الإيجابي وکل من القلق والتفکير التآمري، کذلک هناک ارتباط إيجابي بين التفکير التآمري والقلق. Corona Pandemic, Conspiracy Thinking versus Positive Thinking, and the prevalence of Anxiety in Kuwaitis Abstract The purpose of this study is to identify the prevalence of conspiracy thinking, positive thinking and anxiety among Kuwaitis during COVID-19 pandemic, as well as knowledge of the relationship between them. The final sample (50) was selected randomly from Kuwaiti citizens, ages ranged between (27-65) years, who completed the electronic copy of the scales on social networks (WhatsApp). the results indicate high rates of conspiracy thinking and anxiety, However low rates of positive thinking. Also, the results indicate significant negative correlations between positive thinking and both variables (Anxiety-Conspiracy Thinking).Also there is significant positive correlations between Anxiety and Conspiracy Thinking.

One way to cope with crises is by attributing their ultimate causes to malevolent conspiracies. As crises are rarely simple, and may involve an interplay between multiple, co-occurring threats, we suggest that conspiracy thinking mainly occurs among individuals who experience conditions of threat complexity – such as socioeconomic vulnerability paired with a sense of helplessness in society, and who are also sufficiently paranoid to infer a conspiracy. In the present study, we focused on financial strain and disempowerment, as two relevant threats which were both dramatically affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and hypothesized a three-way interaction between financial strain, disempowerment and paranoia in predicting conspiracy thinking. This hypothesis was supported in both cross-national ( N = 64,130) and longitudinal data ( N = 11,159), collected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Implications of the results for understanding the tendency to reduce multiple threats to a single cause are discussed.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a surge of conspiracy theories that are used to explain this health crisis. Belief in these theories in turn has significant implications regarding adherence to scientifically based health measures and the seeking of appropriate medical treatment. However, the precursors of conspiracy thinking have not yet been fully understood. The current study investigated the direct and indirect effect of reflective functioning on conspiracy thinking through the role of generalized perceived threat of the virus, positive and negative emotions, trust in scientists, and trust in God in a sample of 1,730 adults in Greece. The results indicate that enhanced capacity for reflective functioning is associated with less likelihood of conspiracy theory endorsement. Higher levels of reflective functioning were associated with increased negative emotionality, lower levels of generalized perceived threat, greater trust in scientists, and less trust in God. Reflective functioning in and of itself did not predict conspiracy theory endorsement directly. Rather, this relationship was fully mediated by negative emotionality, generalized perceived threat, and higher levels of trust in scientists. These findings support recently proposed positions indicating that reflective functioning has a significant role in the framework of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted individual’s life and society, and such an emergency has increased the likelihood of recurring conspiratorial thinking. There is much research on broader conspiratorial thinking and studies on COVID-19-related conspiratorial thinking has been growing worldwide, moreover, the negative consequences of COVID-19 specific conspiratorial beliefs for people’s health are clear. However, person-centered research aiming at identify groups of individuals who share patterns of relations between COVID-19 specific conspiratorial beliefs and other psychological features is still scarce. A sample of 1.002 people (18–40 years old, M = 23; SD = 5.19) responded to a questionnaire administered online. The aim was to identify groups of individuals based on their beliefs about COVID-19 conspiracy theories and to compare the groups identified in terms of psychological characteristics associated such as automatic defense mechanisms, coping strategies, powerlessness, emotions, emotional regulation, attitudes toward the COVID-19, social distancing discontent, perceptions of COVID-19 severity and temporal perspective. A k-mean cluster analysis identified the groups of Believers (22.26%), Ambivalent believers (34.3%), and Non-believers (43.21%). The three groups differ particularly in terms of defense mechanisms, and time perspective. Results suggested the need to tailor interventions for individuals believing in COVID-19 conspiratorial theories based on differences in the psychological characteristics among the three groups.

Editorial—The truth is out there: The psychology of conspiracy theories and how to counter them

An active participation in CFSP during the 1990s helped enhance Spain's diplomatic status. By the latter half of the decade there were no issues of fundamental principle at stake for Spain in relation to CFSP. Rather, the focus was on securing modest improvements to EU foreign policy instruments. In this respect, Spain was increasingly cautious, favouring intergovernmental procedures and only a very gradual, incremental development of European foreign policy cooperation. Such caution emerged during the PSOE administration, but became more notable under the first PP government. CFSP produced different effects depending on the policy area: in the Mediterranean it facilitated a Europeanization of Spain's strategic interests; in Russia it allowed Spain to let other EU states take the lead in protecting European interests; in Latin America it was insufficient for Spanish objectives, the latter having to be pursued through national policies. Spain became a more mainstream and influential actor within CFSP, but still fell short of enjoying major player status.

The impact of Covid-19 has given more attention to the tourism sector. The level of threat and risk from the Covid-19 pandemic significantly reduces the intention of tourists to stay at hotels. Cleanliness, Health, Safety and Environmental Sustainability (CHSE) promotes a clean, healthy, safe and friendly environment. CHSE is a policy implemented by the government, especially by the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy in preventing the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of implementing the CHSE protocol in the tourism, hospitality, and restaurant sectors during the Covid-19 pandemic and to see future research opportunities that might be carried out regarding the implementation of the CHSE protocol in Indonesia. This study is a literature review study to see the impact of the implementation of the CHSE protocol on various business sectors. This research was conducted by collecting articles through the Mandeley search engine, Google Scholar, Google. The articles used are articles published in the last 5 years maximum, then analysis and conclusions are drawn. Based on the results of a study of 13 articles, it was found that the implementation of CHSE was able to have a positive impact on companies, especially in restoring economic performance in the business and tourism sectors. From the results of the review, 67% of the CHSE protocols were applied to the tourism sector, 20% in the hotel sector and 13% in the restaurant sector. The impact of implementing CHSE in various sectors, which has the most impact on the economy and 28% interest in visiting tourist attractions. In addition, there are also other impacts of the implementation of CHSE, namely the level of visitor confidence by 18%, visitor satisfaction by 9%, comfort by 9%, Thrust 18% and a sense of security by 18%. The application of CHSE is urgently needed in the tourism, hotel and restaurant sectors to increase the level of the economy during the Covid-19 pandemic. The implementation of CHSE is prioritized in the tourism sector because it has a contribution to the country's economy.

Social distancing measures are proposed as the primary strategy to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, identifying situations where these protocols are violated has implications for curtailing the spread of the disease and promoting a sustainable lifestyle. This paper proposes a novel computer vision-based system to analyze CCTV footage to provide a threat level assessment of COVID-19 spread. The system strives to holistically interpret the information in CCTV footage spanning multiple frames to recognize instances of various violations of social distancing protocols, across time and space, as well as identification of group behaviors. This functionality is achieved primarily by utilizing a temporal graph-based structure to represent the information of the CCTV footage and a strategy to holistically interpret the graph and quantify the threat level of the given scene. The individual components are evaluated in a range of scenarios, and the complete system is tested against human expert opinion. The results reflect the dependence of the threat level on people, their physical proximity, interactions, protective clothing, and group dynamics, with a system performance of 76% accuracy.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been notable for the widespread dissemination of misinformation regarding the virus and appropriate treatment. To quantify the prevalence of non-evidence-based treatment for COVID-19 in the US and the association between such treatment and endorsement of misinformation as well as lack of trust in physicians and scientists. This single-wave, population-based, nonprobability internet survey study was conducted between December 22, 2022, and January 16, 2023, in US residents 18 years or older who reported prior COVID-19 infection. Self-reported use of ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine, endorsing false statements related to COVID-19 vaccination, self-reported trust in various institutions, conspiratorial thinking measured by the American Conspiracy Thinking Scale, and news sources. A total of 13 438 individuals (mean [SD] age, 42.7 [16.1] years; 9150 [68.1%] female and 4288 [31.9%] male) who reported prior COVID-19 infection were included in this study. In this cohort, 799 (5.9%) reported prior use of hydroxychloroquine (527 [3.9%]) or ivermectin (440 [3.3%]). In regression models including sociodemographic features as well as political affiliation, those who endorsed at least 1 item of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation were more likely to receive non-evidence-based medication (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 2.86; 95% CI, 2.28-3.58). Those reporting trust in physicians and hospitals (adjusted OR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.56-0.98) and in scientists (adjusted OR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.51-0.79) were less likely to receive non-evidence-based medication. Respondents reporting trust in social media (adjusted OR, 2.39; 95% CI, 2.00-2.87) and in Donald Trump (adjusted OR, 2.97; 95% CI, 2.34-3.78) were more likely to have taken non-evidence-based medication. Individuals with greater scores on the American Conspiracy Thinking Scale were more likely to have received non-evidence-based medications (unadjusted OR, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.06-1.11; adjusted OR, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.07-1.13). In this survey study of US adults, endorsement of misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic, lack of trust in physicians or scientists, conspiracy-mindedness, and the nature of news sources were associated with receiving non-evidence-based treatment for COVID-19. These results suggest that the potential harms of misinformation may extend to the use of ineffective and potentially toxic treatments in addition to avoidance of health-promoting behaviors.

The spread of Covid-19 pandemic in East Africa has greatly undermined the daily economic activities of the motorbike operators in the region during its first phase. The motor bike riders (boda boda) have been condemned for the fast spread of Covid-19 due to the nature of their business of moving people from place to place and deep into communities. Boda boda transport system has been embraced by most people in East Africa since it is fast, flexible and cheap and has become more popular among the poor segments of the society. However, with the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic the East African governments have put spotlight on the motorbike transport industry as a weak link in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. In Uganda for instance President Yoweri Museveni had to ban boda boda operators from carrying passengers for the fear of community-to-community spread of the pandemic. The consequences of the negative perception against the boda boda operators carried psychosocial as well as economic repercussions with it such as intense fear, obsessive behaviour, anxiety and stigma. The purpose of this study was to investigate Covid-19 pandemic and its psychosocial as well as economic challenges on the motorbike transport in Kimilili Sub County, Bungoma County, Kenya. The study population comprised of all the motorcycle riders within Kimilili town. The sample size comprised of 24 motor bike riders sampled from the 12 main town stages from which 2 participants were selected through simple random sampling. The study adopted qualitative research design where descriptive survey was employed. The study employed Focused group Discussion (FGD) tool for data collection. The FGD involved the participants in a discussion on common psychosocial problems affecting the boda boda operators. Data was collected and analyzed qualitatively then presented in prose. The results revealed that motorbike riders had faced numerous challenges ranging from reduced income and stigma to police harassment and corruption. The study recommends reforms that can restore sanity and dignity to the boda boda public transport industry such as financial empowerment, social protection, training of staff and counselling services.

Most urban centres and cities globally are vulnerable to the fast spread of Covid-19 due to their high population and many interactive activities including movement of people. The transport industry has been targeted in many parts of the world in the effort to curb the spread of pandemic as it is believed to be the main conduit of the spread of the pandemic. However, the lockdown of major cities all over the world has led to the development of under ways to facilitate illegal movement of people in and out of the lockdown epicentre cities. In Kenya for instance Nairobi and Mombasa which are believed to be the main epicentres of the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic were put under lockdown by the government of Kenya for three months. Consequently, the government through the ministry of health banned motorists especially public transport vehicles from entering and leaving the epicentre cities. During the lockdown motorcycle became the major mode of public transport illegally sneaking people in and out of these cities thus endangering lives of many Kenyans as they aided in the spread of the pandemic. The lifting of the lockdown of Mombasa and Nairobi has seen tremendous rise in infections and even deaths doubling the previous statistics. The objective of this study was therefore to investigate Covid-19 pandemic and its influence on the social risk behaviour change among motorcycle riders in the transport industry in Kimilili Sub county Bungoma County Kenya. The study population were all the motorcycle riders within Kimilili town. The sample size comprised of 60 motor bike riders selected through simple random sampling from 12 motorcycle stage points in Kimilili town. The study adopted quantitative research design where descriptive survey was employed. Simple structured questionnaire was developed and administered to the respondents. Data was collected and analyzed through descriptive statistics and presented in tables of frequencies and percentages. The results revealed that motorbike riders had failed to comply with the ministry of health guidelines in the transport industry to help fight the spread of Covid-19 pandemic. The extent to which the respondents complied with the government regulations was generally low. Therefore, the noncompliance behaviour of bike motorists to the government directives was a serious social health risk behaviour that the ministry of health should address to minimise the spread of Covid-19 through motorbike transport system in Kenya.