Conspiracy Beliefs Research Articles

Conspiracy Thinking, Conspiracy Beliefs, Denialism, Motivation, and COVID-19 Vaccination Intentions in Costa Rica

ABSTRACT An observational cross-sectional study was conducted among inhabitants of Costa Rica to examine motivational determinants of COVID-19 vaccination intentions (CVI), as well as to better understand the role of a set of conspiracy-related variables within the framework of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Data were collected online, and a subsample of those not yet vaccinated (N = 406, age = 44.35, S. D. = 13.23, 74.9% women) was selected. They reported TPB-variables, risk perception, conspiracy-related variables, and sociodemographic information. Structural equation was used to model the assumption that conspiracy beliefs presented direct and indirect effects on intentions. Conspiracy thinking, denialism, and sociodemographic information were also specified as determinants of conspiracy beliefs and vaccination intentions. Most determinants presented direct effects on intentions. Only perceived behavioral control, denialism, and conspiracy thinking presented no direct effects on intentions. Conspiracy beliefs had indirect effects on intentions via most TPB-variables and risk perception. Conspiracy beliefs were predicted only by conspiracy thinking, gender (male), and education. Sociodemographic variables had no effects on intentions. Evidence suggested that a mechanism integrating conspiracy-related variables, risk perception, and TPB-variables predicted CVI. Education and gender played a role in the onset of conspiracy beliefs and thereafter vaccination intentions.

Extremist narratives in the digital mainstream

This article employs a mixed-methods approach to explore the narrative articulation of crises in discussions around immigration and integration on Flashback Forum in Sweden. Using a combination of topic modelling and narrative analysis, it follows a two-step research design. First, topic modelling helps to identify key topics in the data and select a corpus for qualitative analysis. Second, drawing on Berger’s (2018) extremist crisis typology, we explore the crisis-narrative constructions around these topics, highlighting the extremist components within these. Our findings show that the prevalent topics in these discussions are not about immigration per se – rather, they address societal issues where perceived crises with immigration at their root are articulated in terms of how they disrupt everyday life in Sweden. Our analysis reveals how mundane concerns around immigration ventilated on Flashback mix with overtly extremist discourse and conspiracy beliefs, explicating Flashback as a site of everyday extremism.

Narrative misinformation from a credible source can be discredited with counternarrative

Former government intelligence officer David Grusch became a hot new topic in the UFO world when he declared that the government was hiding an alien ship crash retrieval program. Can this media coverage be influential in increasing belief in UFOs? And can a credible critic of Grusch's claims successfully negate the impact of the media coverage on the acceptance of misinformation? A three-condition experiment (N\,=\,287) showed that a counternarrative can successfully negate the influence of his claims on conspiratorial beliefs. We suggest that these results have practical implications for journalists in their coverage of controversial claims.

COVID-19 Parental Vaccine Hesitancy: The Role of Trust in Science and Conspiracy Beliefs

Background. Parent vaccine hesitancy is a sensitive topic despite the benefits associated with children’s vaccination. Especially regarding the COVID-19 vaccination, parents displayed concerns about children’s vaccination, questioning their effectiveness and security. Although several studies were conducted on the general population, few studies investigated this relationship on parents’ intentions. Methods. An online survey was advertised from May to December 2022 on social networks, collecting data from 109 participants (90% F; mean age: 41.34 years, SD: ±6.40). The survey assessed sociodemographic characteristics, vaccine hesitancy through the Parents Attitude towards Childhood Vaccine—PAVC, trust in science through the Belief in Science Scale—BISS, and conspiracy beliefs through the Generic Conspiracist Beliefs Scale—GCBS. Results. In our sample, 29 parents (26.6%) scored more than 50 points to PAVC and, for this reason, were considered hesitant. Moreover, more than half of parents (60.6%) declared that they did not intend to vaccinate their children in the future. The path analysis model showed that parents with low education tended to have higher conspiracy beliefs (β = −0.40). Holding conspiracy beliefs (β = 0.28) and having low trust in science (β = −0.23) was associated with higher parent hesitancy and, in turn, no future intention to vaccinate their children for COVID-19 (OR = 0.83, p < 0.001). Conclusion. The results of the current paper suggest that targeted campaigns should be aimed at parents with lower levels of education, mainly on social media, debunking the most common fake news or myths, independently from the type of vaccine, and highlighting the importance of scientific research for improving people’s living conditions.

A study of some psychological variables as predictors of COVID-19 vaccination anxiety among Faculty Members of Ain Shams University

The study aimed to investigate the relative contribution of each of psychasthenia, psychological flexibility, suggestibility, and conspiracy beliefs in predicting the anxiety of vaccination with the anti COVID-19 vaccine among faculty members at Ain Shams University (ASU). Examining the difference in the sample’s scores on the vaccination anxiety scale and its sub-factors according to the variables (age—chronic diseases—academic specialization—previous infection with COVID-19—gender), the sample of the study included 139 faculty members at Ain Shams University aged ranged from 23 to 78 years, with a mean of 49.52 years, and a standard deviation of 13.29 years. The vaccination anxiety scale, psychasthenia scale, psychological flexibility scale, suggestibility scale, and conspiracy beliefs scale were used to collect data. The results revealed that the variables of suggestibility and conspiracy beliefs significantly contribute to predicting the vaccination anxiety among faculty members at Ain Shams University. There is a significant difference in the average scores on the vaccination anxiety scale according to age, with the difference in favor of the age group less than fifty years, as well as according to the presence/absence of a previous infection with COVID-19, with the vaccination anxiety being higher for those who were previously infected. There has been no observed significant difference according to the presence/absence of chronic diseases or academic specialization.

Witchcraft beliefs and conspiracy theorizing: Evidence from Tanzania and cross‐national datasets

AbstractThis article suggests that since people who believe in magic and those who believe in conspiracy theories produce meaning and make sense of the world by engaging in the same process of signification, they should be more likely to have one such belief if they hold the other. To test this proposition, we perform both macro‐ and micro‐level analyses using, respectively, cross‐national datasets and an original set of Tanzanian data. Our findings from both sets of analyses reveal a strong association between witchcraft beliefs and the belief in conspiracy theories.Related ArticlesGainous, Jason, and Bill Radunovich. 2008. “Religion and Core Values: A Reformulation of the Funnel of Causality.” Politics & Policy 33(1): 154–80. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2005.tb00213.x.Richey, Sean. 2017. “A Birther and a Truther: The Influence of the Authoritarian Personality on Conspiracy Beliefs.” Politics & Policy 45(3): 465–85. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12206.Tubadji, Annie. 2023. “You'll Never Walk Alone: Loneliness, Religion, and Politico‐economic Transformation.” Politics & Policy 51(4): 661–95. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12538.

Vaccine conspiracy beliefs are the main determinant of adult vaccine hesitancy

Abstract Background Many factors influence the level of vaccine hesitancy. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that conspiracy beliefs are an important element of overwhelming misinformation. The main aim of the study was to assess the relationship between vaccine hesitancy (VH) and vaccine conspiracy beliefs (VCB) in Polish society. Methods The analysis was conducted using data from an online survey of 2189 Internet users conducted in November 2021. Uni- (ULRM) and multivariable linear regression (MLRM) models were developed for vaccine hesitancy as a dependent variable. The independent variables included VCB score (VCBS), health (HL) and e-health literacy (eHL), Internet (IU) and social media use (SMU), political views (PV), and sociodemographic variables. Results The VCBS, eHL, HL, age, income, vocational and marital status, place of residence, PV, IU, and SMU were significant predictors of VH in ULRMs. A significant relationship with VH was maintained in MLRM for all independent variables enlisted earlier, apart from age, income, and vocational status. Respondents with higher VCBS were more likely to have higher VH (B, 95%CI: 0.38, 0.37-0.40). Those with undetermined HL had higher VH than persons with sufficient HL (B, 95%CI: 0.13, 0.06-0.20). A higher level of eHL predicted a lower level of VH (B, 95%CI: -0.01, -0.012 - -0.03). Lower IU and higher SMU were associated with higher VH (B, 95%CI: 0.16, 0.02-0.30, and 0.10, 0.03-0.17, respectively). Supporters of far right-wing party showed higher HV than supporters of the governmental party (B, 95%CI: 0.16, 0.07-0.27). Finally, singles showed higher HV than married (B, 95%CI: 0.07, 0.01-0.13), and residents of small cities had higher HV than residents of rural areas (B, 95%CI: 0.08, 0.004-0.15). Conclusions The vaccine conspiracy beliefs play a major role in the development of VH. The interventions aimed at the change of antivaccination attitudes should address the problem of widespread conspiracy beliefs. Key messages • Conspiracy beliefs are an important determinant of attitudes toward vaccination. • The development of adequate digital health literacy may be a protective factor against vaccine hesitancy.

The Theory of Dyadic Morality and Moral Identity Explain the Public's Response to Harm Done by Government and Organisations

ABSTRACTHarm functions complexly in moral judgement but has been treated differently in the Social Intuitionist Model (SIM) and the Theory of Dyadic Morality (TDM). Both the SIM and TDM see felt harm as an outcome of experienced negative moral emotions (e.g., disgust), but the SIM regards harm as a kind of epiphenomenon in the sense that it does not affect moral judgement or behaviour, whereas the TDM interprets harm as an essential mediator of the link between negative moral emotions and immorality. The TDM also develops an explanation for how harm functions to initiate reactions to triggering events marked by an intentional agent causing injury to a vulnerable social actor. Here norms serve a regulatory function modulating the effects of harm committed by the agent on negative moral emotions. We conduct two experiments on representative samples of adults () and address two different moral contexts (companies doing badly and government doing badly with respect to a threatened health crisis), two different normative moderators (moral identity and belief in conspiracies) and two different moral action tendencies (intentions and word of mouth). Harm is found to have direct and contingent mediated effects on moral action tendencies, in accord with the TDM. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

My Body, My Choice? Examining the Distinct Profiles Underlying Attitudes Toward Abortion and COVID-19 Mandates

AbstractProtestors recently repurposed the abortion rights’ mantra, “my body, my choice,” to oppose COVID-19 mandates. But do those who oppose public health mandates fully support the right to choose? We answer this question by using exploratory analyses to identify the unique response patterns underlying support for abortion and COVID-19 mandates in random samples from the United States (Study 1; N = 2,331) and New Zealand (Study 2; N = 33,310). Latent profile analyses revealed a small subgroup in both countries (12.6% and 3.4% of the respective samples) who opposed mandates. Yet contrary to the “my body, my choice” rhetoric seen at anti-mandate protests, they also opposed abortion. Across both studies, those in the Anti-Mandate profile tended to be more religious, conservative, and distrustful of institutions. In Study 2, they were also low on cognitive consistency and high on conspiracy belief. Finally, the Anti-Mandate profile was opposed to free speech critical of both the United States and religion (Study 1), high on sexual prejudice (both studies), unsupportive of progressive protests (but supportive of reactionary protests; Study 2), and likely to vote for conservative parties (both studies). These results reveal the mobilization potential of the anti-mandate movement, uncover important contradictions within its members, and illustrate the nuanced ways in which opposition to gender policies (i.e., reproductive rights) coalesce with reactionary protests.

Conspiracy Theories: Groups, Ideology, and Status as Three Distinct Bases for Expressions in Society

Conspiracy theories have been treated mostly as a homogeneous phenomenon in empirical research. However, to fully understand their causes and consequences, a multifaceted approach to conspiracy theories would be useful. Here, we propose an organizational framework with three facets (groups, ideology, and status) to conceptualize conspiracy theories. Based on a review of recent research, the current contribution highlights the psychological differences between (a) perceived conspiracies within or outside of one’s valued community; (b) ideological versus nonideological conspiracy beliefs, based on whether conspiracy beliefs are directly relevant for people’s core values; and (c) upward versus downward conspiracy beliefs, that is, whether the perceived conspiracy involves a relatively high- or low-status group. Finally, we discuss some distinct consequences of these facets in affecting societally consequential behaviors, such as collective action, protest, hostility, or polarization.

Avoidance coping explains the link between narcissism and counternormative tendencies.

Previous research linked counternormative tendencies (e.g., conspiracy beliefs, cyberbullying, and catfishing) to narcissism-a personality trait characterized by difficulties in experiencing psychological threats. We argue that avoidance coping with stress favours attitudes and behaviours that allow for deflecting from stressful events and releasing one's stress at the expense of others. Thus, we hypothesized that avoidance coping might explain why narcissism favours counternormative tendencies. We conducted four studies (total N = 2643) in the United States and Poland to examine avoidance coping as a mediator of the relationship between narcissism and counternormative tendencies: conspiracy beliefs (Studies 1-4), willingness to conspire (Studies 2-4), cyberbullying (Studies 3-4) and catfishing (Study 4). All studies found a consistent positive indirect relationship between various forms of narcissism and counternormative tendencies via avoidance coping. These findings suggest that counternormative tendencies might reflect using maladaptive coping strategies.

The Effectiveness of an Educational Intervention on Countering Disinformation Moderated by Intellectual Humility

<span lang="EN-US">There is an ongoing debate among scholars on how to tackle disinformation. Media education initiatives to increase literacy are effective ways to counter disinformation. Hence, the European Commission (2022) published <em>Guidelines for Teachers and Educators on Tackling Disinformation and Promoting Digital Literacy Through Education and Training</em>. The present research looked at the role of social media literacy in increasing awareness of the role of social media in spreading disinformation. We developed an educational intervention based on the European Commission guidelines. We investigated its impact on perceived social media literacy, the intention to share fake news on social media, and general conspiracy beliefs. We conducted a within-subject (two times measurement: before the educational intervention and one week after) +1 experiment with <em>N</em> = 127 young adults (aged 18 to 23). After filling in an initial survey, the experimental group received a 15-minute educational intervention on the role of social media for disinformation dissemination in complex digital information environments. One week later, all participants completed the second survey to assess perceived social media literacy and general conspiracy beliefs. In both surveys, participants saw three Instagram posts from a fictitious media outlet to express potential intentions to share on social media. Among the three posts, two showed false information. Findings showed that educational intervention produces a significant increase in perceived social media literacy and a decrease in general conspiracy beliefs. Intellectual humility moderates the impact of educational intervention on algorithmic awareness.</span>

Exploring the Extremes: The Impact of Radical Right-Wing Populism on Conspiracy Beliefs in Austria

(1) Background: Populist radical right-wing parties and politicians have used conspiracy theories to perpetuate the antagonism between an evil elite conspiring against the good and unknowing people. Yet, less is known about whether and to what extent radical right-wing populism at the individual level is associated with different conspiracy beliefs. This analysis explores how the main components of radical right-wing populism—populist, nativist, and authoritarian attitudes—relate to both a general conspiracy mentality and specific conspiracy theories prevalent in political discourse. (2) Methods: Using data from an original 2023 online survey conducted in Austria, a stronghold of the populist radical right, this study includes new questions on immigration, COVID-19, and climate change, as well as a conspiracy mentality scale. (3) Results: The analyses reveal that all the main components are positively associated with different conspiracy beliefs, albeit to varying degrees. Across models, the strongest predictor is populism, followed by nativism and authoritarianism. Nativism varies the most across different conspiracy beliefs and is particularly associated with the belief in conspiracy theories related to immigration and climate change. (4) Conclusions: The results highlight the prevalence of radical right-wing populist attitudes across various conspiracy beliefs, reflecting how populist radical right-wing actors leverage conspiracy theories in their political discourse.

Institutional trust, conspiracy beliefs and Covid-19 vaccine uptake and hesitancy among adults in Ghana.

Vaccine hesitancy is considered one of the ten threats to global health. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccine hesitancy may undermine efforts toward controlling or preventing the disease. Nevertheless, limited research has examined vaccine hesitance, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). It is thus imperative to examine how institutional trust and conspiracy belief in tandem influence the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines. Using data (n = 2059) from a cross-sectional study in Ghana, this study examines the association between institutional trust, conspiracy beliefs, and vaccine uptake among adults in Ghana using logistics regression. The regression model (model 3) adjusted for variables such as marital status, age, gender, employment, income, and political affiliations. The results show that individuals were significantly less likely to be vaccinated if they did not trust institutions (OR = .421, CI = .232-.531). Similarly, we found that individuals who believed in conspiracy theories surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine were less likely to be vaccinated (OR = .734, CI = .436-.867). We also found that not having a COVID-19-related symptom is associated with vaccine refusal (OR = .069, CI = .008-.618). Similarly, compared to those with a vaccine history, those without a vaccine history are less likely to accept the COVID-19 vaccine (OR = .286, CI = .108-.756). In conclusion, our results demonstrate the need for enhanced education to tackle conspiracy beliefs about the disease and enhance vaccine uptake. Given the role of trust in effecting attitudinal change, building trust and credibility among the institutions responsible for vaccinations ought to be prioritized.

Conspiracy belief regarding emerging viral infection among healthcare professionals

Background: In the recent past, newly appeared emerging and re-emerging viruses causing unexpected illness and epidemics among humans, wildlife and livestock causing threat to the public health. During onset of any pandemic, there was always an embrace of conspiracy theory regarding the pandemic along with several misconceptions, misperception and stigma among the general population. The study aimed to assess the state of conspiracy belief regarding emerging viral infection among the healthcare professionals working in Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Dhaka. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted during July and September 2022 among conveniently selected 254 healthcare professionals working in CMH Dhaka. Data were collected through face-to-face interview using a pretested semi-structured questionnaire with validated and reliable tools. Results: Among the 254 respondents, 53.9% were male with a mean age (±SD) of 30.54 (6.36) years. More than twothird (72.8%) were graduate, married (62.6%), mostly Muslim (89.4%) and non-smoker (80.3%) with an average (±SD) monthly income of 83740.16 (57456.80). Highest (45.3%) of the respondents were permanently posted and only 33.5% attended any seminar/workshop/symposium in last six months. Job pattern (β=0.199, p<0.007) and attended any seminar/workshop/symposium (β=-0.149, p<0.01) were determined as significant predictors for conspiracy belief regarding emerging viral infection through hierarchical analysis. Marital status of the respondents was also identified as significant socio-economic issues conspiracy belief in emerging viral infection. Conclusion: The adoption of conspiracy belief regarding emerging viral infection demands appropriate public health intervention as well as awareness among the general population specially health care professionals as evident from our study. JOPSOM 2023; 42(1):1-6

Knowledge and conspiracy belief of healthcare professionals on human monkeypox virus: a cross-sectional study in a tertiary hospital of Bangladesh

Background: Since early May 2022, the unprecedented outbreak of human monkey pox (HMPX) has been documented globally which demands assessment of knowledge on the emerging viral infection as well as the state of conspiracy belief among the healthcare professionals. The present study aimed to assess the knowledge about HMPX and its relation to conspiracy belief. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Combined Military Hospital Dhaka (CMH) among purposively selected 254 healthcare professionals from July 2022 to September 2022. Data were collected through face-to-face interview using a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire with validated and reliable tools. Results: The study comprised a total of 254 respondents, including 53.9% male, 72.8% respondents having a graduate degree and 42.9% individuals aged between 26-30 years. The study revealed very poor (61.8%) knowledge on HMPX as well as higher (50.4%) belief in conspiracy theory among the respondents. The hierarchical logistic regression revealed that male had significantly higher (B=1.12, OR 3.06, 95% CI=1.714-5.463) knowledge on HMPX virus than that of the female, age group <31 years emerged as a negative and significant predictor than that of the age group >31 years (B= -1.065, OR 0.345, 95% CI=0.172-0.690), monthly income of between 60001-90000 taka also emerged as a positive and significant predictor than that of the income of >90001 taka (B=0.763, OR 2.145, 95% CI=1.002-4.595). Conclusion: The study findings demand intervention of appropriate health educational program in the medical study curriculum. JOPSOM 2023; 42(1):29-39

The Great Vaccine Divide: A Comparative Analysis of Distrust in Covid-19 Vaccines in Turkey

The aim of this study is to identify key predictors of public distrust in different Covid-19 vaccines available in Turkey. We use multiple linear regression with robust standard errors to analyze the data from the 2022 Turkey Covid-19 Values Survey of 1,500 face-to-face interviews across Turkey. Our results show that Pfizer/BioNTech has the lowest level of distrust, followed by Sinovac and Turkovac. Trust in political institutions and health institutions significantly reduce distrust for all vaccine brands. However, conspiracy beliefs and political conservatism are linked to higher distrust in Sinovac and BioNTech, while increased religiosity correlates with more distrust in BioNTech but less in Turkovac. Our comparative brand analysis adds an essential perspective to the existing literature while highlighting the necessity of maintaining public trust in institutions. It also demonstrates the importance of brand-specific strategies in promoting vaccines and addressing challenges faced by populations for more successful public health initiatives.

The Language of Conspiracy Theories: Negative Emotions and Themes Facilitate Diffusion Online

Global polling has seen an increase in endorsement of conspiratorial beliefs in recent years, with social media platforms receiving criticism for their potential role in facilitating this spread. The current study analyzed the presence of emotions and themes in conspiratorial content (revolving around conspiracy theories or conspiratorial ideas) on Twitter (now “X”) and Reddit when compared to scientific and general discussion, and the ability of emotions and themes to predict engagement (likes, shares etc.) in conspiratorial spheres. Approximately four million words worth of content were collected from Twitter and Reddit and analyzed using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) tool to determine concentration of different emotions and themes. Conspiratorial discussions were found to show significantly higher rates of anger, anxiety, power, and death compared to both scientific and general discussions across both platforms. Engagement was successfully predicted within conspiracy discussions; higher levels of anger, anxiety, power, and death predicted higher levels of engagement in conspiracy discussions. Contrary to previous findings, positive emotions were predictive of lower levels of engagement in conspiracy-related discussions. The findings suggest that conspiratorial content relies on powerful negative emotional responses to gain traction and increase audience engagement. The findings are discussed in the context of cognitive processes involved in the adoption of conspiracy theories, and we offer suggestions for researchers developing educational interventions and social media platforms to reduce the spread of conspiracy theories online.

'They are conspiring against us': How outgroup conspiracy theories stimulate environmental neglect in intergroup resource dilemmas.

Natural resources are limited, and people often share these limited resources in groups, which creates an intergroup resource dilemma. To understand individuals' sustainable behaviours in intergroup resource dilemmas in the context of group interactions, the present research systematically investigates the effect of outgroup conspiracy theories on sustainable behaviours and preliminarily explores the internal mechanism underlying this effect. First, a survey study (Study 1) relying on real-world intergroup relations first confirmed the negative correlation between outgroup conspiracy beliefs and sustainable intentions in intergroup resource dilemmas. Then, an online experimental study that utilized the real situation of a region in China (Study 2) tested the causal relationship between exposure to an outgroup conspiracy theory and sustainable intentions, as well as showing the mediating role of intergroup threat perception underlying this relationship. Finally, a preregistered experimental laboratory study (Study 3) further verified the causal effect of exposure to an outgroup conspiracy theory on sustainable behaviours, again confirming the mediating role of intergroup threat perception. In general, our research demonstrates that exposure to an outgroup conspiracy theory stimulates individuals' environmental neglect and reduces their sustainable behaviours by increasing their perceptions of intergroup threat when faced with intergroup resource dilemmas.

Association between beliefs in medical conspiracy theories and health behaviors among medical and healthcare students. Implications for professional practice.

While conspiracy theories cover many different themes, medical conspiracy theories (MCTs) have become particularly prevalent in modern societies. As beliefs in MCTs can become a source of "infodemics", influence individual health behaviors and cause distrust in medical institutions and personnel, healthcare workers must find ways to overturn patients' conspiracy thinking. However, as the medical world is not free of these beliefs, in this study, we investigated beliefs in MCTs among medical and health science students and their association with reported health behaviors. Our sample was derived from a self-administered, anonymized, computer-assisted web survey conducted among 1,175 medical and health science students enrolled at the Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poland. From a set of twenty different MCTs, one-third of students rejected all of them, 18% believed in one, 15% in two, 10% in three, and 24% supported four or more conspiracy theories. In addition, many students were hesitant or unsure about MCTs. We also found that nursing and midwifery students were the most likely to believe in MCTs, while medical and dental students were the least supportive. Support for MCTs was higher among students in the early years of their studies and who declared themselves religious and conservative. This study also highlights the association between students' support for MCTs and their reported health behaviors, including avoiding vaccinations, using alternative medicine, taking vitamin C, or using social media as an essential source of health information. As medical and health science students are prone to conspiratorial thinking, they should be trained to act as a trusted and reliable source of medical information, to mitigate conspiratorial beliefs, and to act as role models for their patients and society, effectively shaping health behaviors in the population.