The world seemingly stopped when the global COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020. Many want to prepare for the next potential pandemic, but experts warn that you should be careful as conspiracy theorists are using such issues to make money.
Conspiracy Theorists Making Money From Disease X
"Disease X" is a term that the World Health Organization coined to describe a potential epidemic in the future. The disease doesn't exist and is at the core of a deluge of false information that American conspiracy theorists are promoting and using for financial gain.
In addition to feeding anxieties about Disease X, right-wing influencers in the US are profiting from these misconceptions by peddling medical kits that purport to contain a COVID-19 therapy that has not been scientifically proven.
"Misinformation mongers are trying to exploit this conspiracy theory to sell products," Timothy Caulfield, from the University of Alberta in Canada, said. "This is often their primary mode of income. The conflict is profound. Without the evidence-free fearmongering about vaccines and government conspiracies, they'd have little or no income."
Conspiracy theories became especially popular after the World Economic Forum, a hotbed of disinformation, hosted a panel discussion on "Preparing for Disease X" in January, centered around the possibility of a pandemic in the future.
On social media, Alex Jones, the creator of the website InfoWars, erroneously claimed that there was a globalist plot to use Disease X as a "genocidal kill weapon." Jones has made millions of dollars peddling conspiracy theories regarding Covid-19 and mass shootings.
Renowned American cardiologist Peter McCullough disseminated false information about Covid-19 and asserted without providing any proof that Disease X was "expected to be engineered in a biolab."
As chief scientific officer of The Wellness Company, a US-based provider of supplements, he posted the assertion on the company's website.
The website urges users to "be ready" for Disease X and charges about $300 for a "medical emergency kit" that includes medications such as ivermectin, an experimental therapy for COVID-19.
The public was forewarned by Julie Millican, vice president of the left-leaning watchdog Media Matters, that spreading conspiracy theories for financial gain is a long-standing right-wing grift. Those who disseminate conspiracy ideas also make money from those issues.
Do Conspiracy Theorists Change Their Minds?
Another study followed conspiracy theorists and learned that these people could change their minds. To gather data for the study, researchers enlisted about 500 people from Australia and New Zealand to complete a longitudinal survey.
Ten conspiracy theories were included in the survey, and the participants were asked to rate their level of belief in each one. Conspiracy theories focused on events that either occurred in the new millennium or are currently happening, like the September 11 attacks, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the rollout of 5G telecommunications technology.
The majority of respondents remained skeptical of conspiracy ideas throughout our poll. They found that although conspiracy theories changed over time, some remained the same.
Several "consistent believers" stated that they agreed with every response they provided on the survey. For most theories, this was the second-largest group.
Still, there were a small number of people who believed in each conspiracy theory. They disagreed with the concept at the start of the study, but by the end, they did. Furthermore, a tiny proportion of "apostates" initially agreed with the idea but later changed their minds.
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