MP Penny Mourdant launched the guide to help tackle misinformation (Picture: Shutterstock)
MPs have been given a guide on how to spot ‘deeply disturbing’ conspiracy theories that are threatening the health of British democracy, Penny Mordaunt said.
The Guide for Members of Parliament and Candidates on Conspiracy Theories was published on Tuesday and goes in depth on how to spot misinformation.
Compiled by expert groups, including the Antisemitism Policy Trust, Full Fact and Tell MAMA, the guide gives examples of eight conspiracy theories that have proliferated in the UK in recent years – with five being made public.
Ms Mordaunt, who commissioned the guide as Leader of the House of Commons, said: ‘The proliferation of conspiracy theories across the UK is deeply disturbing. They are deliberate campaigns to spread disinformation and fear.
‘If they go unchallenged we risk the public being conned and their wellbeing potentially damaged.’
Concern about belief in conspiracy theories has risen in recent years, with one 2018 study suggesting 60% of the British public believed at least one conspiracy theory.
Here are five conspiracy theories that feature.
The Great Reset
Proposals to help the world recover from the COVID-19 economic disaster have been twisted (Picture: Getty)
First appearing after the World Economic Forum revealed a new set of proposals to help the world ‘reset’ to more equitable policies, the Great Reset has since been hijacked by conspiracy theorists.
The conspiracy claims that the proposals from the WEF are an attempt by a small group of people to exert control over the world.
Some claimed Covid was created to ‘seize control of the global economy’, and others said lockdown restrictions were ‘designed to induce economic meltdown’.
All of these remain unfounded – but the conspiracy theory continues to linger years after the initial announcement of a ‘Great Reset” was made by the WEF.’
QAnon
QAnon grew in popularity during the siege of the Capitol in 2021 (Picture: Getty)
QAnon is a conspiracy theory which at its heart, claims former US President Donald Trump, is ‘waging a war’ against ‘elite, Satanic paedophiles in government, media and business’.
They also think these celebrity paedophiles kill children and eat them to extract a ‘life-extending chemical called adrenochrome’.
Obviously, none of this is true. But the theory has gained traction in recent years since it first appeared in late 2017 on 4Chan.
The dangerous narratives have prompted social media platforms to block material relating to the QAnon movement, after some of its members were arrested for terrorism and even murder.
One alleged believer in the QAnon movement showed his father’s severed head on YouTube and believed he was the ‘second messiah’.
In 2021, Matthew Coleman, 40, of Santa Barbara, told investigators he murdered his children with a fishing spear because he believed they ‘were going to grow into monsters’, adding he was ‘enlightened by QAnon and Illuminata conspiracy theories’.
The Great Replacement
Anti-immigrant rhetoric has fed into the ‘Great Replacement’ (Picture: Getty)
The ‘Great Replacement’ theory is a far-right conspiracy theory which suggests white Europeans are being ‘replaced’ with ethnic minorities in a bid to ‘replace them’.
The conspiracy theory has found traction among anti-immigration and white nationalist movements in Europe and the United States.
A 2022 shooting in Buffalo, New York, saw a gunman emboldened by this conspiracy theory shoot ten black grocery shoppers dead.
The manifesto of the Christchurch shooter in New Zealand also alluded to the ‘Great Replacement’.
The conspiracy theory has also gone mainstream, with controversial television host Tucker Carlson mentioning it more than 400 times on his show as of 2022.
5G
Some theorists really believe 5G is harmful to humans (Picture: AFP)
One of the most bizarre conspiracy theories which emerged in 2020 was the 5G theory, claiming that the waves used by 5G are harmful to human health.
Some claimed that 5G radiation ‘triggered Covid’, and others said that the pandemic was a cover-up for the 5G ‘radiation towers’.
The theory prompted some to set fire to cell towers in Europe, and intersected with other conspiracy theorists involved in vaccination theories.
The myth also gained traction after a clip filmed at a US health conference suggested Africa was less affected by coronavirus because it is ‘not a 5G region’.
The Ukraine war
The war in Ukraine has sparked loads of outlandish theories (Picture: AFP)
Since the war in Ukraine began on Feb 24, 2022, theories about it have circulated, ranging from calling it a ‘power grab’ back from global elites to others saying the war isn’t real.
Others have suggested that Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky has a ‘body double’ – who was confirmed to actually be his personal bodyguard – and some say the number of dead shown in videos has been faked.
Some theories also point to a QAnon-style narrative, claiming that Russia is fighting a ‘holy war’ against ‘Satanists’ in Ukraine to protect ‘Christianity and values’.
Certain events in the Ukraine War have also sparked conspiracy theories – including a plane crash in Russia which reportedly had Ukrainian prisoners onboard.
What’s the danger of these theories?
The danger of conspiracy theories stretches far beyond what we see online (Picture: Getty)
Conspiracy theories spreading into government pose serious danger as they spread misinformation.
One example is Tory MP Andrew Bridgen, who compared the COVID-19 vaccine rollout to the Holocaust – and was ousted by his own party.
But by mentioning anti-vaccination rhetoric, Rod Dacombe pointed out that Bridgen is now the ‘MP’ of the conspiracy circles.
He told Politico: ‘He’s quoted conspiracy circles and literature really frequently. He’s hosted people who are concerned with vaccine harms in Parliament, so I think it does add a degree of legitimacy to boost that movement.’
Ms Mourdant said of the new guide for MPs: ‘These (conspiracy) campaigns are also a threat to the health of our democracy.
‘It is essential that we give the public and their representatives the tools they need to combat this phenomenon.’
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