Information on the crawl of virus or any other science topic you should really check out our podcast you can get it wherever you get your podcast you can also find us at. Science. A welcome to you covered 19 special and the news some want to jones and then today we want to focus on the astonishing rise in conspiracy theories whats that all about well the pandemic is scary and people are hungry for answers social media is rife with speculation ranging from the plausible to the ridiculous bio engineered weapon bill gates 5 just a few of the covert 9000. 00 conspiracy theories that abound so. We deal with all these theories about the origins of the corona virus and obviously you have ag and talked to social psychologists in. The coronavirus pandemic is the perfect breeding ground for conspiracy theories why is that from a psychological perspective if you will expect come here soon urges to be particularly popular in times of crisis and it has to do with the function such nervous people as humans in general that verse if you read what you do not like to give up control and interest our golden terrible things happen so on ill be are usually looking for explanations of events because the explanations always also tied last but there are possibilities to predict what will happen next and to control the course of events orient imhoff defines a Conspiracy Theory as the assumption that a big event like a pandemic for example is coersion linked to the secret plan office hugh people who seek to benefit and the expense of the public many conspiracy theories operate by a kind of onion principle that if you take the official version and you lay Conspiracy Theory around it there by. Conspiracy narratives come with the illusion of greater explanatory power than usual so what characteristics does a Conspiracy Theory usually have so more links and less coincidences in a Conspiracy Theory every event is connected to no matter how implausible it seems in this way for one event was caused by the other is far from clear but that doesnt matter for conspiracy theorists what about logical contradictions they also arent concerned by those who would believe these theories than. The research on it tells us is. One fact that is closely associated. The. Years have in terms of reticulation of control and these are people who experience themselves who have less control that they. Often feel powerless. And uncertain about their life im on the road that except Conspiracy Theory so theres one side of the story and the other side is that Conspiracy Theory also fulfill a 2nd function we might all the social function writers look at even offered an exclusive knowledge of standing above in the emergence and streaming masses so there is also a mode of many humans there but some humans have that more than others who want to feel special and different from the rest supporters of conspiracy theories like to claim that they asked critical questions and conduct Investigative Research in fact most of them dont critical Investigative Research would require all sources to be checked then only the media would be scrutinized but also professor x. And youtube spectrum and one end of says that we could learn from seeing c. And always question yourself 1st and always check your sources. But Fact Checking can be really time consuming its so much easier to agree with whatever truth suits you best. Tool you believe the virus was transmitted from animals to humans how naive can you be. The corona virus is a biological weapon that comes from a look for a tree probably from china the u. S. Might also be behind it. Do you think billionaire bill gates is a philanthropist who wants to support medical Research Think again. Bill gates brought the corona virus into the world to have all humans forcibly vaccinated with his own facts. While hes at it injects a chip as well to gain total control probably wants a wife out of the human race almost entirely. You think secret societies are a thing of the past wrong. Dark powers and deletes are exploiting the crisis to establish a new world order the Financial System will collapse your moneys gone civil rights are a polished. Are you seriously looking forward to super fast internet with the next generation 5. Then you probably dont know that its 5 g. Rays that activate the virus in your body and that the disease is spread by cell phones. You think the virus is dangerous now thats a Conspiracy Theory. The virus is completely harmless like a cold dont worry about it go out to party and above all never ever wear a mask. Of this plane down of the virus sounds very familiar i hear that quite often when i meet people here betty joins us now shes a psychologist at the honors Gutenberg University of minds please tell me why is that why do some people feel the need to trivialize this pandemic so when you trivialize the pandemic it doesnt seem like a threat to you so its less dangerous and thats one coping strategy that you can choose and from germany really know that 17 percent of the germans believe that the whole thing is to hold people just made it up. And what about those stars others those who have quite fanciful conspiracy theories if i meet one of those how should i deal with someone spreading such stories should i get into a discussion or just listen and or leave them behind so that of course always depends on the situation if you see something on social networks on facebook or twitter you wont convince the person usually back you can post something against the others that are not quite conspiracy believers yet that they see that this information is wrong and this is especially important when people spread anti semitic or racist conspiracy theories in your private situation so when your partner or your brother or your best friend leaves and conspiracy then discussions might help but i would warned people yes start this cussing every small detail because that doesnt help its often more yes its makes more sense if you start thinking whats maybe to function of the conspiracy believe put the person because we know there are people who elect control who may be in a crisis their partner left them they are sick of the Global Crisis like we have now that theyre more likely to believe in conspiracy theories and that this is also kind of a coping strategy for them right i mean you just mentioned something very important and we hear that again and again namely that a Conspiracy Theory is to give people the illusion of being in control and i always ask myself why is wearing a face mask keeping social distance good hygiene why is that not seen as at least some level of control that i have personally to stay healthy and get through all this. It is i mean People Choose different coping strategies when you have a break up you can either start drinking going out a large or you doing sports or whatever so its not one option but different and for some its enough to wear health mask or stocked sewing projects or whatever but others use conspiracy theories as a coping strategy and i mean it has also a different angle when you believe in the evil conspiracy then you can perceive yourself as the hero who is fighting the conspiracy and this is for many people i think more appealing than just staying at home all right betty there from the good and bad university of mines thank you so much you know and come. Time for your questions now over to derek williams. How should we reopen public schools. This is another of those questions where well only really know the answer in hindsight but because its such a politically charged topic being addressed in many different ways by Different Countries i wanted to mention a few of the issues and what and what science knows so far 1st even the famously conservative w. H. O. Now says the virus can hang in the air as an aerosol in enclosed spaces which makes classrooms potentially risky places to be 2nd although many studies support the idea that kids are less affected by the disease than adults are theres still a lot of debate about about what part they could play in transmission so 3rd are questions like what about their families or teachers and other school staff reopening schools of course exposes them to risks as well finally because kids show fewer symptoms than adults do its clear that in places where the virus is still having a big impact a schools can only reopen safely when preventive testing can be carried out on a wide scale and there are very few countries that have those capacities in place. How long to cover 1000 antibodies lust. This is a key question as the persistence of certain antibodies in the blood is is one indicator that an immune response will be swift if you were subsequently re infected with the virus so its also an indicator of how long you might have potential a shield immunity a number of studies on this topic have come out those blue. Published and still awaiting peer review and theyre pretty sobering the evidence is mounting that in many people particularly among those who didnt have severe cases of covert 19 levels of detectable long lasting antibodies against the virus fall dramatically within a few months of infection so so what does that mean for long term immunity well we dont really know yet antibodies are only one aspect of the immune response though an important one but we do know that the Research Shows serious doubt on another concepts the concept of of immunity passports because because being able to detect antibodies is key to that and they are in many cases now falling to undetectable levels and people who tested positive for the disease just a few months ago. Thats all thanks for watching. With sales its off to sleep because. They called for a new custom. They explore some of the not used sites. Go on adventures. And browse with the locals. Just to give it a try to. D. W. Everyone im paul soapie john powers and im willing to create in berlin france 24 and d w discuss a green and better recovery for many countries are struggling with the economic consequences of the pandemic will the industrial world support the developing world in the post pandemic recovery. The boarded up one. In 45 minutes on d w. Y d yes it is on its way to bring you more conservation. How do we make city is greener how can we protect habitats we can make a difference good boy genius fundamental series again global 3000 on d w n dong on the bus. Pass in a drama competition driver marketing numbers atmosphere color fight at times intuition love money. Fans friends files fans and friends old book on you tube joining us. Welcome to a special edition of check in this year due to the coronavirus many people are bake a shinning in their own countries thats also true in germany where slease because stein which lies between the north and baltic sea is a favorite holiday destination last