Children getting hooked on bizarre conspiracy theories – research

Teachers regularly hear students mention conspiracies around the moon landing, global elite and Covid

School children are becoming hooked on bizarre conspiracy theories with around 40% of teachers saying they had heard pupils support them, a study found. Conspiracies concerning the global elite, Covid-19 vaccine and moon landings are becoming increasingly popular in the classroom based on the survey of 7,691 primary and secondary teachers in England.

The results found:

• Approximately 40% of primary and secondary teachers overall in England have encountered students who support conspiracy theories
• A total of 41% of secondary teachers have heard students mention conspiracy theories regarding the Illuminati/New World Order (secret elite), 24% that climate change isn’t happening, 23% that the moon landing was fake and 11% that Princess Diana was assassinated
• 43% of secondary teachers reported students mentioning the idea that Covid was created in a lab, 35% that vaccines amounted to a mass experiment and 29% that the vaccine rollout was a ruse to inject micro-chips into people, and that Covid did not exist
• Anti-vaccine sentiment was reported more in the most deprived schools (measured by Free School Meals), with 22% of teachers hearing about the microchipping theory compared to 17% in the most affluent schools, and 30% in state secondaries compared to 19% in private secondaries

Lee Jerome, a Co-Author and a Professor of Education at Middlesex University, said: “Conspiracy theories suggest that traditional learning is just a ruse to keep you in the dark and the real answers to the important questions are elsewhere, which completely undermines the role of normal schooling and education. When every story gets inspected through a lens of conspiracy, then children may come to believe they don’t need politics because politics is a scam and there is a risk they will turn their back on real information and actual explanations.”

The paper highlighted the need for better guidance and training for primary and secondary teachers to deal with conspiracy theories as well as providing channels to ensure they are aware of new controversial theories or trending subjects on social media. Just 19% of secondary teachers and 8% of primary teachers would describe themselves as ‘very confident’ they could deal with conspiracy theories.

Photo Credit: Kajetan Sumila

Around 30% of secondary teachers admitted they tried to argue with the student and prove the conspiracy theory is wrong, but Dr Jerome said teachers should be cautious about getting into such debates as they can often backfire. Research suggests their best tactic might be pre-bunking conspiracy theories before children have had the chance to study them and it takes root, but very few teachers reported doing this.

Dr Jerome added: “Teachers should avoid getting into an argument with conspiracy theorists because you can guarantee they’ll know more about the subject and therefore teachers will end up with egg on their face which then gives the conspiracy theorist status and kudos and reinforces their belief that they’re onto something.  The trouble is conspiracy theories are self-sealing belief systems and someone in authority arguing against the evidence is often seen as further evidence that there’s a massive cover up. At the same time, teachers can’t be too simplistic in dismissing all conspiracy thinking because there are actual government conspiracies. There are cover ups, there are people lying in public, there are companies which are poisoning you because it’s cheaper to do so and falsifying results rather than making their products safer. We need to have some process in the classroom to discuss which conspiracy theories are plausible or outright lies. Ultimately, we have to convince children that living with shades of grey is an acceptable outcome when many want certainty and conspiracies give you certainty.”

The paper ­- Combatting conspiracies in the classroom: Teacher strategies and perceived outcomes - was co-authored by Ben Kisby and Steve McKay and has been peer reviewed and published in the British Education Research Journal.