Alternative science, alternative experts, alternative politics. The roots of pseudoscientific beliefs in Western Europe

The Covid-19 pandemic has given further centrality to science within the public debate. But it has also acted as a great multiplier for pseudoscientific (conspiracy) theories. This exploratory study investigates the determinants of pseudoscientific beliefs in five European countries, using data from a survey conducted in May 2021. The concept of pseudoscience is theoretically framed and then operationalised by constructing a Pseudo-scientific Beliefs Index (PBI). Results show that exposure to scientific information does not ‘protect' against unsound scientific claims, if not complemented by a correct understanding of the division of scientific labour. Pseudoscientific views are strongly associated with distrust of official science. But, in the context of today's information abundance, even more relevant is the spread of epistemological populism, which fosters reliance on alternative sources and the pseudo-expertise of ‘alternative scientific authorities'. The embrace of ‘alternative scientific facts' is also associated with electoral support for populist parties. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Scientific Integrity Requires Publishing Rebuttals and Retracting Problematic Papers.

Recently, an article by Seneff et al. entitled "Innate immunosuppression by SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccinations: The role of G-quadruplexes, exosomes, and MicroRNAs" was published in Food and Chemical Toxicology (FCT). Here, we describe why this article, which contains unsubstantiated claims and misunderstandings such as "billions of lives are potentially at risk" with COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, is problematic and should be retracted. We report here our request to the editor of FCT to have our rebuttal published, unfortunately rejected after three rounds of reviewing. Fighting the spread of false information requires enormous effort while receiving little or no credit for this necessary work, which often even ends up being threatened. This need for more scientific integrity is at the heart of our advocacy, and we call for large support, especially from editors and publishers, to fight more effectively against deadly disinformation.

Pseudoscience and fraudulent products for COVID-19 management.

As of now, the COVID-19 pandemic has become uncontrolled and is spreading widely throughout the world. Additionally, new variants of the mutated viral variants have been found in some countries that are more dangerous than the original strain. Even vaccines cannot produce complete protective immunity against the newer strains of SARS-CoV-2. Due to such a dreadful situation, lots of fear and depression have been created among the public. People are looking for the treatment of the disease at any cost and there is a race in the market to provide treatment and make money, whether it is effective or not! In such a condition, many fraud products, remedies, and myths have come into the market, which is falsely claimed to be effective for the disease and can harm the patients. Hence, FDA has banned such products and remedies. In this review, we have compiled all such fraudulent and pseudosciences identified for COVID-19. Currently, in the pandemic time, health agencies are approving the repurposed medicines based on the small-scale clinical data for emergency uses that become ineffective (most of the cases) after large randomized clinical studies. Proper vigilance strategies need to be defined by the regulatory agencies of the nation and routine awareness programs shall be arranged for educating the people and healthcare workers on routine updates.

THE “DEMARCATION PROBLEM” IN SCIENCE: WHAT HAS ENLIGHTENMENT GOT TO DO WITH IT? Part I

Steven Pinker’s recent Enlightenment Now (2018) aside, Enlightenment values have been in for a rough ride of late. Following Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno’s critique of Enlightenment as the source of fascism, recent studies, amplified by Black Lives Matter, have laid bare the ugly economic underbelly of Enlightenment. The pros-perity that enabled intellectuals to scrutinize speculative truths in eighteenth-century Paris salons relied on the slave trade and surplus value extracted from slave labor on sugar plantations and in other areas Europeans controlled. Indeed, deprived of its ugly economic underbelly, Enlightenment was barely conceivable;furthermore, its reliance on surplus value extraction from oppressed labor was accompanied by a racism that, with the exception of the thought of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and a few other thinkers, was arguably inherent to Enlightenment. However, I am not proposing yet another revelation of Enlightenment’s complicity in exploitation of, or disregard for, the Other. Rather, I want to highlight the damage being done today by an insidious strategy of labelling as “pseudo-science” entire do-mains of non-Western knowledge such as Chinese medicine and Ayurveda, thereby rendering them no-go zones for serious minds. Even though the term pseudo-science had yet to be coined, the beginnings of this tendency are already evident in Enlighten-ment-era works such as Jean-Baptiste Du Halde’s Description … de la Chine (1735). The perpetuation of this dismissive treatment of non-Western natural knowledge creates a significant obstacle to superseding a “scientific revolution” whose confines have long been burst: it is increasingly recognized that traditional/indigenous knowledge affords a vast reservoir of materials, skills and insights of which the world has desperate need, no more urgently than in response to the covid-19 pandemic. © 2022, Polish Academy of Sciences - Institute of Philosophy and Sociology. All rights reserved.

Grassroots Modeling during the Covid-19 Pandemic

One of the many peculiar phenomena that the Covid-19 pandemic has brought about is the engagement of non-scientists with specific questions surrounding the interpretation of epidemiological data and models. Many of them have even begun to get involved in the collection, analysis, and presentation of the data themselves. A reason for this might be that the insights that science can provide in a situation of crisis are often inconclusive or preliminary, motivating many people to look for the answers to pressing questions themselves. Moreover, public engagement is facilitated by the easy availability of up-to-date information, of the computational methods to process and analyze it, and of the infrastructure to share and communicate it with like-minded people. This raises epistemological questions about the status of such activities. Can they be considered scientific, and do they meet the standards of scientific inquiry? Or are they harmful because they add to the already loud chorus of voices spreading misinformation and increasing skepticism about the conventional scientific process? We propose to approach this question by looking at a concrete example: A community of active non-professionals has formed in Italy on the software development platform GitHub, where the Italian government’s epidemiological data are made publicly available. This represents a well-defined and coherent case study on which detailed information is readily available. © 2021 University of Sassari

Cyberchondria and Questionable Health Practices: The Mediation Role of Conspiracy Mentality

Cyberchondria is a pattern of repetitive search for health information online, which has adverse psychological consequences in spite of its intention to relieve anxiety. This phenomenon is particularly relevant in the current pandemic accompanied by increased levels of uncertainty and fear, which can lead to increased volume of health information search on the internet, as well as cyberchondria. The first objective of this study was to test the factor structure, reliability, and convergent validity of Serbian adaptations of the Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS-12) and the Short Cyberchondria Scale (SCS). The second aim was to test the direct effects of cyberchondria on pseudoscientific practices (PSP) and the use of complementary/alternative medicine (CAM) as well as its indirect effects through conspiracy mentality (CMQ). The sample included 511 participants (73.6% women) from Serbia, from the general population. The results support the adequate alpha reliabilities and four-factor structure of CSS-12 and the single-factor structure of SCS, as well as their positive correlations with health anxiety (HAQ), internet addiction (IAT), and obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCI-R Obsessions) and a negative correlation with self-esteem (a single-item scale). Additionally, the composite cyberchondria score had both direct and indirect effects on both questionable health practices. Our results revealed conspiracy mentality as one of the possible mechanisms through which cyberchondria is related to the use of PSP/CAM. It stems from distress related to cyberchondria and leads to an increased likelihood of adopting PSPs or CAM as a tool for maintaining a sense of control in an uncertain situation.

Being Nice or Being Scared? Personality Traits, Beliefs and Threat of COVID-19 as Predictors of Non-Normative Health Behaviors during Second Wave of Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need to examine factors related to questionable health behavior, such as avoiding recommended preventive guidelines. This paper aimed to explore whether behavior reflecting active avoidance of preventive measures against COVID-19 (curfew regulations, hygiene, facial masks, and social distancing) was best predicted by personality traits (Big Five), health beliefs, or feelings of threat. Thousand and twenty-four adults (486 men, 536 women) aged between 18 - 81 years participated in the study, which was run in early November 2020, when the second wave in Slovakia started to gain momentum and a strict lockdown was issued. Results showed that health threat was connected with having fewer questionable health beliefs, while economic threat was connected with having more questionable health beliefs, and together these factors were the strongest predictors of avoiding preventive regulations. From personality traits, higher Extraversion and lower Agreeableness predicted questionable health behavior, but together they added only 2.4% of explained variance. Our results highlight the fact that one year after the outbreak, the COVID-19 pandemic is no longer only (if it ever was) a health threat. The shift from health focus to the economic and socio-political threat should not be taken lightly, as it has implications for adherence to preventive measures against COVID-19 and people's beliefs regarding the pandemic.

The Role of Personality, Conspiracy Mentality, REBT Irrational Beliefs, and Adult Attachment in COVID-19 Related Health Behaviors

There is evidence that different types of irrational thinking and beliefs are significant predictors of questionable and maladaptive COVID-19 related health practices. In this study, we investigated the role of two under-researched types of irrational thinking, more typical for a clinical setting: irrational beliefs defined in Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) and attachment anxiety and avoidance. We investigated whether REBT irrational beliefs, attachment dimensions, and conspiracy mentality mediated the relationship between personality traits, on the one side, and COVID-19 health behaviors, on the other. We proposed that HEXACO personality traits, and especially Disintegration (proneness to psychotic-like experiences) predicted irrational thinking and beliefs, which in turn predicted higher susceptibility to questionable health practices. Structural equation modeling on a sample of 287 participants from the general population, showed that Disintegration was related to REBT irrational beliefs, attachment dimensions, and conspiracy mentality, highlighting the important effect of Disintegration on irrational thinking and beliefs. Conspiracy mentality mediated the effects of Disintegration to low adherence to recommended health behaviors - RHB, and greater use of pseudoscientific practices - PSP. Attachment anxiety mediated the relationship between high Disintegration, high Emotionality (E), and low Honesty (H), and lower adherence to RHB. REBT irrational beliefs and attachment avoidance did not mediate the relationship between personality traits and COVID-19 health behaviors.

Between beliefs, doubts, risks, and causes. The interpretive style of epidemiology and conspiracy

This paper focuses on the interpretive styles of epidemiology and conspiracy-pseudoscientific theories from a semiotic point of view, referring to the case of the interruption of the AstraZeneca vaccine campaign in Italy - March 2021. In order to understand the structural specificities of these styles, my approach consists in analysing the kind of epistemic and intersubjective criteria and practices through which the unknown risk factor is interpreted and the relative hypothesis is evaluated. I will refer to these features as the concrete realizations of the collective ethos of these forms of life, meaning a shared set of values that determine these practices and criteria and is shaped by them at the same time. Following this path, the mediating instance between the interpretive style of an epidemiologic or conspiracy hypothesis and the respective shared ethos is found in the enunciative praxis of these forms of life. The enunciative praxis determines the movements and criteria for the production and evaluation of every hypothesis. Thus, following this proposal, I will analyse epidemiology and conspiracy's interpretive styles, enunciative praxis and forms of life, referring to the AstraZeneca case.

Adherence to Social Distancing Guidelines Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Roles of Pseudoscientific Beliefs, Trust, Political Party Affiliation, and Risk Perceptions.

BACKGROUND: Adherence to COVID-19 social distancing guidelines varies across individuals. PURPOSE: This study examined the relations of pseudoscientific and just world beliefs, generalized and institutional trust, and political party affiliation to adherence to COVID-19 social distancing guidelines over three months, as well as the explanatory role of COVID-19 risk perceptions in these relations. METHODS: A U.S. nationwide sample of 430 adults (49.8% women; mean age = 40.72) completed a prospective online study, including an initial assessment (between March 27 and April 5, 2020), a 1 month follow-up (between April 27 and May 21, 2020), and a 3 month follow-up (between June 26 and July 15, 2020). We hypothesized that greater pseudoscientific and just world beliefs, lower governmental, institutional, and dispositional trust, and Republican Party affiliation would be associated with lower initial adherence to social distancing and greater reductions in social distancing over time and that COVID-19 risk perceptions would account for significant variance in these relations. RESULTS: Results revealed unique associations of lower governmental trust, greater COVID-19 pseudoscientific beliefs, and greater trust in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to lower initial adherence to social distancing. Whereas greater COVID-19 risk perceptions and CDC trust were associated with less steep declines in social distancing over time, both Republican (vs. Democratic) Party affiliation and greater COVID-19 pseudoscientific beliefs were associated with steeper declines in social distancing over time (relations accounted for by lower COVID-19 risk perceptions). CONCLUSIONS: Results highlight the utility of public health interventions aimed at improving scientific literacy and emphasizing bipartisan support for social distancing guidelines.

Irrational beliefs differentially predict adherence to guidelines and pseudoscientific practices during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the coronavirus "infodemic," people are exposed to official recommendations but also to potentially dangerous pseudoscientific advice claimed to protect against COVID-19. We examined whether irrational beliefs predict adherence to COVID-19 guidelines as well as susceptibility to such misinformation. Irrational beliefs were indexed by belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories, COVID-19 knowledge overestimation, type I error cognitive biases, and cognitive intuition. Participants (N = 407) reported (1) how often they followed guidelines (e.g., handwashing, physical distancing), (2) how often they engaged in pseudoscientific practices (e.g., consuming garlic, colloidal silver), and (3) their intention to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Conspiratorial beliefs predicted all three outcomes in line with our expectations. Cognitive intuition and knowledge overestimation predicted lesser adherence to guidelines, while cognitive biases predicted greater adherence, but also greater use of pseudoscientific practices. Our results suggest an important relation between irrational beliefs and health behaviors, with conspiracy theories being the most detrimental.

Living with COVID-19-triggered pseudoscience and conspiracies.

OBJECTIVE: This piece of work proposes a way for the wise management of pseudoscience and conspiracy theories. METHODS: This work encompassed a review of relevant literature and synthesized the critical thoughts on the proper management of pseudoscience and conspiracy theories. RESULT: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) overwhelmingly challenges the competency of the digital generation. Consequently, public had been left stranded, helpless and anxious, especially during the peak season of the pandemic. However, this crisis creates a conducive environment for pseudoscience and conspiracy theories to proliferate. Pseudoscience and conspiracy theories negatively impacted the effort made to contain COVID-19. CONCLUSION: This piece of work, however, argues that although pseudoscience and conspiracy theories are real threats to conventional science, effort needs to be made to develop a sort of database to archive and curate them for downstream use.

A united statement of the global chiropractic research community against the pseudoscientific claim that chiropractic care boosts immunity.

BACKGROUND: In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the International Chiropractors Association (ICA) posted reports claiming that chiropractic care can impact the immune system. These claims clash with recommendations from the World Health Organization and World Federation of Chiropractic. We discuss the scientific validity of the claims made in these ICA reports. MAIN BODY: We reviewed the two reports posted by the ICA on their website on March 20 and March 28, 2020. We explored the method used to develop the claim that chiropractic adjustments impact the immune system and discuss the scientific merit of that claim. We provide a response to the ICA reports and explain why this claim lacks scientific credibility and is dangerous to the public. More than 150 researchers from 11 countries reviewed and endorsed our response. CONCLUSION: In their reports, the ICA provided no valid clinical scientific evidence that chiropractic care can impact the immune system. We call on regulatory authorities and professional leaders to take robust political and regulatory action against those claiming that chiropractic adjustments have a clinical impact on the immune system.