{"647365":{"#nid":"647365","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Why Covid Conspiracy Theories Spread: Understanding the Human Behaviors Behind the Pandemic ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWe can\u0026rsquo;t stop\u0026nbsp;Covid-19\u0026nbsp;from spreading\u0026nbsp;without\u0026nbsp;understanding\u0026nbsp;the\u0026nbsp;people\u0026nbsp;who carry\u0026nbsp;it.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWhy do so many people embrace Covid-19 misinformation? Does lack of health insurance discourage people from getting tested,\u0026nbsp;even when testing is free? And\u0026nbsp;what prevented\u0026nbsp;doctors in Italy\u0026nbsp;from sharing what they learned about\u0026nbsp;oxygen levels,\u0026nbsp;even though it\u0026nbsp;could\u0026nbsp;help\u0026nbsp;predict which\u0026nbsp;Covid patients\u0026nbsp;were at\u0026nbsp;the\u0026nbsp;highest risk of dying?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFour faculty members in the School of History and Sociology (HSOC)\u0026nbsp;at Georgia Tech\u0026nbsp;are\u0026nbsp;examining\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/iac.gatech.edu\/news-events\/covid19\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Ethese questions and more\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;to help\u0026nbsp;craft effective policy responses to the pandemic.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;This research by the\u0026nbsp;School\u0026rsquo;s\u0026nbsp;faculty shows that the pandemic is not just a problem in biology and medicine. Instead, curbing the pandemic requires scholars who understand human knowledge and human behavior, which are topics at the center of the social sciences and humanities,\u0026rdquo; said Eric\u0026nbsp;Schatzberg, chair of the School of History and Sociology.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch2\u003EUnderstanding Covid Conspiracies\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHSOC\u0026nbsp;Associate\u0026nbsp;Professor\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/hsoc.gatech.edu\/people\/person\/amit-prasad\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EAmit Prasad\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;found something surprising when he\u0026nbsp;examined Covid-19\u0026nbsp;conspiracy theories:\u0026nbsp;these theories are\u0026nbsp;not\u0026nbsp;automatically\u0026nbsp;anti-science.\u0026nbsp;Often, purveyors of misinformation use the\u0026nbsp;credibility of science and scientists\u0026nbsp;to spread\u0026nbsp;falsehoods.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFor\u0026nbsp;example,\u0026nbsp;Dr. Judy\u0026nbsp;Mikovits\u0026rsquo;s\u0026nbsp;pseudo-documentary\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EPlandemic\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;received millions of views despite its\u0026nbsp;false claims\u0026mdash;such as \u0026ldquo;wearing a mask literally activates your own virus.\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;Why did people believe\u0026nbsp;such claims?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMikovits\u0026rsquo;s\u0026nbsp;falsehoods didn\u0026rsquo;t matter to viewers\u0026nbsp;because\u0026nbsp;her\u0026nbsp;use \u0026ldquo;of \u0026lsquo;science\u0026rsquo; and so-called \u0026lsquo;scientific claims\u0026rsquo; in the video facilitated a sense of trust for the general public,\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;wrote Prasad.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EPrasad\u0026rsquo;s\u0026nbsp;research also\u0026nbsp;examined\u0026nbsp;how the conspiracy theory\u0026nbsp;that\u0026nbsp;Bill Gates\u0026nbsp;had created\u0026nbsp;the pandemic spread for different reasons in different communities.\u0026nbsp;For instance,\u0026nbsp;Prasad argues that within the Black community,\u0026nbsp;the messaging reflected \u0026ldquo;the long history of mistrust resulting from racial discrimination and exploitation.\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;In contrast, among\u0026nbsp;many\u0026nbsp;white people,\u0026nbsp;the conspiracy was driven by messaging about protecting individual freedom and the republic. This analysis shows that \u0026ldquo;histories of particular social groups may play a very significant role in the acceptance and spread of misinformation and conspiracies.\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EPrasad\u0026rsquo;s approach differs from\u0026nbsp;past studies\u0026nbsp;that\u0026nbsp;characterized\u0026nbsp;conspiracy theories\u0026nbsp;as\u0026nbsp;anti-science. These studies\u0026nbsp;called for\u0026nbsp;clearer communication\u0026nbsp;of scientific knowledge to combat\u0026nbsp;misinformation.\u0026nbsp;But\u0026nbsp;Prasad finds that\u0026nbsp;better communication\u0026nbsp;may not be the most effective solution. \u0026ldquo;My research shows that broad characterizations of misinformation and conspiracies as anti-science does not help in properly understanding what is going on,\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;he\u0026nbsp;wrote.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAs Georgia and other states begin to\u0026nbsp;transition from mass Covid-19 vaccination efforts to a more targeted approach,\u0026nbsp;understanding\u0026nbsp;that vaccine skepticism is caused by social and political factors beyond anti-science beliefs can help create more effective messaging.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;A\u0026nbsp;\u0026lsquo;war\u0026rsquo;\u0026nbsp;on misinformation and conspiracies, which is aimed at banishing them completely, may not work in our instantaneously and globally connected world,\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;concluded\u0026nbsp;Prasad. \u0026ldquo;Instead, we need to carefully study misinformation and conspiracies and deal with them by addressing the social and health issues experienced by particular social groups.\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EPrasad\u0026rsquo;s\u0026nbsp;article,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full\/10.1177\/09717218211003413\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u0026ldquo;Anti-Science Misinformation and Conspiracies: COVID\u0026ndash;19, Post-Truth, and Science \u0026amp; Technology Studies (STS),\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;is open access and\u0026nbsp;appeared in\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EScience, Technology and Society\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;in April 2021.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch2\u003EAdvocating for vulnerable families\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHow do social and economic factors\u0026nbsp;\u0026mdash;\u0026nbsp;such as\u0026nbsp;relying on public health insurance, living below the poverty line, or losing\u0026nbsp;work\u0026nbsp;during the\u0026nbsp;Covid-19\u0026nbsp;pandemic\u0026nbsp;\u0026mdash;\u0026nbsp;disproportionately affect\u0026nbsp;Black\u0026nbsp;children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHSOC\u0026nbsp;Associate\u0026nbsp;Professor\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/iac.gatech.edu\/people\/person\/jennifer-singh\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EJennifer\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/a\u003ESingh\u0026nbsp;will research this\u0026nbsp;topic\u0026nbsp;in summer 2021,\u0026nbsp;with funding\u0026nbsp;from\u0026nbsp;a\u0026nbsp;Special Opportunity for Faculty Development Activities (SODA)\u0026nbsp;grant from\u0026nbsp;the\u0026nbsp;Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts.\u0026nbsp;Her\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/projects.research.gatech.edu\/project\/social-and-economic-impacts-covid-19-among-low-income-african-american-caregivers-children\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Esurvey\u0026nbsp;and interviews\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;seek to map disruptions not only in\u0026nbsp;children\u0026rsquo;s\u0026nbsp;learning, treatment, and well-being,\u0026nbsp;but\u0026nbsp;also\u0026nbsp;in the well-being of their caregiver.\u0026nbsp;According to Singh\u0026rsquo;s research objective, the goal is\u0026nbsp;\u0026ldquo;to understand how they have managed socially, emotionally, and economically during the Covid-19\u0026nbsp;crisis.\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWith this data, Singh\u0026nbsp;plans\u0026nbsp;to identify\u0026nbsp;how families are coping with\u0026nbsp;Covid-related\u0026nbsp;barriers\u0026nbsp;to\u0026nbsp;their children\u0026rsquo;s continued progress. She hopes to understand\u0026nbsp;how\u0026nbsp;caregivers\u0026nbsp;use support networks\u0026nbsp;to balance their\u0026nbsp;dual\u0026nbsp;roles as financial supporters and supervisors of their\u0026nbsp;children\u0026rsquo;s\u0026nbsp;education.\u0026nbsp;Finally, Singh\u0026nbsp;hopes to identify\u0026nbsp;unique opportunities\u0026nbsp;and challenges\u0026nbsp;presented by\u0026nbsp;the\u0026nbsp;new learning and social environments that\u0026nbsp;emerged\u0026nbsp;during the pandemic.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESingh is\u0026nbsp;also\u0026nbsp;working with Milan Riddick, a\u0026nbsp;fourth-year\u0026nbsp;student in the College of Engineering\u0026nbsp;minoring in\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/academics\/degrees\/bachelors\/health-medicine-and-society-minor\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EHealth, Medicine,\u0026nbsp;and Society\u003C\/a\u003E. Riddick\u0026rsquo;s\u0026nbsp;interdisciplinary President\u0026rsquo;s Undergraduate Research Award\u0026nbsp;(PURA)\u0026nbsp;project\u0026nbsp;will\u0026nbsp;study\u0026nbsp;\u0026ldquo;Mistrust of the Covid-19 Vaccine Among Black Citizens of Georgia.\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch2\u003EQuantifying health and education inequalities\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ELower rates of health insurance coverage were associated with lower levels of Covid-19 testing,\u0026nbsp;according to a study of state-level data from March 2020 by\u0026nbsp;HSOC\u0026nbsp;assistant\u0026nbsp;professor\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/iac.gatech.edu\/people\/person\/allen-hyde\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EAllen Hyde\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;co-author\u0026nbsp;Angran\u0026nbsp;Li\u0026nbsp;from\u0026nbsp;Zhejiang University\u0026nbsp;in\u0026nbsp;China. This\u0026nbsp;relationship\u0026nbsp;may have\u0026nbsp;exacerbated\u0026nbsp;the\u0026nbsp;spread of the virus\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;the\u0026nbsp;deaths associated with it.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Further, lack of health insurance coverage may exacerbate racial and class inequality in Covid-19 testing and subsequent hospitalizations and death,\u0026rdquo; wrote Hyde and Li.\u0026nbsp; \u0026ldquo;For example,\u0026nbsp;a majority of\u0026nbsp;Covid-19-related deaths reported in Louisiana are African Americans, accounting for 70 percent of the deaths, while African Americans only make up 30 percent of the state\u0026rsquo;s population (Doubek\u0026nbsp;2020). Similar patterns have occurred in other cities.\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn 2018, about 8% of the U.S. population was uninsured. However, that number varied by state and jumped as high as 17.7% in Texas.\u0026nbsp;Research from the Kaiser Family Foundation\u0026nbsp;shows that\u0026nbsp;in the same year,\u0026nbsp;\u0026ldquo;one in five uninsured adults went without needed medical care due to costs.\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;This\u0026nbsp;could\u0026nbsp;mean that\u0026nbsp;even if uninsured people show symptoms of Covid-19, they may not get tested or seek treatment because of financial concerns.\u0026nbsp;Although the Trump Administration announced that Covid-19 testing and treatment would be free, people may\u0026nbsp;have been\u0026nbsp;unaware\u0026nbsp;or skeptical that they would not have to pay.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHyde\u0026nbsp;and Li\u0026rsquo;s\u0026nbsp;research,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/contexts.org\/blog\/covid-19-and-the-future-of-society\/#hyde\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u0026ldquo;A Slow Start on an Urgent Crisis: How Lack of Health Insurance Helps Explain Deficiencies in Coronavirus Testing in U.S. States,\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;was\u0026nbsp;published in\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EContexts\u003C\/em\u003E,\u0026nbsp;official publication of the American Sociological Association.\u0026nbsp;It\u0026nbsp;gives\u0026nbsp;support to the long-running argument\u0026nbsp;that universal health care can save lives.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHyde also\u0026nbsp;worked\u0026nbsp;with Li and Amanda\u0026nbsp;Maltbie, a Ph.D.\u0026nbsp;student at the University of Alabama,\u0026nbsp;to research\u0026nbsp;the impact of Covid-19 on education. The article, forthcoming in\u0026nbsp;the book\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003ESocial Justice and Education in the 21st Century: Research from South Africa and the United States\u003C\/em\u003E, examines how disasters reinforce existing structural inequalities and exacerbate them in the aftermath.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch2\u003EWhat makes knowledge move?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Knowledge does not move transnationally by itself,\u0026rdquo; wrote\u0026nbsp;Kranzberg\u0026nbsp;Professor Emeritus\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/iac.gatech.edu\/people\/person\/john-krige\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EJohn Krige\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;with co-author Sabina\u0026nbsp;Leonelli, professor of Philosophy and History of Science at Exeter University.\u0026nbsp;For information to move efficiently\u0026nbsp;around the world,\u0026nbsp;they found,\u0026nbsp;interested parties\u0026nbsp;need to have access to \u0026ldquo;technological infrastructure\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;\u0026mdash;\u0026nbsp;such as\u0026nbsp;the internet\u0026nbsp;\u0026mdash;\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;shared\u0026nbsp;systems\u0026nbsp;for\u0026nbsp;data collection and sharing.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen those systems aren\u0026rsquo;t in place, information doesn\u0026rsquo;t move as fast as it should, as was the case when it took doctors in Italy two months to get international recognition for their finding that low oxygen levels were a \u0026ldquo;key cause and potential predictor\u0026rdquo; in Covid-19\u0026nbsp;deaths. But when\u0026nbsp;global\u0026nbsp;data-sharing systems are successful, they plug researchers into more extensive networks that hold them accountable, increase their visibility and clout in their home countries, and help amplify their expertise to others.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBy understanding the challenges\u0026nbsp;of\u0026nbsp;transnational\u0026nbsp;knowledge\u0026nbsp;movement, Krige and\u0026nbsp;Leonelli\u0026nbsp;hope to help mitigate them. Their paper\u0026nbsp;documented\u0026nbsp;the creation of\u0026nbsp;Covid-19 data-sharing systems at\u0026nbsp;a\u0026nbsp;historically\u0026nbsp;significant\u0026nbsp;moment, when they were still \u0026ldquo;in the making,\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;forming and adapting in real-time to the changing Covid-19 situation.\u0026nbsp;The first case study focused on the French debate to use a local, centralized contact tracing app versus the decentralized app created by Apple and Google. The second examined an international group called the Research Data Alliance that successfully coordinated and shared Covid information across borders where other groups failed.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn\u0026nbsp;their work, Krige and\u0026nbsp;Leonelli\u0026nbsp;envision a better future,\u0026nbsp;where doctors, scientists, researchers, government officials,\u0026nbsp;policymakers, and experts in every field can\u0026nbsp;\u0026ldquo;engage in a collective effort, driven from the bottom-up, to ensure that everyone, including the most vulnerable victims of Covid-19, benefits\u0026nbsp;from the knowledge\u0026nbsp;\u0026mdash;\u0026nbsp;and the vaccine\u0026nbsp;\u0026mdash;\u0026nbsp;that can contain its spread.\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EKrige and\u0026nbsp;Leonelli\u0026rsquo;s\u0026nbsp;research\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/full\/10.1080\/07341512.2021.1890524\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u0026ldquo;Mobilizing the Transnational History of Knowledge Flows. COVID-19 and the Politics of Research at the Borders\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;is open access and\u0026nbsp;appeared\u0026nbsp;in\u0026nbsp;the journal\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EHistory and Technology\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;in March 2021.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cem\u003EFor more coverage of Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s response to the coronavirus pandemic, please visit our\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/c.gatech.edu\/COVID19Help\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 tabindex=\u0022-1\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EResponding to Covid-19\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;page.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Spotlight on Covid-19 research in the School of History and Sociology."}],"uid":"35766","created_gmt":"2021-05-12 12:42:20","changed_gmt":"2021-09-30 14:03:27","author":"dminardi3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2021-05-12T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2021-05-12T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"646483":{"id":"646483","type":"image","title":"Covid-19 Vaccine Card","body":null,"created":"1618492290","gmt_created":"2021-04-15 13:11:30","changed":"1618492290","gmt_changed":"2021-04-15 13:11:30","alt":"Covid-19 Vaccine Card","file":{"fid":"245400","name":"DSC_1530-web.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/DSC_1530-web.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/DSC_1530-web.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":692607,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/DSC_1530-web.jpg?itok=bRZTbhOw"}}},"media_ids":["646483"],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"},{"id":"1288","name":"School of History and Sociology"}],"categories":[{"id":"151","name":"Policy, Social Sciences, and Liberal Arts"}],"keywords":[{"id":"184289","name":"covid-19"},{"id":"184288","name":"covid"},{"id":"187829","name":"covid research"},{"id":"170200","name":"History and Sociology"},{"id":"168508","name":"School of History and Sociology"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39511","name":"Public Service, Leadership, and Policy"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDi Minardi\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003Edi.minardi@gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["di.minardi@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}