Contemporary flat Earth belief is an internet-age pseudoscientific movement with organized student societies reported at British universities including York, Nottingham Trent, and Cambridge, a development criticized by biologist Richard Dawkins who urged universities to defend scientific truth.

In Egypt, the Heliopolis Association has hosted discussions of flat Earth theory and the Egyptian Society for Astronomy Sciences has cooperated on an event related to this topic.

In Tunisia, media professionals have promoted flat Earth theory, and in Palestine some media outlets have reported on flat Earth claims.

Global online networks such as FLATEARTH NATIONS, VOC, and AEWAR promote flat Earth content across platforms including WordPress, BitChute, Brighteon, YouTube, and Odysee.

Specific online channels cited in this ecosystem include “Ancient Mystery Teacher” on TikTok and “VIBES OF COSMOS” on YouTube and Odysee.

An example of institutional spread of conspiracy-minded content in the UK is Universallkidz, a school that teaches homeopathy and moon cycles and whose staff hold anti-vaccination and anti-climate science conspiracy views.

Several public figures have publicly flirted with or endorsed flat Earth ideas in recent years.

NBA All-Star Kyrie Irving claimed that the Earth is flat, and later said he had been joking about his flat Earth comments. [6][13].

NFL players Sammy Watkins and Darius Slay have openly identified as flat-earthers, while Patrick Queen and Geno Smith have expressed similar sentiments, and Travis Kelce estimated 10–15 NFL players per locker room while Jason Kelce suggested as many as 20% believe it.

Tyler Owens described flat Earth as “interesting,” and Jason Kelce has even asked a coach about flat Earth beliefs.

Russian singer and composer Yuri Loza has advocated for flat Earth and questioned the reality of space travel. [7][8][9].

In North Africa, Tunisian journalist Ashraf al-Kaali has argued the Earth is flat using religious texts and claims there is no curvature, drawing criticism from writers who warn of promoting ignorance.

Actress Millie Bobby Brown said she believed flat Earth theory at age 14 but no longer does.

Egyptian artist Mohamed Sobhy has recently made statements supporting flat Earth claims.

Tennis player Nick Kyrgios has expressed uncertainty about flat Earth and questioned the moon landing.

Common arguments used by flat Earth proponents include claims that the Earth looks flat in livestreams and launch videos, that the horizon appears flat rather than curved, and that the curve is not visible in photos or videos.

Some assert that elements of spaceflight such as weightlessness and launch footage support a flat Earth, often ignoring or dismissing extensive scientific evidence for Earth’s sphericity.

A frequently circulated model depicts Earth as a disk with a 46-meter “ice wall,” a formulation noted in UK campus debates over prioritizing student feelings versus scientific truth.

Certain proponents also cite religious texts as evidence and claim there is no curvature, as seen in Tunisia.

Flat Earth communities often reject mainstream evidence including gravity and satellite imagery while circulating their views widely on social media such as TikTok.

The resurgence and persistence of flat Earth beliefs are intertwined with online platforms and social media ecosystems that amplify sensational content, including through channels like YouTube, Odysee, BitChute, Brighteon, and TikTok. [4][47].

Researchers note that flat Earthers are not united by a single coherent theory but by a broader disbelief and varying personal models, which can make the movement adaptable online.

Psychological and social factors associated with conspiracy belief include unmet life expectations that drive people to seek meaning and purpose, leading conspiracy narratives to reshape thinking, increase distrust, and foster a sense of uniqueness.

Scholarly and commentary sources emphasize lack of knowledge and scientific reasoning, human isolation, denial of evidence, and fanatic defense of beliefs as drivers of the movement.

Cognitive patterns such as the Dunning-Kruger effect—overestimating one’s knowledge despite limited understanding—are reported among flat Earth adherents, contributing to exaggerated self-confidence and rejection of expertise.

Broader correlates of conspiratorial thinking include overconfidence, dark triad personality traits, cognitive biases, populist attitudes, and tolerance for political violence.

Economic and health stressors, narcissism, the need to feel unique, low analytical thinking, and higher anxiety are also linked with conspiracy belief susceptibility.

Generational and political patterns in conspiracism show that millennials are more open to conspiracy theories, social media plays a significant role, and conservatives report lower trust in scientists, while Gen Z is somewhat less inclined than millennials and older generations are more skeptical.

Conspiratorial milieus with high suspicion of institutions overlap with movements like QAnon, which are disproportionately white and Republican and more likely to have lower levels of formal education.

Algorithmic amplification and the rapid spread of disinformation on social media further fuel exposure to extreme and false content, making media literacy a critical countermeasure. [45].

Profiles and tendencies observed among flat Earth believers include denial of evidence, refusal of logical argumentation, a belief that they have discovered a hidden truth, and a preference for stagnant or “unchanging” ideas often described as a return to medieval thinking patterns.

Overestimation of personal knowledge and competence is common, with the Dunning-Kruger effect cited as a contributing mechanism.

Overconfidence and certain darker personality traits correlate with conspiratorial beliefs, alongside cognitive biases.

High-conspiratorial thinkers are more likely to be Republican and to have lower levels of education in survey data, suggesting demographic overlaps with other conspiracy communities.

The movement’s heterogeneity means there is no single defining characteristic, as each believer’s model of a flat Earth can differ substantially from others.

Regional context shows that modern flat Earth myths in the Arab world have been influenced by ideas imported from the US and Europe, even though medieval Muslim scholars refuted flat Earth a millennium ago, and classical Greek figures proposed the Earth’s sphericity thousands of years earlier.

Surveys in Russia highlight widespread misconceptions about basic astronomy, such as large shares misunderstanding whether the Sun or Earth moves and the duration of Earth’s orbit, underscoring ongoing vulnerabilities to pseudoscience in the broader information environment.

For parents concerned about flat Earth influences in a child’s social circle, experts recommend maintaining open communication, getting to know your child’s friends, encouraging new activities to broaden perspectives, teaching consequence thinking, establishing a “safe word,” reinforcing that it is okay to say no, and monitoring and setting limits on internet use.

When discussing sensitive topics, asking children what they know, correcting misconceptions calmly and honestly, and watching for signs of anxiety can support critical thinking without escalating worry.

Building critical thinking through family discussions, evaluating information reliability, modeling argument culture, and teaching lateral reading strategies to verify sources are practical defenses against misinformation. [41].

Given that children are heavily targeted by algorithmic amplification of false content, combining digital literacy education with parental controls and prudent monitoring of social media use is advised. [47][57].

Contemporary flat Earth belief is an internet-age pseudoscientific movement with organized student societies reported at British universities including York, Nottingham Trent, and Cambridge, a development criticized by biologist Richard Dawkins who urged universities to defend scientific truth.

Title:

Content: The Daily Express Original
Express: “indulge conspiracy theorists ” – British universities criticized for supporting anti-scientific ideas
The famous biologist Richard Dawkins attacked the “tolerant ” British universities.
According to the professor, the leadership of educational institutions cares too much about the “feelings ” of students and therefore is in no hurry to debunk the growing popularity of pseudoscientific ideas, including the hypothesis of a flat Earth and the denial of evolution, writes the Daily Express.
The famous evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins lashed out at the “tolerant ” British universities.
The academician accused their leadership of encouraging the spread of pseudoscientific ideas and conspiracy theories, including the hypothesis of a flat Earth, reports the Daily Express.
Dawkins, 80, was a professor at Oxford University until 2008.
In addition, he has published several best-selling books and made documentaries about the origins of life, the publication explains.
Dawkins urged higher education institutions to "stand up for scientific truth."
In his opinion, they need to educate students, and not “protect ” the feelings of conspiracy theorists.
“University leaders who think that the ‘ offended feelings ’ of flat-earthers and evolutionists matter more than scientific truth need to go back to university to find out what it ’ s for, ” he wrote on Twitter.
“Defend the scientific truth and the clarity of language.
They do not go to university to feel “safe ” and“ protect feelings. ”
They go there to face challenges and learn to cope with difficulties, ” the professor stressed.
Flat Earth societies exist at many British universities, including York, Nottingham Trent and Cambridge.
According to one popular theory, our planet is a disk that surrounds a 46-meter ice wall that does not allow people to fall from the edge, draws the attention of the Daily Express.
The materials of InoTV contain estimates of exclusively foreign media and do not reflect the position of RT
We publish on Twitter relevant foreign articles selected by the editorial office of InoTV
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Which universities have flat Earth believer societies?

In Egypt, the Heliopolis Association has hosted discussions of flat Earth theory and the Egyptian Society for Astronomy Sciences has cooperated on an event related to this topic.

Title:

Content: Chairman of Wafd Party
Dr. Abdul Sindh Yamama
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Dr. Ayman is an accountant.
Editor-in-Chief
Sammy is patient.
Chairman of Wafd Party
Dr. Abdul Sindh Yamama
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Dr. Ayman is an accountant.
Editor-in-Chief
Sammy is patient.
Heliopolis Association organizes an astronomical evening and a signing ceremony..
And tomorrow.
Heliopolis Association, headed by Dr. Nabil Helmy, organizes an astronomical evening entitled "The Earth is round or flat", the evening will be implemented by the Future Library of the Association at 6: 00 pm on Monday.
This comes in cooperation with Eng. Essam Jouda, Executive Director of the Egyptian Society for Astronomy Sciences.
The evening will discuss why some claim that a planet is flat and how to explain astronomical phenomena.
Dr. Nabil Helmy said that despite the progress of human science and our ability to travel to space and photograph the planet in high quality, some still believe that the Earth is flat.
Although the first scientific experiment proves that the Earth is spherical more than 2,000 years ago, there are still some who doubt this.
In the same context, Heliopolis Library will hold a signing ceremony for the novel Morning and Evening and in the Sea of Your Eyes by Maha Hashish and in cooperation with Dar Kutbna tomorrow, Monday, June 12 at 5 pm

In Tunisia, media professionals have promoted flat Earth theory, and in Palestine some media outlets have reported on flat Earth claims.

Title:

Content: Tunisian media ignites social media sites..
“The earth is flat! ”
Palestine Today - Gaza
Time: 08: 38 AM
March 18, 2023
The statements of Tunisian journalist Ashraf al-Kaali sparked a wave of ridicule on social media.
He said, “The earth is flat and not spherical. ”
Al-Kaali said in an intervention on the Tunisian channel "Ninth": "I believe that the earth is flat and not spherical.
I read the Qur ’ an, the Torah, the Bible, and several civilizations, and I came to this conviction. ”
He added: "I have confirmed scientifically and philosophically that the earth is flat, and has no other as with the heavens, and the belief that the earth is round is wrong, I will continue to adhere to the theory of the surface of the earth and I am not ashamed of that."
Tunisian writer and novelist Kamal Riahi criticized al-Kaali ’ s statements, saying: “Yes, we are on a path towards reaction. ”
Al-Riahi added in statements on Facebook: "Canning ignorance is not funny, this is how the destruction of young people occurs when one of the stars of the media appears to say that the earth is flat."
"Children watch such shows with their parents and see them on Facebook, and the danger is not only in believing, but in wasting time in proving the axioms."
Al-Riahi pointed out that Ashraf al-Kaali ’ s belief that the earth is flat “only makes us discover the state and location of a large part of the Tunisian media. ”
Ashraf al-Kaali is one of the most famous media professionals in Tunisia and has been a presenter on state television since 1994.
It is worth mentioning that Al-Kaali presented the weekly musical program "World Rhythms" on channel "21" from 1994 to 2007 and his program was very popular and achieved the largest viewing rates, and then joined the radio "Mosaic" (private).

Global online networks such as FLATEARTH NATIONS, VOC, and AEWAR promote flat Earth content across platforms including WordPress, BitChute, Brighteon, YouTube, and Odysee.

Title:

Content: Support Your Freedom to Speak:
The Moon Is Made Of Plasma (Ancient Mystery Teacher, FEN, VOC, AWR)
20 views
FLATEARTH NATIONS
Published Yesterday |

Thanks to Ancient Mystery Teacher @TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ancientmysteryteacher/

PLASMA MOON And GREATER WORLD MAP
https://www.bitchute.com/video/eIg05MTfbhZ3/
GREATER WORLD MAP And MACROCLIMATE CHANGE
https://www.bitchute.com/video/OFBL8gK0kszq/
Great Conspiracy Behind Great Reset
https://www.bitchute.com/video/RAJphd6FD618/
All The Moon Landings/Missions Were Faked To Hide This Fact
https://www.bitchute.com/video/cm4MJVXnfu6I/

Download the above videos (higher resolution):
PLASMA MOON And GREATER WORLD MAP
https://archive.org/details/plasma-moon
GREATER WORLD MAP And MACROCLIMATE CHANGE
https://archive.org/details/macro-climate-change
Great Conspiracy Behind Great Reset
https://archive.org/details/great-conspiracy
All The Moon Landings/Missions Were Faked To Hide This Fact
https://archive.org/details/moon-mirrors-earth

FLATEARTH NATIONS
WordPress: https://flatearthnations.wordpress.com
BitChute: https://www.bitchute.com/channel/flatearth-nations
Brighteon: https://www.brighteon.com/channels/flatearthnations
VIBES OF COSMOS
Mountaindub: https://mountaindub.bandcamp.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@VIBESOFCOSMOS
Odysee: https://odysee.com/@VibesOfCosmos:4
AEWAR
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@aewaranon

Keywords
hoaxnasaapolloflat earthmoon landingfake spaceplasma moonartermis

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Specific online channels cited in this ecosystem include “Ancient Mystery Teacher” on TikTok and “VIBES OF COSMOS” on YouTube and Odysee.

An example of institutional spread of conspiracy-minded content in the UK is Universallkidz, a school that teaches homeopathy and moon cycles and whose staff hold anti-vaccination and anti-climate science conspiracy views.

Title:

Content: Dinosaurs never existed; viruses are not real; vapour from planes in the sky causes dementia and crystals could cure serious illness – these are just some of the conspiracy theories staff at a school in Manchester allegedly believe.

Universallkidz was set up in October 2020 to ‘de-indoctrinate’ children from ‘the lies’ that they are taught by ‘the system’.

Ladan Ratcliffe, who worked as a teacher in Greater Manchester for more than 20 years, got the idea during an anti-lockdown rally.

Her team – made up of other former teachers and even a cryptocurrency trader – are now teaching pupils, aged between eight and 14, about homeopathy and moon cycles.

An undercover investigation by The Times shows what Universallkidz considers curriculum.

Classes were held in a tumble-down Victorian mansion, which had until recently been a nightclub.

In the hallway, leaflets were left lying around that stated that Covid-19 vaccines, climate science and 5G were all means by which the government is trying to subjugate the population.

The leaflets concluded: ‘Resist! Defy! Do not comply!’

Another conspiracy theory being embraced by staff – perhaps the most concerning of all – is that the government is in a league with organisations such as the World Economic Forum (WEF) and wealthy businessmen, who are covertly working to depopulate and enslave the world.

It is a conspiracy known as the ‘great reset theory’, which gained great popularity during the pandemic.

One teacher allegedly told children that they would one day be eating cockroaches if ‘Klaus [Schwab, head of the WEF] and [Bill] Gates have their way’.

It is reported that Universallkidz goes to great lengths to conceal its activities. On its website, it describes itself as a provider of ‘holistic alternative education’ that seeks to raise ‘autonomous’ and ‘sovereign’ young people.

To education officials who might come asking questions, it presents as a support for home schooling parents.

It is understood that parents pay £30 a day for tuition.

Ms Ratcliffe helps them to remove their children from mainstream state education and then encourages them to lie to local authorities by claiming that they are now home educated, the newspaper warned.

The school operates four days a week from 10am to 3.30pm. Not all the children go every day, but most go at least three days a week.

One of the incidents that The Times detailed during the investigation is how one of the teachers allegedly tried to dupe the students – but some of them did not buy it.

During one of the lessons, a teacher told the children that human energy is linked to the subconscious and that when we lie our energy stops flowing.

To demonstrate this, she asked the reporter working undercover as a teacher to say ‘I am Tom; while she applied downward force on his hand.

His arm dropped an inch. But then sheasked him to say ‘I am Maggie’, pressing down again.

This time though, she pushed much harder and his arm dropped much lower. But the students were not fooled.

In response to the Times findings, Ofsted has started an urgent investigation into Universallkidz.

Metro.co.uk has contacted the institution for a comment.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

MORE : Why was ‘Britain’s strictest school’ allowed to ban Muslim prayer?

MORE : When do you find out primary school places 2024 and how to appeal?

MORE : Muslim girl loses court case challenging ban on prayers at ‘Britain’s strictest school’

Several public figures have publicly flirted with or endorsed flat Earth ideas in recent years.

Title:

Content: “Everyone Gets Hit in the Head”: Travis and Jason Kelce Boldly Claim 20% NFL Players Are Flat-Earthers

Samnur Reza
Published

Eight-time NBA All-Star and Mavericks point guard, Kyrie Irving, has time and time again claimed that the earth is flat. Sadly, this belief is widely held around the globe. When discussing the same and if there are NFL players who also call themselves flat-earthers behind closed doors, Jason Kelce and his brother Travis boldly claimed that a good chunk of the NFL locker room actually believes the earth to be flat.

During a recent episode of the New Heights podcast with comedian Andrew Santino at the discussion table, the younger Kelce said, “We’ve mentioned on the show that conspiracy theories help bring NFL locker rooms together,” before asking the guest, “What are your conspiracy theories?”

Without skipping a beat, Santino posed the question about what percentage of NFL players actually believe in the Flat Earth theory. In response, Travis claimed that at least 10 to 15 athletes in every locker room are flat-earthers. Jason Kelce, however, added that if someone were to conduct an anonymous poll about it, the number of flat-earth believers could potentially jump up to 20%, equating to approximately 11 players out of a 53-man roster.

“Dude, honestly, there are at least 10 to 15 guys in every locker room; I would imagine,” Travis remarked, followed by Jason adding, “If you took an anonymous poll like nobody had to disclose their name or anything like that, you’re over 15% of an NFL locker room… Maybe over 20.”

This revelation baffled the Ricky Stanicky actor, but Travis consoled him by jokingly saying, “Dude, everyone gets hit in the head.” Nevertheless, while the Kelce duo’s numbers may be somewhat exaggerated, there have been some instances when NFL players have openly admitted believing in the earth being flat.

Darius Slay, Sammy Watkins, and Others Are Flat-Earthers

As per Sports Illustrated, free agent wide receiver Sammy Watkins claimed back in 2017 that the earth is flat. But he isn’t the only NFL athlete on that list, as Eagles CB Darius Slay told Tori Petry of DetroitLions.com back in 2018 that the earth is flat.

“I mean, I think it is (flat), we’re walking flat, so how is it round?,” claimed the All-Pro cornerback.

Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen followed suit just last year and claimed the same thing. “PSA,” Queen wrote in a tweet. “Earth is flat. Thank you. Carry on!!”

The list goes on! Former Texas Tech safety, Tyler Owens, apparently told reporters at the Scouting Combine that he doesn’t believe in space or any other planets. Thus, he finds the Flat Earth Theory ‘interesting’ and ‘valid’.

“Nah, I don’t believe in space…. like, you know, I’m religious, so I think like… we’re on our own right now. I don’t think there’s, like, other planets, and stuff like that. I don’t know,” Owens said, as per DailyMail.

Even Seahawks QB Geno Smith has claimed that the whole thing is still up for debate. Moreover, Jason Kelce once revealed that, out of curiosity, he had asked one of his coaches about the Flat Earth Theory and if anyone believed in it. Right there and then, an athlete nearby said, “I mean how you know it isn’t?”

Despite its absurdity, the debate will rage on till the end of time, it seems. However, there are simple experiments that can be conducted in front of a flat-earther to convince them otherwise, as perfectly demonstrated by Wired.

About the author

Samnur Reza

Samnur Reza, or "Rocky," is an NFL editor for the SportsRush. Although his love for football began with Tom Brady, he’s now a devoted fan of Jalen Hurts and is keeping his fingers crossed for the first ring. When asked how he remains loyal to the Eagles, he channels his inner Jim from The Office and responds, 'On a wing and a prayer.' Much like his love for football, Rocky is a dedicated cinephile with an impressive amount of screen time. He’s also fond of cats and has a furry friend named ‘Eva’.

Read more from Samnur Reza

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What NBA star claimed that the earth is flat?

NBA All-Star Kyrie Irving claimed that the Earth is flat, and later said he had been joking about his flat Earth comments. [6][13].

Title:

Content: https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/574927-nba-iconoclast-kyrie-irving-becomes-leagues-anti-vaccine-face

Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving, an NBA champion and seven-time all star, has become the face of a vocal minority of prominent NBA stars voicing their hesitancy toward the COVID-19 vaccine.

The All-Star guard, who serves as vice president of the players union that blocked the NBA’s effort to impose a vaccine mandate, has sparked backlash from health experts and basketball legends by refusing to get vaccinated.

It’s a stance that could cost Irving games and money, since New York City requires proof of vaccination to attend large indoor events. That rule would include players performing before fans at Brooklyn’s Barclays Arena.

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The NBA confirmed Wednesday that salaries will be withheld from players who do not play because their unvaccinated status does not allow them to do so given local ordinances. That could cost Irving half his $34 million salary for Brooklyn’s home games alone.

It could also cost the Nets, Las Vegas’s favorite to win the NBA title this year, a title.

Yet Irving, an NBA iconoclast know for irreverent views, has shown no real sign of backing down.

“Obviously I’m not able to be present there today,” Irving told reporters on Zoom during the Nets’ media day, which he was unable to attend due to the city’s vaccine rules. “But that doesn’t mean I’m putting any limits in the future on my being able to join the team.”

In an interview with CNN this week, New York City Mayor Bill de BlasioBill de BlasioOvernight Health Care — Presented by Altria — Merck’s COVID-19 pill reduces hospitalization risks by half New York sees increase in health worker vaccinations following mandate De Blasio vows ‘full investigation’ after data leak appears to link two NYPD officers to the Oath Keepers MORE confirmed that the Nets star won’t get special treatment.

“We have a rule that has to be applied, whether you’re famous, whether you’re not famous, you know, whether you’re an everyday working man or woman — get vaccinated because that’s what makes us all safe,” he said.

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“I’m a fan of Kyrie,” de Blasio added. “I would just appeal to him, get vaccinated. Your fans want to see you. We all want you back. Your teammates want you back.”

Besides the home games, Irving could miss two games in Manhattan’s Madison Square Garden and one game in San Francisco, which also has an indoor vaccine mandate. He stands to lose roughly $400,000 for each game he misses.

Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai told the New York Post on Thursday that he hopes his star point guard will be vaccinated, noting that the Nets have “championship aspirations” this season.

“What is our goal this year? What’s our purpose this year? It’s very, very clear: Win a championship,” Tsai said. “And the championship team needs to have everybody pulling the same direction.”

Ninety-five percent of NBA players are fully vaccinated — up from 90 percent late last month — despite the lack of a mandate from the league. That’s already a higher rate than the MLB and the NFL, which have had more time to get players vaccinated.

But discussion around the upcoming NBA season has centered around the relatively small pool of players who have refused to get vaccinated. Many of them are stars, including Irving, Washington Wizards All-Star guard Bradley Beal, Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins, Orlando Magic forward Jonathan Isaac and Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr.

Irving drew the most attention after he liked an Instagram post from a user who baselessly claimed that the COVID-19 vaccine implants microchips as a part of “a plan of Satan.” The conspiracy theory quickly spread to other locker rooms in the league, according to a report from Rolling Stone.

In the same report, Irving’s aunt, Tyki, said he and other anti-vaccine players might purposely skip games to protest NBA rules. It also found that Irving declined to wear a mask during a visit to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, of which he is a member, against the community’s guidelines.

After the NBA unveiled COVID-19 protocols last month requiring unvaccinated players to wear a facemask in some settings, Irving tweeted, “My mask is off. Now take yours off. No fear.” He later tweeted that the cryptic message was a metaphor and did not have anything to do with the league’s COVID-19 rules.

Several NBA legends criticized Irving over his COVID-19 comments, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O’Neal, two of the game’s all-time greatest players.

“I took the vaccine because I’m not trying to get my mother sick, or my sister or my brother or people around me … sometimes you have to think about the overall picture and you have to think about more than yourself,” O’Neal told USA Today in an interview.

The widespread coverage of Irving’s position has alarmed public health advocates, who fear it could drive his fans to reject the vaccine.

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“It’s extremely disheartening to see people with massive platforms abdicate the duty to help inform the public about the best ways out of this crisis,” said Seema Yasmin, director of the Stanford Health Communication Initiative.

Public health experts feel that not enough players are actively countering statements from the vocal minority of anti-vaccine players. Many in the field were just as disappointed when Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James confirmed that he is vaccinated, but said he wouldn’t advocate for others to get the shot, calling it a personal decision.

“I can understand the allure of appearing apolitical in the midst of a polarized conversation, but we lost the potential there for many people to receive information from someone who they look up to who has gotten vaccinated,” Yasmin said.

Sen. Ted CruzRafael (Ted) Edward CruzThe Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by Alibaba – Democrats still at odds over Biden agenda Echo chamber update: What you missed if you live in a bubble Supreme Court to hear Ted Cruz campaign finance dispute MORE (R-Texas) weighed in on Twitter on Wednesday, stating that he stands with Irving and the NBA’s other vaccine holdouts in opposing vaccine mandates.

The son of a former professional basketball player, Irving was born in Melbourne, Australia, and began his rise to basketball stardom in his home state of New Jersey. Irving has dazzled fans with his wizardry at the point guard position on his way to seven All-Star nods and an upset win over the heavily favored Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals in which he drilled the go-ahead three-pointer for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Controversy is nothing new for Irving, who previously came under fire in 2017 for falsely insisting that the Earth is flat. One year later, Irving apologized to science teachers who told him that his viral conspiracy theory had caught on with some of their students.

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Irving, nicknamed “Uncle Drew,” also made headlines for missing several Nets games last season due to personal reasons and for violating the league’s COVID-19 protocols by attending a private indoor party.

Still, Irving has the respect of players around the league for his vocal social justice activism.

Amid unrest across the nation over the death of George Floyd last year, Irving said that he didn’t approve of restarting the NBA season and would rather spend the time pushing for reform. Irving purchased a home for Floyd’s family and released a documentary with rapper Common about the police killing of Breonna Taylor.

Irving also donated $1.5 million to WNBA players who wanted to sit out the 2020 season that was interrupted by the pandemic and social unrest.

“Whether a person decided to fight for social justice, play basketball, focus on physical or mental health, or simply connect with their families, this initiative can hopefully support their priorities and decisions,” Irving said in a statement at the time.

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What NBA star claimed that the earth is flat?

NFL players Sammy Watkins and Darius Slay have openly identified as flat-earthers, while Patrick Queen and Geno Smith have expressed similar sentiments, and Travis Kelce estimated 10–15 NFL players per locker room while Jason Kelce suggested as many as 20% believe it.

Per Travis Kelce, how many athletes are flat-earthers?

What could be the estimated percentage of American football players who believe the Earth is flat?

Tyler Owens described flat Earth as “interesting,” and Jason Kelce has even asked a coach about flat Earth beliefs.

Russian singer and composer Yuri Loza has advocated for flat Earth and questioned the reality of space travel. [7][8][9].

Title:

Content: Bear corner
37,014 followers
Has Vine gone mad forever, or is it somehow being treated?
Yuri Loza is a convinced flat-earner.
Everyone on the Internet probably knows about this.
However, this time the singer and composer told in detail about his conclusions in the program "Alena, damn!" and managed to intrigue the leading.
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Which Russian celebrities support the flat Earth theory?

In North Africa, Tunisian journalist Ashraf al-Kaali has argued the Earth is flat using religious texts and claims there is no curvature, drawing criticism from writers who warn of promoting ignorance.

What does Tunisian journalist believe in?

Actress Millie Bobby Brown said she believed flat Earth theory at age 14 but no longer does.

Title:

Content: 4 years later, Millie Bobby Brown turns to her flat Earth theory, stating that she believes in this theory

0

Once a flatlander, Millie Bobby Brown has changed her mind. The actress got a role in the Netflix series “Stranger Things” at the age of thirteen for the role of Eleven. Basically, she grew up in the spotlight. Today, she is well aware of the pros and cons of growing up as a star child, because when she once expressed her opinion about the Flat Earth theory, the trolls did not spare her.

The energetic actress not only knows how to play, but is also confident in her opinion. Perhaps this is what led to her rapid success. She grew up on the path to her success, from participating in a sci-fi show to starring in Enola Holmes. Now she had a great opportunity to prove her changed views on the theory of a flat Earth.

How Millie Bobby Brown Changed Her Mind about the Flat Earth Theory

Millie Bobby Brown proved that she no longer believes in the theory of the flight of the Earth. During a recent interview with Vanity Fair, she took a lie detector test. During this, she touched on the topic of how she believed in the flat Earth theory when she was fourteen. Brown was asked if she still believes in the theory of a flat Earth, to which she replied bluntly “no.” A lie detector test decides whether it was true or not.

It was established that she was telling the truth. Perhaps it brought relief to herself and the people around her. But the 18-year-old girl added a comment to her answer. A curious teenager said: “I haven’t seen it yet,” talking about how she searches for the earth curve while on a plane.

Then the actress again gave several answers that could have been lies, and the results showed that she was truthful. At the age of fourteen, she was on Tik-Tok for a live broadcast when a fan asked her about the flat Earth theory. Now the actress has clearly transformed. Host Enola Holmes 2 was interviewed everywhere for her film with Henry Cavill, which was released in theaters on October 27.

Do you think her answer about the flat earth was sincere? Give your thoughts in the comments.

Egyptian artist Mohamed Sobhy has recently made statements supporting flat Earth claims.

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Content: How did Muslim scholars refute the flat Earth theory a thousand years ago?
The flat earth is currently one of the most famous scientific myths widespread in the Arab world, and has private groups on social media met by supporters from all over, and in recent days has been controversial because of statements by the Egyptian artist Mohamed Sobhy.
There are two histories to this theory, not one; the first is ancient and the second is modern.
A number of Greek philosophers believed that the earth was flat, and the ancient Scandinavian and German peoples also believed that the earth was flat and surrounded by oceans, and the common belief in ancient China was that the earth was square and flat while the sky was spherical.
But it ’ s really surprising to know that early astronomers assumed its sphericity, and they were from almost every culture: Pythagoras, who lived about 2,500 years ago, proposed the sphericity of the Earth based on his observations of the moon during the eclipse.
Pythagorean's observations are still evidence of a refutation of the flat Earth theory: Pythagorean observed that the shadow that the Earth casts on the Moon during the eclipse is always round.
Regardless of the moon-facing part of the planet, eclipses occur everywhere in the world.
The idea of a lunar eclipse is simple: put a big lamp in the middle of your room and turn off the rest of the lights, stand at a distance of one meter from it, now turn around while you reach your hands in front of you with a tennis ball, when you give your back to the lamp and pass the tennis ball in the shadow extended in front of you because of your body, this is the eclipse.
To Eratosthenes
Eratosthenes, born 276 BC, was the first to measure the circumference of the Earth using a simple method involving the angle of the Sun at different locations.
Eratosthenes was astonished to read that the columns in the ancient Egyptian temples of Aswan on the afternoon of June 21 of each year did not leave a shadow under them, and the mystery of the wonder was that the columns in Alexandria left a shadow under them on the afternoon of the same day.
Eratosthenes came to the conclusion that the earth must be convex and not flat, otherwise the columns in Alexandria would appear shadowless, and then after reflection Eratosthenes came to the clever idea that we could measure the length of the shadow in Aswan which is zero, and its length in Alexandria, and then measure the distance between Alexandria and Aswan, and infer the circumference of the earth.
The story goes that he sent a man to measure the distance, so that with some simple geometry he could measure the circumference of the Earth, which he concluded was about 39,348 kilometers.
Eratosthenes' account was transferred to the Arabs from among the sciences they translated.
According to Carlo Nelino in his book "Astronomy: A History of the Arabs in the Middle Ages", the Caliph al-Ma'mun al-Abbasi (who ruled from 813 to 833 AD) asked two teams of astronomers to test these calculations and come up with the most accurate measurement of the Earth's circumference....
The safe astronomer.
The method adopted by the Arabs is to go out into a perfectly flat desert, and then rely on the inclination of the polar star in the sky.
The ancients realized that the position of stars in the sky is affected by your place on Earth, the further you travel south, the lower the polar star in the sky until it disappears completely after the equator, and the more you travel north, the higher the polar star sky until it became above your head in the North Pole, which means that the Earth is round, otherwise the position of stars in the sky changes with your place on it.
The height of the polar star (and all other stars) is measured in degrees, and it is like to put a protractor in front of your eyes, the horizon is at zero, and then look at the protractor from the side to find at what degree the polar star stands, and this is something you can do exactly as the ancients did, and now astronomical software is easily available.
Al-Ma'mun astronomers measured the height of the polar star, then moved north once and south once, until the amount of inclination of the polar star changes by one degree, and then measured the distance north and south, and this measured distance is one degree from the circumference of the Earth's circle, and it can know the rest of the circumference of the Earth, because the Earth is a ball, and like any ball, rotation around it requires 360 degrees.
The first team of Al-Ma ’ mun astronomers went out to the Sinjar desert, a small city in northwestern Iraq today, and the second team to the Palmyra desert in eastern Syria, and carried out the same experiments in both places. In the Sinjar desert, for example, the height of the polar star was about 35 degrees. south of the wedge site until the measurement dropped by a degree.
According to al-Ma ’ mun ’ s astronomers, the scale of one degree was about 56 parsecs and two-thirds parsecs, which Nalino calculated — according to Edward Kennedy of the American University of Beirut in a paper published in the Encyclopedia of the History of Arab Sciences — to be 111.8 kilometers, a value used by later researchers such as al-Biruni and al-Toussi.
Calculating the circumference of the Earth in this experiment, it turned out to be about 410,248 km, which was close to modern measurements (40075 km) in the most accurate way at the time.
Note that the difference between the two measurements is about 1,100 years, and the reason for the difference is not related to the same method but to the ellipse of the Earth, as the distance between the two latitudes increases slightly as we head north.
Abu Rayhan Al-Biruni
The second attempt was by Abu Rayhan al-Biruni, born in September 973 AD, who used the best and easiest formula to calculate the circumference of the Earth in his time.
The Al-Biruni method is based on triangulation, where the sunset is observed from the top of a high mountain overlooking flat ground to the horizon, the astrolabe measures the angle the sun descends relative to the observer on the top of the mountain, where the line connecting the observer on the top of the mountain and the horizon makes the sunset clock touch the planet Earth.
It is known that the tangent of a circle perpendicular to its diameter, and then we have a right-angled triangle at the horizon, and we can measure the radius of the Earth by knowing the height of the mountain, which is mathematically easy.
Currently, the same calculations can be applied by high school students, for example, in all countries of the Arab world, who have a good amount of trigonometry study.
In a study published in the International Journal of Sciences, an Italian team repeated al-Biruni ’ s experiment and concluded that its results for the radius of the Earth are equal to 3,928.77 English miles, which compares favorably, being 2% different, with the average reference radius at the measurement latitude, which is 3,847.80 miles.
Pakistani physicist Mazhar Mahmood Qureshi, in his book An Introduction to Muslim Contributions to Science and Technology, points out that al-Biruni ’ s experience in what is now Nandana Fort in the mountains of northern Pakistan is a typical example of the use of experimental scientific methods.
The most important book of al-Biruni astronomical is "The Law of Masoudi", in which al-Biruni collected all the astronomical problems of his time, and the way of al-Biruni was to present the origins of the matter and the views of the Indian, Greek and Arab astronomers and then weighted between them.
Modern history of flat earth
But at that point, you might ask yourself: if the sphericity of the Earth was obvious to Muslim scholars and their comrades in other parts of the world in ancient times, why did it come back?
In 1849, the English writer Samuel Rowbotham published a pamphlet entitled "Oil Astronomy" (from the Greek letter zeta, not oil), in which he defended the theory of the flat earth, and followed this with another entitled "The Instability of Modern Astronomy and its opposition to the Bible".
In 1883, Rowbotham founded oil societies in England and New York, shipping thousands of copies of his books to talk about flat earth.
Meanwhile, William Carpenter, a printer and native of Greenwich, England, supported Rowbotham and advocated his theory, learning it from John Jasper and preaching to more people than any cleric of his generation in the southern United States. Once.
From here the myth began to branch again in the United States, and then to Europe, and then to the Arab world and the rest of the world, but in this context it was mixed with conspiracy theories concerning secret groups trying to control the world by deluding people that the earth is round.
The proof of the sphericity of the earth is not new, and has a long history in which Muslim scholars have made an influential contribution, but because the “flat earth ” has been transformed from ignorance of the nature of science into a conspiracy theory it has been imported along with other famous theories into our Arab world.
Source: Al Jazeera + Websites

Tennis player Nick Kyrgios has expressed uncertainty about flat Earth and questioned the moon landing.

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Content: Tennis bad boy Nick Kyrgios has opened up on some of his wild conspiracy theories to YouTuber Logan Paul.

Kyrgios, 27, continues to split opinion and has been involved in a series of incidents over the years, including explosive court outbursts and being caught partying on the eve of major tournament matches.

He is currently sidelined with the knee problem that ruled him out of the Australian Open and sat down with Paul to discuss a number of interesting topics on his podcast Impaulsive.

On the agenda was Kyrgios 'mad' interest in conspiracy theories, as he was asked if he thought the world was flat. Smiling, the Aussie said: "I don't know what to believe anymore."

Kyrgios went on to suggest he could "chat for hours" with Paul on such theories and went into much more detail when discussing the Egyptian pyramids.

He added: 'I don't think the pyramids are man-made. The doors are pretty big, and we as humans don't need doors as big as those ones."

An impressed Paul insisted he shared the belief, asking: "How do they line up in perfect symmetry all around the earth?"

The pair, alongside fellow hosts Mike Majlak and George Janko, also discussed the prospect of mankind never landing on the moon before Kyrgios made a bizarre revelation about his ritual watching the popular show.

"I can't believe I'm doing this right now to be honest. I'd watch you guys on TikTok in my bed like half naked in my bed. And now I'm sitting here," he added.

Kyrgios also went on to insist ally Novak Djokovic is the best tennis player of all time, pulling clear of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

He added: "I don't like comparing. It's like we take them for granted by always comparing them rather than appreciating how good they are.

"Djokovic wins the Australian Open and we are comparing him to Nadal immediately. Why do we do that? But statistically, Novak is the best."

Paul is set to head to Saudi Arabia to be in his brother Jake's corner for this weekend's eagerly-anticipated fight against Tommy Fury.

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Common arguments used by flat Earth proponents include claims that the Earth looks flat in livestreams and launch videos, that the horizon appears flat rather than curved, and that the curve is not visible in photos or videos.

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Content: Virgin Galactic's history-making space launch has left flat Earth conspiracy theorists losing their minds at the surface of the planet.

Fuming conspiracy theorists believe the recent live stream footage of three civilian astronauts heading into space proves they are correct about their claims.

A few comments on the YouTube livestream saw the nutters break through with their wild theories, foaming at the mouth as they pointed out the lack of "oval" in the Earth.

READ MORE: Virgin Galactic's first civilian spaceflight enters space with Olympian onboard

Their comments were drowned out by furious believers in the spherical nature of the planet, telling others not to "feed the flat earth trolls" as they vied for attention.

One mad comment read "THAT DOESNT LOOK LIKE AN OVAL TO ME," while another equally reasonable individual added: "LOOK AT IT??!!! WHERE IS THE CURVE IN THE EARTH?!!"

Their totally sane comments come as the Richard Branson-owned company set off on a history making flight, taking a former Olympian and a mother-daughter duo to the edges of the atmosphere.

The trio' weightless triumph was not all good news though as a small collection of conspiracy-mad individuals believed it was evidence of a flat Earth.

A third tin foil hat wearer added: "This looks like a flat earth to me."

But cooler heads in the comments prevailed, or tried to, as they hit back at those claiming the earth was flat and tried to reason with those responding to the conspiracy nuts.

One person wrote: "Between the flat-Earthies and the anti-woke twits, this chat is a bit of a fail. Congrats to the crew and the passengers and the people who aren't all bottom hurt by other people doing things."

Another added: "Don't feed the flat earth trolls."

But still the conspiracy-mad members of chat pushed on, with some saying "you can literally see the flat edge of earth" while another, quite plainly, wrote: "IT IS FLAT."

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Some assert that elements of spaceflight such as weightlessness and launch footage support a flat Earth, often ignoring or dismissing extensive scientific evidence for Earth’s sphericity.

A frequently circulated model depicts Earth as a disk with a 46-meter “ice wall,” a formulation noted in UK campus debates over prioritizing student feelings versus scientific truth.

Certain proponents also cite religious texts as evidence and claim there is no curvature, as seen in Tunisia.

Flat Earth communities often reject mainstream evidence including gravity and satellite imagery while circulating their views widely on social media such as TikTok.

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Content: 9 of TikTok's most controversial and viral conspiracies - including Area 51, One Direction and JonBenét Ramsey

These are the top nine viral conspiracy theories which are being discussed on TikTok right now - including theories about celebrities and mythical creatures
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From secret societies to extraterrestrial enigmas, people like to discuss conspiracy theories. There are many things which do not make sense in this world, and some things which have had people stumped for decades. In some cases, people hope to finally uncover the truth behind some unsolved mysteries, and in others they are convinced something is being hidden.

To find out what the most widely discussed conspiracy theories are in 2024, VegasSlotsOnline has analysed the number of TikTok hashtags for over 45 of the biggest conspiracy theories worldwide, to determine the most popular conspiracies of 2024. The following are the nine top theories which have gone viral on the popular social media platform.

Illuminati

The Illuminati were originally a secret society founded in Bavaria in the 1700s, intending to replace Christianity with a “religion of reason”. The group was said to be shut down by the government after a decade, but some conspiracy theorists believe the society still exists today - and not only that it's operating in secret with a plan to take over the world. Famous figures accused of being part of the Illuminati include US presidents, pop singers and actors.

27 club

Despite sounding like a fun, exclusive society, the 27 Club definitely isn’t one you would want to be in. The name refers to a list of celebrities who have also passed away at age 27, including Jimi Hendrix, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kurt Cobain, and Amy Winehouse, to name just a few.

Area 51

Area 51 refers to a highly classified United States Air Force facility in Nevada, and it’s very real. The conspiracy theories behind it, however, may not be. The base’s top-secret nature has led to a range of wild theories over the years, with the most popular being that it’s used to carry out research on UFOs and extraterrestrial beings that the US government is keeping under wraps.

JonBenét Ramsey is alive

JonBenét Ramsey, aged 6, was supposedly killed in her family home in 1996. Her killer has never been officially identified, but there are many unusual details about the case, such as a ransom note found in the family’s home, that have sparked a range of popular theories over the years. One particularly outlandish theory is that JonBenét has not died and is actually still alive, despite evidence to the contrary.

'Larries'

‘Larries’ are hardcore One Direction fans who support the idea that Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson, former bandmates of the hugely popular boyband, are in a romantic relationship. Despite the two artists repeatedly denying these claims, many fans are still insistent that the band’s former management encouraged the pair to keep their relationship secret. Styles is dating model and actress Taylor Russell. Tomlinson is said to be growing close to his on/off girlfriend Eleanor Calder again.

Murder of John Lennon

Beatles musician John Lennon was fatally shot in December 1980 at the age of 40 by an enraged fan. Ever since, conspiracy theories suggesting that the CIA were involved in his death have sprung up in various places, including books and documentaries. The CIA and FBI kept eyes on Lennon due to his left-wing activism, and theorists have suggested that his murderer, Mark Chapman, was operating on their behalf.

BigFoot

The legend of BigFoot dates back thousands of years and is now a modern household name. Theorists believe that a dangerous ape-like creature exists in the forests of North America, occasionally revealing itself to hikers and campers. Many have shared supposed encounters in the form of giant footprints and blurry photographs, though there is still no credible evidence to prove the creature’s existence.

Planet X

Planet X, sometimes known as the Nibiru cataclysm, is a doomsday conspiracy theory with roots in the early 20th century. Its believers theorise that an undiscovered large planet in our solar system will, at some point, collide with Earth. This hypothetical planet is not recognised in mainstream astronomy, however, and is generally rejected by the scientific community for lacking substantial evidence.

Flat earth

One of social media’s most prevalent conspiracy theories is that the Earth is flat in shape rather than a sphere. Many ‘flat earthers’ reject scientific evidence, such as gravity and satellite imagery, with some even suggesting that governments and corporations are keeping the earth’s flat shape a secret from the masses. The flat earth theory is frequently disproved as it contradicts solid scientific principles.

What scientific evidence do "flat earthers" reject?

The resurgence and persistence of flat Earth beliefs are intertwined with online platforms and social media ecosystems that amplify sensational content, including through channels like YouTube, Odysee, BitChute, Brighteon, and TikTok. [4][47].

Researchers note that flat Earthers are not united by a single coherent theory but by a broader disbelief and varying personal models, which can make the movement adaptable online.

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Content: Last Chance To Dance! 2022 Sundance Film Festival Coming To A Close

Posted by Larry Gleeson

2022 Sundance Film Festival Awards Announcement, Satellite Screenings, & Final Day on the New Frontier Spaceship Top Highlights of the Ninth Day of Festival Programming

PARK CITY, UT (January 29, 2022) – Sundance Film Festival welcomed audiences to its ninth day of screenings and conversations featuring some of the most notable visionaries in independent film, new media, and culture-at-large.

The festival announced the Audience Awards alongside Grand Jury and Special Jury Prizes for films in the U.S. Dramatic, U.S. Documentary, World Dramatic, and World Documentary Competitions, NEXT, and the Short Film program. Winners included Nanny (U.S. Dramatic), The Exiles (U.S. Documentary), All That Breathes (World Cinema Documentary), Utama (World Cinema Dramatic), Cha Cha Real Smooth (Audience Award, U.S. Dramatic) and Navalny (Audience Award, U.S. Documentary; Festival Favorite Award). All winners are detailed here. Screenings of the award-winning films will play online all weekend long.

The New Frontier Spaceship also celebrated its last day in orbit with Artist Spotlights and an open discussion hosted by Amelia Winger-Bearskin and Jesse Damiani on NFTs, cryptocurrencies, and the rapid proliferation of decentralized, autonomous organizations (DAOs).

The festival’s Satellite Screens kicked off yesterday as well. From Maryland to California, eight feature films from the 2022 lineup are playing this weekend at seven partner locations around the country where they are celebrating independent film and supporting like-minded arthouse theaters.

Each year, Sundance serves as a cultural launchpad, helping to expand audience horizons through film and the conversations that occur the minute that credits roll. Continuing to foster this spirit of discussion into 2022, Sundance Film Festival programs a series of panels across discipline and topics to keep the conversation going.

DAY NINE HIGHLIGHTS

  • 2022 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS
    • U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic: Nikyatu Jusu for Nanny
    • U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary: Ben Klein and Violet Columbus for The Exiles
    • World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic: Alejandro Loayza Grisi for Utama
    • World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary: Shaunak Sen for All That Breathes
    • Audience Award: U.S. Documentary: Navalny
    • Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic: Cha Cha Real Smooth
    • Audience Award: World Cinema Dramatic: Girl Picture
    • Audience Award: World Cinema Documentary: The Territory
    • Audience Award: NEXT: Framing Agnes
    • Festival Favorite Award: Navalny
    • Directing Award: U.S. Documentary: Reid Davenport for I Didn’t See You There
    • Directing Award: U.S. Dramatic: Jamie Dack for Palm Trees and Power Lines
    • World Cinema Documentary: Simon Lereng Wilmont for A House Made Of Splinters
    • Directing Award: World Cinema Dramatic: Maryna Er Gorbach for KLONDIKE
    • Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: U.S. Dramatic: K.D. Dávila for Emergency
    • Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award: U.S. Documentary: Erin Casper and Jocelyne Chaput for Fire Of Love
    • U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award: Uncompromising Artistic Vision: Bradley Rust Gray for blood
    • U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award: Ensemble Cast: John Boyega, Nicole Beharie, Selenis Leyva, Connie Britton, Olivia Washington, London Covington, and Michael K Williams for 892
    • U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award: Impact for Change: Aftershock
    • U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award: Creative Vision: Descendant
    • World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award: Documentary Craft: The Territory
    • World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award: Excellence In Verité Filmmaking: Midwives
    • World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award: Innovative Spirit: Leonor Will Never Die
    • World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award: Acting: Teresa Sánchez for Dos Estaciones
    • NEXT Innovator Award presented by Adobe: Framing Agnes
    • Short Film Grand Jury Prize: The Headhunter’s Daughter
    • Short Film Jury Award: U.S. Fiction: IF I GO WILL THEY MISS ME
    • Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction: Dania Bdeir for Warsha
    • Short Film Jury Award: Nonfiction: Samir Karahoda for Displaced
    • Short Film Jury Award: Animation: Joe Hsieh for Night Bus
    • Short Film Special Jury Award: Ensemble Cast: Zélia Duncan, Bruna Linzmeyer, Camila Rocha, Clarissa Ribeiro, and Lorre Motta for A wild patience has taken me here
    • Short Film Special Jury Award: Screenwriting: Sara Driver for Stranger Than Rotterdam with Sara Driver
    • Previously announced:
      • 2022 Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize: After Yang
      • Sundance Institute | Amazon Studios Producers Award for Nonfiction: Su Kim for Free Chol Soo Lee
      • Sundance Institute | Amazon Studios Producers Award for Fiction: Amanda Marshall God’s Country
      • Sundance Institute | Adobe Mentorship Award for Editing Nonfiction: Toby Shimin
      • Sundance Institute | Adobe Mentorship Award for Editing Fiction: Dody Dorn
      • Sundance Institute | NHK Award: Hasan Hadi for The President’s Cake
  • NEW FRONTIER ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
    • FLAT EARTH VR
      • Lucas Rizzotto (Lead Artist) shared insight on how the project started as a joke in response to the idea that VR is an “empathy machine,” and asked whether that is still the case when the premise is entirely delusional.
      • Lucas discussed how he actually consulted flat Earthers in designing the experience and learned that ultimately, “flat Earthers are not united by their belief, but by their disbelief.” There is no singular coherent flat Earth theory and everyone has different ideas of what a flat Earth means and looks like.
      • Lucas also expressed concern about VR propaganda, and how XR creators could use their work to spread misinformation and emotionally manipulate and control audiences in showing them a “reality” regardless of whether or not it’s based in truth. He urged XR creators to be mindful of the impact their work could have and how it may be used by others in a way they might not have intended.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

The Festival takes place digitally via our enhanced online platform at Festival.Sundance.org, on the New Frontier Spaceship, a bespoke immersive platform allowing festival-goers to gather virtually, and in-person at seven Satellite Screens venues around the country during the Festival’s second weekend. Additional programming includes a daily talk show (“How to Fest: Daily”), and Satellite Screen conversations as well as partner offerings in the Festival Village.To note, all talks are available online via live stream or posted later on festival.sundance.org to view globally. Sign up for an account at festival.sundance.org to access online. All times are U.S. Mountain Time.

ABOUT SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

The Sundance Film Festival has introduced global audiences to some of the most groundbreaking films of the past three decades, including Flee, CODA, Passing, Summer Of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Clemency, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Zola, On The Record, Boys State, The Farewell, Honeyland, One Child Nation, The Souvenir, The Infiltrators, Sorry to Bother You, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, Hereditary, Call Me By Your Name, Get Out, The Big Sick, Mudbound, Fruitvale Station, Whiplash, Brooklyn, Precious, The Cove, Little Miss Sunshine, An Inconvenient Truth, Napoleon Dynamite, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Reservoir Dogs and sex, lies, and videotape.

The Festival is a program of the non-profit Sundance Institute. 2022 Festival sponsors include: Presenting Sponsors – Acura, AMC+, Chase Sapphire, Adobe; Leadership Sponsors – Amazon Studios, DIRECTV, DoorDash, Dropbox, Netflix, Omnicom Group, WarnerMedia, XRM Media; Sustaining Sponsors – Aflac, Audible, Canada Goose, Canon U.S.A., Inc., Dell Technologies, IMDbPro, Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold, Rabbit Hole Bourbon & Rye, Unity Technologies, University of Utah Health, White Claw Hard Seltzer; Media Sponsors – The Atlantic, IndieWire, Los Angeles Times, NPR, Shadow and Act, Variety, Vulture. Sundance Institute recognizes critical support from the State of Utah as Festival Host State. The support of these organizations helps offset the Festival’s costs and sustain the Institute’s year-round programs for independent artists. Visit sundance.org/festival for more.

Psychological and social factors associated with conspiracy belief include unmet life expectations that drive people to seek meaning and purpose, leading conspiracy narratives to reshape thinking, increase distrust, and foster a sense of uniqueness.

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Content: Top Secret UFO Projects on Netflix: Why are people obsessed with conspiracy theories?

TOP SECRET UFO PROJECTS: DECLASSIFIED has been released on Netflix, exploring conspiracy theories that include the world's leaders covering up the existence of aliens.

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Top Secret UFO Projects: Declassified is a docu-series that has been dropped on today, Tuesday, August 3. The six-part series delves into various claims of people who have seen and been in contact with aliens as well as those who believe governments are misleading the general public. But what is it that makes people get so invested in such theories?

Why do people obsess over conspiracy theories?

The Netflix synopsis for the show says it will feature: “The most recent information and proof exposing the most top-secret government projects that handled contact with and cover-ups of, extraterrestrial presence on Earth.

"Though claims of extraterrestrial encounters have long been dismissed, many believe the existence of UFOs is not just likely, but a certainty.”

Each episode is going to focus on a different theory, the first being Project Blue Book which is meant to be a record and analysis of UFO observations.

As well as this, there will be an instalment dedicated to the theory that the USA Army has physical evidence of an alien spacecraft.

READ MORE: NCIS cast member dies 2021: Which NCIS star died?

Top UFO Projects: Why do people believe in conspiracy theories? (Image: NETFLIX)

Top Secret UFO Projects: There are six episodes in season 1. (Image: NETFLIX)

Top Secret UFO Projects is also going to "prove" that sightings of alien life have been talked about by the governments in the UK, United States and the former Soviet Union since the end of the Second World War.

In the past decade, there has been a rise in the interest in Extraterrestrial life and so more conspiracy theories have developed.

They don't just revolve around alien life either with many believed concerning climate change, the Earth being flat and most recently the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking to Express.co.uk, psychotherapist and life coach Andre Radmall explained his views on those who live by such theories.

Top Secret UFO Projects: The show will claim to provide footage and evidence of alien life. (Image: NETFLIX)

Top Secret UFO Projects: The series is now ready to watch on Netflix. (Image: NETFLIX)

Dr Radmall says that those who have been "let down by life" are more likely to hold on to such ideas.

He explained: "We live in a world of anxiety, fear and disruption.

"The world is unstable and so perhaps it is not surprising that some people look for unseen forces that might be pulling the strings behind the scenes. A kind of Wizard of Oz.

"These people hope there is a conspiracy, because at least then someone has a plan.

"For them, a conspiracy theory can be a convenient hook upon which to hang their anxiety.

"Psychologically we all tend to want an explanation, a cause for our sense of unease and stress.

"However, this crystallisation of fears and anxieties into a conspiracy story can be both addictive, compelling and hard to give up.

"If someone has been disillusioned and let down by life, if they find themselves disappointed and alone, they may be more likely to become dependent on conspiracy theory. It offers meaning and purpose in a world that often seems chaotic."

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Furthermore, senior lecturer in psychology at Northumbria University Dr Daniel Jolley talked of how those following such ideas can make people feel "unique".

"These theories are entertaining – they are interesting, novel and attention-grabbing, which is enticing.

"They can make the every day appear more exciting.

"What hidden worlds exist that the government is hiding? It turns every day into a sci-fi film.

"However, they can influence people in significant ways – exposure to conspiracy theories can change the way we think and behave.

"One conspiracy belief feeds into another – UFO cover-ups to deny the existence of climate change.

"Conspiracy beliefs merge because both assume a secret group is covering up information for their self-interest. A distrust is developed, where an overriding suspicion is asserted."

According to Dr Jolley, such theories could be "detrimental to individuals and society" as once they have formed, they are difficult to "debunk".

Top Secret UFO Projects Declassified is a six-part series that will put various theories and claimed sight-seeings under a microscope.

Netflix states: "Though claims of extraterrestrial encounters have long been dismissed, many believe the existence of UFOs is not just likely, but a certainty."

Top Secret UFO Projects Declassified is available to watch on Netflix.

Scholarly and commentary sources emphasize lack of knowledge and scientific reasoning, human isolation, denial of evidence, and fanatic defense of beliefs as drivers of the movement.

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Content: "The Lost Earth Truth 1": The level of the earth seems to be the "gold rush" of our time.
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Through the multi-dimensional advanced high-tech "heterogeneous meta-helmet", scientists learned that the earth is full of four-dimensional entrances, the third dimension of the material plane and the fourth dimension of the etheric plane are originally "twins".
Written by Radu Cinama
Tiping said it was the "gold rush" of this era.
Based on a reference to the House of the Cabal, which hides the door to multidimensional interaction, I found an informative note that I had never seen before, floating among dozens of notes on my desk.
In general, I prefer to work in electronic form or wait for notes or files in digital format, but given my particular interest in the Dimension Portal, I decided to check everything on my desk, including the latest events.
I do not know the reasons and methods, but the information I found was ignored.
After reviewing notes and data summaries, I discovered an event called “Ground Floor – References ”, a“ movement ” that I ’ ve heard has made waves among people, but I never thought it would become a theme for our department.
The illusion of this idea is obvious, especially for those who have good judgment and personal experience of our planet from the perspective of outer space.
I was a bit confused and didn ’ t know if I should read a few pages of summaries about the ground floor.
I went to Lieutenant Nikola and asked him about it.
He told me that the information came from the operations department of another SRI division, an acronym for the Romanian Intelligence Agency, which has the status of a second level notice.
The lieutenant made it clear that the only reason this information reached our department was because it triggered an abnormal "phenomenon" in the world, but in our country, the number of "followers" is relatively small and the proportion is reasonable, and the level seems to be the "gold rush" of our time. It makes you speechless, even in a state of “shock. ”
I can understand that the paranoia and other obscure interests of hundreds of years ago amplify the lack of knowledge, which may occupy the minds of a relatively small number of people, but it is unreasonable to allow it to develop to the level of the international movement of the 21st century.
From a heavenly point of view, I wonder if human stupidity can rise above that level, but I don ’ t quite believe in that prospect.
However, even the most bizarre phenomena must be taken into account, at least taking into account the crowd and their opinions, which is one of the Secret Service's tasks.
I did read the summary, which revealed the main points of the problem very clearly, but did not give any conclusions.
Severe retrogression into the Middle Ages
On the same night, I took advantage of Cesar ’ s free time and shared the ground level problem with him, more as a social case than a research direction.
Cesar laughed loudly, talked about the topic for a while, and then suddenly turned to some very interesting questions.
He told me that three or four years ago, the issue was introduced to him and discussed with other colleagues in the intelligence department because there were signs that the idea was trending toward a consensus.
Out of respect for readers, I don ’ t usually include such a discussion in my series.
It requires only a little wisdom and minimal scientific training to understand, and arguments in support of this theory are tantamount to ignorance and fanaticism.
Beyond this, however, Cesar reveals some psychological cues that seem to be of some importance to general knowledge and social experience.
When discussing topping with Cesar, the first point involves a large number of followers.
“The mechanism for this strange theory of increased follower numbers is related to human isolation, ” says Cesar.
“It ’ s as if the population is divided into two distinct categories, but this separation is actually based on each person ’ s level of consciousness, which is directly related to their vibration frequency. ”
“But, ” I replied,“ I don ’ t know what caused this outbreak, and more and more people are insisting on these ‘ arguments ’ without meaning. ”
It's more like a stupid virus. "
“This major shift in thinking patterns is not at the same wavelength as what is commonly understood in the world today.
In other words, such new ideas have nothing to do with the knowledge of our time.
This is an effective method, because the earth is flat, and the idea is strongly supported by mystical factors, as well as by those who are keen to see things stagnant and not progressing.
This is the best way to control it: take people away from reality, let them dream nonsense, support their fantasies, and encourage them to project.
Therefore, it is controlled by imposing on the masses what they want.
Followers of earth thought, firmly believing in it, will seek to meet others, gather, and even separate themselves from others, because they will see others as fools deceived by lies.
In other words, they will be convinced that they are the ones who “discovered ” the truth. While it is sad to hear the news, unfortunately, the situation is quite real. ”
“Although I have this report under my nose, I can ’ t believe it has reached this point.
I feel like this is an ugly dream, as if some people in the world have voluntarily gone back hundreds of years.
That's how I feel.
Incredibly, people ’ s minds today are still influenced by delusions that defy not only decent intelligence but also scientific reasoning, making everything frenzied.
Look at the results! ”
I showed Cesar ’ s estimated numbers and charts.
"I know.
We've talked to other colleagues, "he said.
“Your surprise is evidenced by the huge difference in conceptualization and vibration frequency that people are beginning to feel.
This is a reality that has become increasingly prominent over time and cannot be ignored.
This is part of the isolation I told you about.
In principle, people interact with those who are evolving and those who prefer to stay in purely physical, crude or involuntary groups.
Those in the first category perfect themselves, recognize the changes that are taking place on Earth, and experience certain emotional states and specific sensations.
That ’ s why it ’ s incredible for some people to think about problems in a medieval way, such as followers of the Earth Theory. ”
Cesar saw the astonishment on my face and hurried to prove what he said again.
“Yes, I ’ m not exaggerating.
This is a return to the Middle Ages, because these people cannot evolve; instead, they return to a more archaic state of consciousness, closer to their true level of consciousness. ”
“Why can ’ t they evolve? ” I asked in surprise.
Of course, I know the answer, but it ’ s always a pleasure to capture Cesar ’ s explanation.
In addition, there is always a new element that can enrich my knowledge.
“Because the current state of things they attract has nothing to do with the higher vibrations of the Earth, this feature is becoming more and more apparent. ”
“For the followers of the Earth Plane, their consolation lies in the frenzy of these primitive ideas, which are maintained as free spirits and ideas are blocked.
The same was true during the Inquisition: a set of foolish and erroneous ideas was raised into law, and any violation of those ideas was enforced. ”
When I think about it all, I hope I ’ m wrong.
“Are we back in the Middle Ages? History has set off a wave of extreme ideas.
Ancient people already knew that the earth was round, but the situation deteriorated in the Middle Ages, when there was a revival of modern science, but was this only to take us back to the Middle Ages now? ” (The author undoubtedly refers to the knowledge shared by Pythagoras and Aristotle, who both asserted that the earth is round, and the argument made by Eratonius in ancient Alexandria.)
Cesar calmly replied, “We don ’ t; but for the part that has degraded, yes. ”
Several factors contributed to this.
Followers of the Earth ’ s theory are indignant at their opinionated views, their refusal to think logically or rationally on the basis of real arguments and evidence, their denial of evidence, and their deceitful defense of their position.
In general, this is a kind of missionary covering up fanaticism.
The psychological factor of the earth level, the mind pulls people's distance
We note that whenever fanaticism prevails, society is confronted with a lack of insight and the limitations of personal freedom.
Cesar gave me an example that better explains how this dilemma can be achieved in the context of a relatively developed civilization.
"This phenomenon is the same as in quantum physics.
If there is enough energy, the electrons can jump into higher orbits.
If there is not enough energy, it can be kept at a slightly higher level and relatively stable; but at some point, the remaining energy will be released in the form of photons, and the electron will return to the orbit where it was originally found, back to where it started.
In quantum physics, this is the basic orbit of electrons.
In other words, electrons with these characteristics will return to the level where they have a safe orbit. ” I interjected, clinging to the subject.
“I know that throughout human history, the idea that the earth is flat has long existed in some religions.
Modern astronomy has developed extensively since then.
Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto have only been discovered for about two hundred years.
In this sense, the ground floor is actually not very old, its memory is still fresh.
Perhaps that is why some humans return to the state they once knew. "
“This is another factor, ” Cesar acknowledged,“ in any case, human society is changing from ‘ possessiveness ’ to ‘ feeling ’, that sense of possession, egoism, competition, and violence tends to be gradually replaced by pure and positive emotions and feelings, which are fundamental to love, altruism, and compassion. ”
I have some doubts.
“It ’ s hard to believe, because almost all of us are seeing the spread of these negative manifestations. ”
“At first glance, it might be so.
Remember, however, that most people on Earth are uneducated, and they ‘ resort ’ to this illusion of competition, money, commerce, and lack of spirituality.
A large number of people who are addicted to this dream, tend to oppose those who are guided only by spiritual values and seek a pure life with a clear meaning, and have achieved a balance at this point.
This is what we call isolation. "
In fact, what Cesar wanted to say is that everyone is invited to participate in the great spiritual transformation of humanity and our planet, with the desire and dignity to demand that his life be the germ of light, spirituality and hope that we can enter a bright future.
This is an excellent ideal, but so far too few people have followed this ideal.
Book Introduction
This excerpt is from The Lost Earth Truth 1: The Hidden History of Holographic Time Travel, published by Daxi Culture.
Written by Radu Cinamar
Translated by: Sandra
• momo online bookstore
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Radu Cinamar became famous after revealing an unprecedented and mysterious collaboration between the US and Romanian militaries.
American and Romanian troops have made an expedition under the Romanian Sphinx in the Bucegi Mountains and discovered the greatest archaeological discovery of all time: a mysterious chamber about 50,000 years old, containing a holographic record of human history of the Earth, biological resonance imaging technology, and three mysterious tunnels that lead to secrets deep in the heart of the earth.
Despite the political intrigue, confusion, and restrictions surrounding this great discovery, the expedition leader allowed Radu Sinamar to visit and explore the artifacts.
Since then, Radu ’ s life has been a labyrinthine adventure, filled with strange events, secret connections, and unusual people and things.
This book delves into ancient history in an unprecedented way, through the interaction of advanced technology ’ s “heterogeneous helmets ” with the author ’ s cerebral cortex and intuition, presenting more than 70 stunning images of the scene, the result of which is holographic projection, explaining and illustrating the DNA changes that took place over thousands of years and how humans evolved into what they are today.
Reveals the mystery of how multiple alien civilizations influenced and guided human DNA to evolve to a higher level.
Some of the hot spots in human history, which in the past either remained unknown or were only considered from a mythological point of view, include: Atlantis, Troy, Shambhala, and Huppelburia.
Disrupting the myths of the past, this book provides rich and accurate communications from the actual scene of holographic technology, combining esoteric knowledge and some scientific factors.
Special emphasis is placed on the "intersection" between the physical dimension and the etheric dimension and on the cracks or entrances between the dimensions.
In addition to revealing the ancient history of mankind, this fascinating work also describes a time out to see the origins of humanity and its hope for the future.
Book Features
Time-lapse decoding! The beginning of important human change
Through the multi-dimensional advanced high-tech "heterogeneous meta-helmet", scientists learned that the earth is full of four-dimensional entrances, the third dimension of the material plane and the fourth dimension of the etheric plane are originally "twins".
And you can see the "cosmic record" in the holographic image!
You can also overlook the cross-section of the earth, covering the deep human genetic technology and high-dimensional cosmic civilization, and no book in its amazing history has been exposed so far!
Editor-in-Chief: Weng Shihang
Editor-in-chief: Bohan Pan
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Cognitive patterns such as the Dunning-Kruger effect—overestimating one’s knowledge despite limited understanding—are reported among flat Earth adherents, contributing to exaggerated self-confidence and rejection of expertise.

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As Stephen Hawking once said, “Ignorance is not the greatest enemy of knowledge, but the enemy lies in the illusion of knowledge. ”
The above statement is true of a number of those who appear constantly on satellite TV to beep the ears of the simple with the absurdity of their predictions and analysis, which are stuffed with lies that often fall on their followers who are fascinated by their scientific titles, sometimes FALSO!
* * *
He says dr.
Mohammed al-Hashimi; in a transparent position, acting:
When a person has superficial and scant information, they often tend to exaggerate their cognitive abilities, called the Dunning – Kruger effect, or cognitive bias for the unqualified.
In April 1995, the American MacArthur Wheeler robbed two banks in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and in both cases he was not wearing a mask to hide his features, but was smiling and waving for surveillance cameras, not interested in revealing his identity!
The arrest warrant did not take long, and it turned out that he was under the false impression that he could hide his features by simply smearing his face with lemon juice, because he believed that it worked as a secret or invisible ink, and would make his features or the whole of his head invisible.
His confidence in his information even led him to calm down and reassure the employee in the bank and ask her not to be afraid to look at him, he is a real person and has a face like everyone else, even if she does not see him!
Weller was surprised when he saw his picture on the screen, when he was being interrogated, after his arrest, as he stared at the videos in unbelievable astonishment and said: “I wiped my face with lemon juice in a good way, and I already made it invisible! ”
* * *
Wheeler ’ s belief in the powerful effect of lemon juice caught the attention of psychology professor David Dunning, of Cornell University, and he hired Justin Krueger, one of his distinguished students, to help him conduct a series of studies and field experiments on large sectors of people in several American cities, to try to find a relationship between intellectual competence and self-confidence.
What they found, over and over again, through scattered samples of humans, especially those with very little knowledge, in general, that they tend to claim and believe that they are experts on many topics, and understand a lot, so the researchers called the phenomenon, "the Daning-Kruger effect," meaning in short; the less familiar people think they are the most informed and understood!
Therefore, when you see someone arguing with a doctor or a scientist specialized in his field, whether about the importance of corona vaccines, or his belief that AIDS is a hoax, that the Earth ’ s sphere is a lie, that it is America that triggers earthquakes, and is behind many natural disasters, or the belief that a third world war will take place in a certain month, as Abu Girafa predicted, and the collapse of the GCC system in 2020. We must remember that these people already believe that they know too much, but their knowledge is in fact much less, and this prompts them to claim science, and even boast about it!
They are not crazy, but they suffer from the Dunning – Krueger effect, a disease that affects the collective mind of the sufferer and causes his valid opinions to be confined to a very narrow circle of information.

How do flat Earthers perceive themselves?

They believe they know a lot, though their knowledge is minimal

Broader correlates of conspiratorial thinking include overconfidence, dark triad personality traits, cognitive biases, populist attitudes, and tolerance for political violence.

Title:

Content: Why do people buy crackpot conspiracy theories?

HOMEPAGE

When it comes to the spread of cockamamie conspiracy theories, Twitter was a maximum viable product long before Elon Musk paid $44 billion for the keys. But as soon as he took the wheel, Musk removed many of the guardrails Twitter had put in place to keep the craziness in check. Anti-vaxxers used an athlete's collapse during a game to revive claims that COVID-19 vaccines kill people. (They don't.) Freelance journalists spun long threads purporting to show that Twitter secretly supported Democrats in 2020. (It didn't.) Musk himself insinuated that the attack on Nancy Pelosi's husband was carried out by a jealous boyfriend. (Nope.) Like a red thread connecting clippings on Twitter's giant whiteboard, conspiratorial ideation spread far and wide.

By some measures more than half of Americans believe at least one tale of a secret cabal influencing events. Some are more plausible than others; a few are even true. But most — from classics like the faked moon landing to new-school stuff like 5G cell towers causing COVID — defy science and logic. And while social-media platforms like Twitter and Meta may help deranged conspiracy theories metastasize, a fundamental question remains: Why does anyone fall for stuff like that?

Social scientists are closing in on some answers. The personality traits known as the "Dark Triad" — that's narcissism, psychopathy, and a tendency to see the world in black-or-white terms — play a part. So do political beliefs, particularly populism and a tolerance for political violence. Cognitive biases, like believing only evidence that confirms what you already think, also make people more vulnerable.

But according to new research, it isn't ignorance that makes people most likely to buy into conspiratorial thinking, or social isolation or mental illness. It's a far more prevalent and pesky personality quirk: overconfidence.

The more you think you're right all the time, a new study suggests, the more likely you are to buy conspiracy theories, regardless of the evidence. That'd be bad enough if it applied only to that one know-it-all cousin you see every Thanksgiving. But given how both politics and business reward a faith in one's own genius, the news is way worse. Some of the same people this hypothesis predicts will be most prone to conspiracy thinking also have the biggest megaphones — like an ex-president who believes he's never wrong, and a CEO who thinks that building expensive cars makes him some sort of visionary. It'd be better, or at least more reassuring, if conspiracy theories were fueled by dumb yahoos rather than self-centered monsters. Because arrogance, as history has repeatedly demonstrated, is a lot harder to stamp out than stupidity.

Have faith in yourself (but not too much)

A decade or so ago, when Gordon Pennycook was in graduate school and wanted to study conspiracist thinking, a small but powerful group of unelected people got together to stop him. It wasn't a conspiracy as such. It was just that back then, the people who approved studies and awarded grants didn't think that "epistemically suspect beliefs" — things science can easily disprove, like astrology or paranormal abilities — were deserving of serious scholarship. "It was always a kind of fringe thing," Pennycook says. He ended up looking into misinformation instead.

Still, the warning signs that conspiracy theories were a serious threat to the body politic go way back. A lot of present-day antisemitism can be traced back to a 19th-century forgery purporting to describe a secret meeting of a Jewish cabal known as the Elders of Zion (a forgery based in part on yet another antisemitic conspiracy theory from England in the 1100s and re-upped by the industrialist Henry Ford in the 1920s). In 1962, the historian Richard Hofstadter warned against what he called the "paranoid style" of America's radical right and its use of conspiracy fears to whip up support. Still, most scientists thought conspiracy theories weren't worth their time, the province of weirdos connecting JFK's death to lizard aliens.

From your blowhard cousin to Marjorie Taylor Greene, every conspiracist shares a single trait: a supreme smugness in their own infallibility.

Then the weirdos started gaining ground. Bill Clinton, they claimed, murdered Vince Foster. George W. Bush had advance knowledge of the September 11 attacks. Barack Obama wasn't born in the United States. Belief in baseless theories could lead to actual violence — burning cellphone towers because of that COVID thing, or attacking the Capitol because Hugo Chávez rigged the US election. By the time of the January 6 insurrection, Pennycook had already switched to studying conspiracy.

It still isn't entirely clear whether more people believe conspiracy theories today. Maybe there are just more theories to believe. But researchers pretty much agree that crackpot ideas are playing a far more significant role in politics and culture, and they have a flurry of hypotheses about what's going on. People who believe in conspiracies tend to be more dogmatic, and unable to handle disagreement well. They also rate higher on those Dark Triad personality traits. They're not stark raving mad, just a tick more antisocial.

But at this point, there are just way too many believers in cuckoo theories running around for the explanation to be ignorance or mental illness. "Throughout most of the 1970s, 80% — that's eight zero — believed Kennedy was killed by a conspiracy," says Joseph Uscinski, a political scientist at the University of Miami. "Would we say all of those people were stupid or had a serious psychological problem? Of course not."

Which brings us to the overconfidence thing. Pennycook and his collaborators had been looking at the ways intuition could lead people astray. They hypothesized that conspiratorial thinkers overindex for their own intuitive leaps — that they are, to put it bluntly, lazy. Most don't bother to "do their own research," and those who do believe only things that confirm their original conclusions.

"Open-minded thinking isn't just engaging in effortful thought," Pennycook observes. "It's doing so to evaluate evidence that's directed toward what's true or false — to actually question your intuitions." Pennycook wanted to know why someone wouldn't do that. Maybe it was simple overconfidence in their own judgment.

Sometimes, of course, people are justified in their confidence; after four decades in journalism, for example, I'm right to be confident in my ability to type fast. But then there's what's known as "dispositional" overconfidence — a person's sense that they are just practically perfect in every way. How could Pennycook's team tell the difference?

Their solution was pretty slick. They showed more than 1,000 people a set of six images blurred beyond recognition and then asked the subjects what the pictures were. Baseball player? Chimpanzee? Click the box. The researchers basically forced the subjects to guess. Then they asked them to self-assess how well they did on the test. People who thought they nailed it were the dispositional ones. "Sometimes you're right to be confident," Pennycook says. "In this case, there was no reason for people to be confident."

Sure enough, Pennycook found that overconfidence correlated significantly with belief in conspiracy theories. "This is something that's kind of fundamental," he says. "If you have an actual, underlying, generalized overconfidence, that will impact the way you evaluate things in the world."

The results aren't peer-reviewed yet; the paper is still a preprint. But they sure feel true (confirmation bias aside). From your blowhard cousin to Marjorie Taylor Greene, it seems as if every conspiracist shares one common trait: a supreme smugness in their own infallibility. That's how it sounds every time Donald Trump opens his mouth. And inside accounts of Elon Musk's management at Twitter suggest he may also be suffering from similar delusions.

"That's often what happens with these really wealthy, powerful people who sort of fail upwards," says Joe Vitriol, a psychologist at Lehigh University who has studied the way people overestimate their own expertise. "Musk is not operating in an environment in which he's accountable for the mistakes he makes, or in which others criticize the things he says or does."

An epidemic of overconfidence

Pennycook isn't the first researcher to propose a link between self-regard and epistemically suspect beliefs. Anyone who has attended a corporate meeting has experienced the Dunning-Kruger effect — the way those who know the least tend to assume they know the most. And studies by Vitriol and others have found a correlation between conspiracy thinking and the illusion of explanatory depth — when people who possess only a superficial understanding of how something works overestimate their knowledge of the details.

But what makes Pennycook's finding significant is the way it covers all the different flavors of conspiracists. Maybe some people think their nominal expertise in one domain extends to expertise about everything. Maybe others actually believe the conspiracy theories they spread, or simply can't be bothered to check them out. Maybe they define "truth" legalistically, as anything people can be convinced of, instead of something objectively veridical. Regardless, they trust their intuition, even though they shouldn't. Overconfidence could explain it all.

Pennycook's findings also suggest an explanation for why conspiracy theories have become so widely accepted. Supremely overconfident people are often the ones who get handed piles of money and a microphone. That doesn't just afford them the means to spread their baseless notions about Democrats running an international child sex-trafficking ring out of the basement of a pizza parlor, or Sandy Hook being a hoax. It also connects them to an audience that shares and admires their overweening arrogance. To many Americans, Pennycook suggests, the overconfidence of a Musk or a Trump isn't a bug. It's a feature.

It's not necessarily unreasonable to believe in dangerous conspiracies. The US government really did withhold medical treatment from Black men in the Tuskegee trial. Richard Nixon really did cover up an attempted burglary at The Watergate Hotel. Jeffrey Epstein really did force girls to have sex with his powerful friends. Transnational oil companies really did hide how much they knew about climate change.

So distinguishing between plausible and implausible conspiracies isn't easy. And we might be more likely to fall for the implausible ones if they're being spouted by people we trust. "The same thing is true for you," Pennycook tells me. "If you hear a scientist or a fellow journalist at a respected outlet, you say, 'This is someone I can trust.' And the reason you trust them is that they're at a respected outlet. But the problem is, people are not that discerning. Whether the person says something they agree with becomes the reason they trust them. Then, when the person says something they're not sure about, they tend to trust that, too."

The next step, or course, is to figure out how to fight the spread of conspiratorial nonsense. Pennycook is trying; he spent last year working at Google to curb misinformation; his frequent collaborator David Rand has worked with Facebook. They had some meetings with TikTok, too. That pop-up asking whether you want to read the article before sharing it? That was them.

And what about the bird site? "Twitter? Well, that's another thing altogether," Pennycook says. He and Rand worked on the crowdsource fact-check function called Community Notes. But now? "It's all in flux, thanks to Elon Musk."

But Pennycook's new study suggests that the problem of conspiracy theories runs far deeper — and may prove far more difficult to solve — than simply tweaking a social-media algorithm or two. "How are you going to fix overconfidence? The people who are overconfident don't think there's a problem to be fixed," he says. "I haven't come up with a solution for that yet."

Adam Rogers is a senior correspondent at Insider.

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Conspiracy Theories Twitter Psychology

Economic and health stressors, narcissism, the need to feel unique, low analytical thinking, and higher anxiety are also linked with conspiracy belief susceptibility.

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Scientists have found out why people believe in conspiracy theories
A meta-analysis of 170 studies was conducted.
After conducting a meta-analysis of 170 studies, scientists came to the conclusion that makes people believe in conspiracy theories.
It turns out that such theories help them feel safe and better understand their environment, reports “Online ”.
If security and understanding needs are not met, people may turn to conspiracy theories to explain their suffering and setbacks.
Financial difficulties and health problems can also be a reason to believe in controversial theories - this scientists explain the number of conspiracy theorists, increased during the pandemic.
Affect susceptibility to conspiracy and personality traits of people.
According to scientists, narcissism and the need to feel unique increase the likelihood of a person believing in conspiracy theories concerning the global structure of the world.
And low analytical thinking and high anxiety had a relatively low correlation with conspiracy thinking.
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Generational and political patterns in conspiracism show that millennials are more open to conspiracy theories, social media plays a significant role, and conservatives report lower trust in scientists, while Gen Z is somewhat less inclined than millennials and older generations are more skeptical.

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Who's most likely to be open to conspiracy theories? UNH research points to millennials and Trump supporters

Who are the groups most likely to believe in conspiracy theories? That’s the question a University of New Hampshire researcher recently set out to solve.

Sociology professor Lawrence Hamilton looked into national survey data gauging public beliefs in several conspiracy theories, including: "NASA astronauts did not really land on the Moon" and "The Earth is flat, not round."

After digging into that data, Hamilton found "acceptance or openness to conspiracy beliefs was significantly higher among certain subgroups, including Millennials and supporters of ex-president Trump."

NHPR’s Rick Ganley talked with Hamilton about his findings — and the role social media plays in spreading conspiracy theories. Below is a transcript of their conversation, lightly edited for clarity.

Read more about Hamilton's research here.

Transcript

Rick Ganley: It's worth noting that some of these conspiracy theories are old. Some are more recent. But all of them seemingly were given a boost by social media. And it's not hard to find false information, obviously, about topics online. Did you find it used to be much harder to hear about or be convinced of something like this?

Lawrence Hamilton: Well, I've never asked these questions before, so I don't have my own data. There are Gallup polls going back to the late 1990s that seem to find much smaller fractions of people thinking that the moon landings were faked, for example. So there's some kind of indirect evidence. I don't know if anybody tracked it very well. The number of people who've heard about these theories [that's] rising are the people who are drawn into them. And I'm sure that YouTube and social media — people describe it as a rabbit hole, where if you start watching one video [alleging the Earth is flat], they'll recommend another one for you. And pretty soon it seems like the whole world is all about flat Earth.

Rick Ganley: Your research looked into the political leanings of people who responded. What did you find there?

Lawrence Hamilton: We did find a political correlation, and that wasn't a foregone conclusion, because I had specifically chosen conspiracy theories that are not known to have a clear political [connection]. I mean, there's been a lot of research going back really to the 1960s on the paranoid style in American politics that has found conspiracy theories are more popular among conservatives across a range of issues. In the 1950s, it was conspiracies by Communist infiltration in the U.S. government. Now, it may be conspiracies directed at politicians — [alleging without evidence that former President Barack] Obama is a Muslim, or [President Joe] Biden stole the 2020 election — and others that are targeted at scientists, like climate change is a hoax, COVID-19 is a hoax or COVID precautions or vaccines are a hoax. And I chose none of those. I chose things like: ‘The moon landings were fake,’ or ‘Earth is flat,’ ‘Vaccines implant microchips.’ So it was interesting to find that even there, there's a conservative preference.

Rick Ganley: A lot of this does come down to faith in science and academics and what so-called experts have to say. Do you see this as evidence of a decline in faith in institutions?

Lawrence Hamilton: Well, I would say there's a decline — and this is something we do have data on — there's a wide decline in trust in scientists, and it's largely partisan. It's not so much happening among people who self-identify as liberal or moderate. But among people who identify as conservative or very conservative, there's definitely a decline in trust in scientists. The COVID pandemic was an interesting case in point, because we were actually tracking this on surveys, and trust in the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] took an enormous nosedive over space about four months, specifically among conservatives. Other groups didn't change. But the conservative trust in the CDC took this huge dive when [former President] Donald Trump's tweeting turned from praising the CDC to attacking it. And with that flip, conservative trust in the CDC flipped as well, and nobody else has changed much.

Rick Ganley: Your research also highlighted a pattern having to do with age. Respondents who classify themselves as millennials, that is those born between 1981 and 1996, were the most likely to agree with some of the conspiracies that you posed. And Gen Zs, I guess, were also more inclined than older respondents. What did you find there?

Lawrence Hamilton: Well, some of that corresponded to previous surveys. There's a section at the end of our report where we say, well, how does this compare with what other people have found? Just as a reality check. And that's been reported by a number of other studies as well. So millennials in particular, and Gen Z to a slightly lesser extent, were much less skeptical about the conspiracies compared with boomers or older generations. And one explanation that's been offered for that, well, two explanations: Regarding the moon landings, of course, older generations lived through those and remember the national pride and excitement and so forth, whereas [for] younger generations, it's something in the history books. So maybe they don't have that sense of having been there when it happened. But the other thing is that you could expect younger generations to be more engaged with social media, which for some people could take them down these rabbit holes again.

Rick Ganley: Does your research have any suggestions on how to stop people from believing in conspiracy theories?

Lawrence Hamilton: That's a real hard one because there's this tendency to get into information silos where all you hear are the voices that reinforce your prejudices. And a thing about conspiracies is that they will give you a reason to reject anything that contradicts them. People have been seeing [the science behind] climate change for a long time, [and] you can't go in with fact sheets. That doesn't persuade anybody. They'll just become convinced that you're part of the hoax, too. There aren't any simple answers. The strongest recommendation is that scientists stay engaged in public communication through every channel they have, and that they try to make their conclusions understandable or accessible to people from a lot of different walks of life who obviously are not reading the peer review journals.

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Conspiratorial milieus with high suspicion of institutions overlap with movements like QAnon, which are disproportionately white and Republican and more likely to have lower levels of formal education.

Title:

Content: Man wearing tinfoil hat (Shutterstock)

In a June 2021 episode of On the Media, host Brooke Gladstone described a common debate in media circles over conspiracy theories.

Don't put those liars on the air!
I hear you, but sometimes I have to tell people what's going on!
You're spreading their propaganda for them!
It's already spread and having real-world effects!
Well, it wouldn't spread if you denied them a platform!
Gatekeepers don't have that kind of power anymore!
They might if they worked together!
That just drives it underground and it gets even worse!

The conspiracy du jour was election denial. Do you engage with election deniers, platforming and potentially legitimating them? Or do you ignore them at risk of having them spread with no critique?

In that episode, Gladstone spoke with Jay Rosen, professor of journalism at New York University and media critic.

Rosen suggested possible ways out of the puzzle.

One was to report disinformation within a truth sandwich:

When you feel you have to report on a falsehood, you should start with a true statement, sandwich the misleading one in the middle and end with a true statement.

A second was to shift reporting from national to local politics:

The more politics is rooted in problem-solving that people can see in their lives, the less likely this dueling realities universe is to take over.

I started this piece with the intent of describing how much the right-wing has been hijacked by conspiracy theories. I intended to suggest my own ways forward. But the story of conspiracy theories in the US turns out to be more complex. And more troubling.

The contours of conspiracism

Conspiracy theories are dangerous not simply because people believe them. Nor are all conspiracy theories equal. People who believe the Apollo moon landing was faked are not a societal concern. It's when those false claims power troubling behaviors that we worry.

Unlike moon landing conspiracies, election denial forms the justification for overturning legitimate free elections. It can turn a representative democracy into a fascist regime. That was the goal of the J6 insurrection, all powered by a conspiracy theory.

The American public is now learning about “replacement theory,” which is the idea that migrants and nonwhite people are systematically replacing white people. According to a recent Yahoo News/You Gov poll, about 60 percent of Trump voters believe this theory.

We don't have to think that hard to imagine the consequences of accepting this false statement as a true statement. It will lead to xenophobia and mistreatment of migrants, especially nonwhite ones.

Let's not forget about QAnon, a conspiracy theory that ran a close second to election denial since 2020. QAnoners believe, among other things, that an evil cult has taken over the world. They mistrust governments, institutions and elites. They are more likely to believe information not coming from people associated with those entities.

In February, the Public Religion Research Institute said it found that, “Across 2021, 16 percent of Americans were QAnon believers, 48 percent were QAnon doubters, and 34 percent were rejecters."

Wait, wut?

Sixteen percent is one in six people!

And only half of the country doubts QAnon?

This is significant. It suggests this may be a society-wide problem, not only clustered among Republicans. PPRI said Black and brown people were more likely to be QAnon believers than white Americans.

It’s still true that QAnon believers are primarily white (around 60 percent of total QAnon believers), and the largest share is Republican (about 43 percent). But there is more diversity here than I realized.

More research out of the University of Chicago, about conspiracies and immigration, also shows how widespread conspiracy beliefs are. Based on answers to a questionnaire, researchers sorted respondents into two categories: "high conspiratorial thinkers" and "low conspiratorial thinkers." I like this because it’s not tied to any specific conspiracy but instead taps into the predisposition to believe them.

As expected, 45 percent of all high conspiratorial thinkers were Republicans. But a sizeable 36 percent were Democrats.

Similarly, we would expect less-educated Americans to be high conspiratorial thinkers, the logic being these folks have less information literacy or have had less exposure to established facts.

Indeed, 66 percent of “high conspiratorial thinkers” are did not go to college. But that leaves 34 percent of the same who did go to college.

To say we’re a nation of conspiratorial thinkers is no overstatement.

A slightly different question

So what is the solution?

First, I don't think Rosen's suggestions are helpful. It’s all well and good to create a truth sandwich, but when conspiracy theories have as a component that elites are controlling the population, having an elite telling them they are wrong about their ideas is a non-starter.

Covering local issues, where reality is shared, doesn't seem that effective either, mainly because everyday reality simply isn't shared.

People died in Buffalo because one person had a reality in his mind that he and other white people were being replaced. Queer kids are being erased through teacher gag orders in Florida, premised on the QAnon-reality that elite educators want to groom children.

I don't have a solution.

But let me suggest that because so many people in this country across class, race and political lines believe in conspiracy theories, we have been asking the wrong question (myself included).

We have been asking why MAGA types are so invested in conspiracy theories. This question inevitably leads to answers involving racism, Christian nationalism, xenophobia and possibly lack of education.

These answers are only partially correct.

The question goes only halfway.

A full question would ask why we are a nation of conspiratorial thinkers? Once we answer that, we can address the problem.

Algorithmic amplification and the rapid spread of disinformation on social media further fuel exposure to extreme and false content, making media literacy a critical countermeasure. [45].

Title:

Content: Taiwan has been the champion of "false information" for nine consecutive years. Children are the main target. Is critical media literacy education the solution?
Photo Credit: Shutterstock
What we want you to know is
Research shows that children often start believing unproven conspiracy theories at the age of 14, and more than 80% of middle school students mistake “sponsored ads ” for“ news stories. ”
But what exactly should the media literacy curriculum teach?
At present, there are still divergent views......
Text: Yu-An Lai
According to the 2021 V-Dem (Varieties of Democracy) report by the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, Taiwan has been the champion of “false information ” for nine consecutive years, making it the most frequently attacked country in the world by false information.
The government of Taiwan will invest 11.7 billion yuan in 2023, aiming to enable primary and secondary schools across the country to comprehensively promote digital improvement projects, so as to achieve "class has the Internet, there is a tablet", this policy is aimed at strengthening students' ability to use digital technology, but if children use it inappropriately, it will be counterproductive.
In the pursuit of the popularization of the Internet and the teaching of digital technology, we also have to think about how to teach children to distinguish between trustworthy news information and news when the huge amount of fake information on the Internet is overwhelming.
The younger you are, the more likely you are to be a primary target of false information.
Science magazine Scientific American reports that children are the primary targets of disinformation disseminators.
According to a 2019 study by the British Journal of Developmental Psychology, children usually start believing unproven conspiracy theories at the age of 14, and many contemporary teenagers have difficulty judging the credibility of online messages.
Researchers at Stanford University also found in a 2016 study that more than 80 percent of middle school students misidentified “sponsored ads ” as“ news stories. ”
Fake messages are often delivered to young internet users, directing them to misleading content.
A 2018 Wall Street Journal survey also found that YouTube ’ s algorithms push personalized recommendations for different users, but they tend to recommend videos that are more extreme and far-fetched than what users originally watched.
For example, when researchers search for “eclipse ” as a keyword, they are directed to a video whose main theme is to imply that the Earth is flat.
YouTube is one of the most popular social media sites for young people, and for such extreme algorithms, Zeynep Tufekci, assistant professor at the School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, called it “one of the most powerful radical tools of the 21st century. ”
The influence of false information and false information cannot be ignored.
In response to the spread of false information, UNICEF provides the following 10 insights and recommendations
1.
Misinformation and disinformation on the Internet is an urgent public issue.
The power of fake information must not be underestimated. For children who are now active on the Internet, fake information is an important part of their daily lives.
Fake messages on social media are often more powerful, farther, faster, and deeper than the right messages, especially when the issues involve divisive, highly controversial, and highly emotional topics, such as immigration, gender politics and equality, and vaccination are hot topics.
2.
The impact and consequences of errors and false information on the real world
Misinformation and misinformation have been used to incite violence and crime against ethnic minorities (which can lead to the death and displacement of children), while misinformation and misinformation have reduced vaccination rates for children with Covid-19, undermined trust in news and science, and drowned out marginalized voices.
3.
Algorithms play a more critical role, even though misinformation and misinformation are often transmitted through people
Algorithms deliver personalized messages and news stories through users ’ digital footprints, but sometimes they can also recommend content that is inaccurate, misleading, sensational, and conspiracy theories.
Therefore, we can say that the algorithm may be a key carrier for amplifying the spread of false information.
4.
Children are vulnerable to errors and false information
Because children are in a developing stage, they do not yet have the ability to distinguish between reliable and unreliable information.
Not only will they be harmed by errors and misinformation, they may also continue to pass on the wrong information to their peers.
For younger children who do not use social media, they may also be exposed to false or false information through their parents, caregivers, or classmates.
5.
Still, children can challenge and debunk mistakes and misinformation
Now that they have become the primary targets and targets of misinformation, children can still actively fight them.
Children can contribute to fact-checking and deification efforts, such as the Covid-19 pandemic misinformation for Nepal.
The UNICEF Mission in Montenegro ’ s “Let ’ s decide what we want to watch ” programme provides young people with the opportunity to train in media literacy and journalistic skills to improve the quality of reporting on children ’ s rights.
6.
Education is especially important.
In order to help children to judge whether information is true or false, they should develop the ability to read and think critically from an early age.
Make sure that children have critical thinking skills, not only online, but also offline, in everyday life.
7.
It is necessary to take collective action to protect children.
Politicians, civil society organizations, technology companies, parents, and educators must all work together to avoid the harm that misinformation and misinformation can do to children.
There is no reliable data and research on how to slow down the spread of false and false information.
8.
Policymakers should develop norms of misinformation and misinformation based on children ’ s rights
UNICEF recommends that policy makers develop regulations for children to protect them from the effects of error and false information, while ensuring that they can access content safely.
Regulation should be based on the classification of content and ensure transparency and accountability.
This is a very significant policy challenge between the protection of rights on the Internet and speech.
9.
Tech companies can help combat errors and misinformation
UNICEF recommends that tech companies actually implement their declared policies and invest more in people and technology.
Tech companies should publish how they deal with fake messages on their platforms and prioritize the idea of meaningful connections and children ’ s diversity in digital system design.
Guess you like it.
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Profiles and tendencies observed among flat Earth believers include denial of evidence, refusal of logical argumentation, a belief that they have discovered a hidden truth, and a preference for stagnant or “unchanging” ideas often described as a return to medieval thinking patterns.

How do flat Earthers perceive themselves?

They believe they know a lot, though their knowledge is minimal

Overestimation of personal knowledge and competence is common, with the Dunning-Kruger effect cited as a contributing mechanism.

How do flat Earthers perceive themselves?

They believe they know a lot, though their knowledge is minimal

Overconfidence and certain darker personality traits correlate with conspiratorial beliefs, alongside cognitive biases.

High-conspiratorial thinkers are more likely to be Republican and to have lower levels of education in survey data, suggesting demographic overlaps with other conspiracy communities.

The movement’s heterogeneity means there is no single defining characteristic, as each believer’s model of a flat Earth can differ substantially from others.

Regional context shows that modern flat Earth myths in the Arab world have been influenced by ideas imported from the US and Europe, even though medieval Muslim scholars refuted flat Earth a millennium ago, and classical Greek figures proposed the Earth’s sphericity thousands of years earlier.

Surveys in Russia highlight widespread misconceptions about basic astronomy, such as large shares misunderstanding whether the Sun or Earth moves and the duration of Earth’s orbit, underscoring ongoing vulnerabilities to pseudoscience in the broader information environment.

Title:

Content: MOSCOW, 2 Aug — PRIME.
A third of Russians (35 percent) think that the Sun revolves around the Earth, and not vice versa, according to a survey conducted by the All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion (VTsIOM).
61% of respondents answered the question correctly.
In addition, 12 percent of Russians believe that the Earth makes a complete revolution around the Sun in a month.
69 percent of respondents denied this statement, another 19 percent found it difficult to answer.
The opinion that radioactive milk will be safe if it is boiled was supported by seven percent of respondents, refuted by 85 percent.
Another 21 percent of Russians believe that ancient people lived at the same time as dinosaurs.
This is not the case with 66% of the population.
According to VTsIOM, the strongest opinions of Russians differ on the harm of genetically modified products: 44 percent of respondents believe that they cause cancer, 35 percent of citizens disagree with them, another 21 percent found it difficult to answer.
More than half (55 percent) believe that GMO products will not be able to help in the fight against hunger, 32 percent believe otherwise.
According to the results of the survey, VTsIOM identified three groups of people by the level of scientific literacy:
• 21% is low,
• 44% - medium,
35% is high.
The latter group is formed mainly at the expense of young people (61%).
Of these, almost half (49 percent) actively use the Internet, 45 percent have a higher education and 51 percent live in Moscow or St. Petersburg.
The telephone survey was held on July 9, 1600 Russians aged 18 and older took part in it.

For parents concerned about flat Earth influences in a child’s social circle, experts recommend maintaining open communication, getting to know your child’s friends, encouraging new activities to broaden perspectives, teaching consequence thinking, establishing a “safe word,” reinforcing that it is okay to say no, and monitoring and setting limits on internet use.

Title:

Content: Chairman of the Board of Directors and Editors
I'm sorry.
Mohamad Elbaz
Editor-in-Chief
Wael Lotfy
Chairman of the Board of Directors and Editors
I'm sorry.
Mohamad Elbaz
Editor-in-Chief
Wael Lotfy
Father's first year.
How can children be protected from social pressures?
Social pressure can be defined as the feeling of being forced to do the same things that your peers do in order to be accepted and liked in a group, and it is common for this situation to occur during adolescence, where young people want to cope with the fear of being rejected or criticized, this may make them more likely to do what others do, even if it is wrong or risky.
According to Bright Side, we collected 10 tips that can help parents guide their children in dealing with social pressures.
1.
Try to maintain good communication with your children.
Maintaining good communication and strengthening your relationship with children is key to overcoming difficult moments as a family, parents are advised to let them know that they always want to listen to them and talk to them about any topic, this way you will create a basis for them to trust you and feel that they can have conversations about uncomfortable situations, such as social pressure.
To achieve good communication, take turns listening to what both of you are saying, at all times avoid being aggressive, cruel, not listening, blaming, and it is advisable to ask questions and share your concerns about something, rather than presumptuous and critical.
2.
A meeting with their friends.
It is important to get to know the friends of your children, it is possible to do this by inviting them to your home, providing them a safe and pleasant space where they can have a good time, with appetizing food and a good sense of humor.
3.
Encourage them to meet new people.
One of the reasons they succumb to social pressures is that they want to have friends, be accepted, and belong to a group that gives them security if parents encourage and support their children to practice different activities where they can meet their new peers, they will have the opportunity to make friends in different environments and avoid the desire to integrate into just one environment.
4.
Teach them to think about the consequences of unsafe behaviors
To help children make safer decisions, as well as teach them wrong or risky behaviors, it is advisable to ask them to think about the consequences of what their actions may cause for themselves and others.
These ideas may help if:
If they break the rules or misbehave at school, tell them they can be fired, lose privileges at home (such as field trips or playtime), and that this may affect their grades.
• If they think that stealing something from a store and it is supported by their friends is a joke, it is important for them to know that this may have legal consequences and that it is not a game.
Before they do something they ’ re not sure about, they might ask themselves: Will this make me feel proud of myself afterwards?
5.
Create the word "safe" in case they need help.
This is a practice that can get kids out of trouble when they feel uncomfortable or afraid in a situation, special symbolic words or phrases will allow them to make a call or send a message to tell their parents to come looking for it, without telling their friends the real reason, because they may be embarrassed or shy.
For example, if a teenager is at a party and feels uncomfortable, they can call their parents or send a message with the phrase they previously agreed upon for those situations, such as, “Mom, I have a severe headache, can you look for me? ”
That way, without asking further questions, the mother will know that she needs your help.
6.
Let them know it's okay to say no sometimes.
Being alone in front of a group and having to say no can be overwhelming for them at times, if they have friends with the same values, maybe they can find some support so that together they can refuse to do the wrong thing without fear of ridicule.
7.
Identify and monitor the time they spend on the Internet
Nowadays, the digital environment is a way in which children and adolescents can be exposed to social pressure, so parents and caregivers are advised to set limits taking into account the age of their children.
Here are some tips that may be helpful:
Determine the time they spend online, and distribute it in balance with other activities such as homework, family time, and extracurricular activities.
Monitor the content they consume: Check the ratings of the TV or streaming programs and the movies and video games they watch, you can also review their online search history and view the apps on their phones.
Parents can make watching movies and series as a family a habit, surf the internet together, this way they can analyze what they are watching and promote family values.
Ask them which celebrities or influencers they like and inquire about the aspects they value about them, to see if there ’ s something specific to explain to them about the difference between what a person shows on their social networks and the other side isn ’ t.
Be on the lookout for issues such as cyberbullying and explain to teenage children practices that can harm them when they are online.

When discussing sensitive topics, asking children what they know, correcting misconceptions calmly and honestly, and watching for signs of anxiety can support critical thinking without escalating worry.

Title:

Content: Russia ’ s invasion of Ukraine: How to explain the war to children
With Russia ’ s invasion of Ukraine, young people are getting more news sources through social media and online platforms than ever before.
If children hear of an aggressive war, they may feel anxious or confused.
As a parent, how should you explain to your child what happened?
Here are some suggestions that might help you:
Let's see what happens.
Depending on the age of the child, war is undoubtedly a thornier topic, even out of date.
But in general, avoiding it can leave the child feeling confused, lonely and even more scared.
Over time, this can affect their overall health.
It ’ s important to have a frank and open dialogue with your child to help digest what they read, see, or hear from school.
Children want adults to listen and pay attention to their voices, especially if they show interest.
They may just need a kind of soothing to know that their feelings are normal.
The most important thing is to remain calm during the conversation, and the interaction does not cause more worry or fear.
Cohn, a clinical psychologist, said that parents play a guiding and regulating role in how their children experience life ’ s major events.
The first thing parents need to do, she says, is to figure out how they feel before they start a conversation.
“It ’ s very important for parents to be calm — not to deflect their fears onto their children, ” she said.
Ask them what they know.
Cohen recommends taking two steps when having a difficult conversation with your child.
The first step is to stand in the child's position to give empathy, and then to stand in the parents' position to express their views.
Parents may also want to ask their children what they want to know, understand some of their concerns, and if they have been exposed to any misleading information.
Cohen says one key to asking simple questions is to follow the child ’ s lead and let them take ownership of the conversation.
“Your child ’ s answers will let you know what they ’ re really interested in and prevent parents from infusing their child with a lot of information they think they should know. ”
She believes that starting with questions can help you talk to your child at home, because it helps you understand your child ’ s emotional state.
There will also be an opportunity to correct (them) any misunderstanding of the facts.
Keep an eye out for unseen signs.
Some children may be willing to speak out, but others may worry silently — so it ’ s important to be aware of their less obvious signs of tension.
For example, children may become more dependent on their parents, have trouble falling asleep, bite their nails, or suck their fingers.
There are also some more hidden signs of anxiety, which may include mood swings.
They may get angry for no reason, have a stomach ache, or have a change in appetite.
Cohen added, “Children may become picky or rigid about something, which is a way of trying to control the world around them, in contrast to the uncertainty they are experiencing. ”
Don't let your children read bad news.
Both adults and children should have a balance when watching the news, such as different types of programs and numbers.
Of course, for older children, not letting them overwatch the news can be more challenging.
But try as much as possible to keep young children away from TV and online content and pictures that are not appropriate for their age, as these can cause anxiety and fear.
“A child may just want to know a few small details, such as whether the child in conflict will be able to go to school?
But it ’ s important to understand your child ’ s situation and not tell them a lot of information that they can ’ t afford.
Therefore, I would recommend that younger children definitely have a break when watching social media, ” she said.
Finding balance
Parents can encourage their children to do activities that make them feel more grounded and better, including cooking, watching a favorite movie, taking a walk, or reading a favorite book.
Don ’ t forget to look at the problem in a big environment.
The meaning of certain events should be explained.
At the moment, the news is reporting some terrible news, but telling children such things is very rare and does not happen very often.
Despite the fact that people spend a lot of time talking about the news, unless you ’ re close to Ukraine, things like this still don ’ t really affect you or your family.
If your child is still worried, encourage them to do the following:
• Do breathing exercises on both feet – it can help divert attention.
• Remind them to think more about the things that make them happy and think about good things before they go to sleep so that their brains stay positive.
Ask them to find 3 things to be thankful for before they go to sleep.
Put something nice on their bed — perhaps a photo that makes them smile — and make it the last image they see before they go to sleep.
• If they have nightmares, encourage them to speak out and even try to draw out.
If they want to help, encourage them.
If children want to help those affected by war, give them support – this will help give them “a sense of autonomy ” (a sense of control over behavior and consequences).
Children can donate their toys, raise money for charities, write letters to local government officials, or create pictures calling for peace.
Cohen explained that this is the best opportunity to develop compassion in children, and it is more tangible than what is learned from books: “What is more persuasive than action? ”
Don't lie.
As parents, we always try to comfort our children.
But make sure not to overpromise.
It ’ s also important to look for more information when you don ’ t know the answers to some questions.
Cohen said that lying to a child can undermine trust, for example, by saying “everything will be okay, ” you can say,“ In fact, things will change. ”
Because this is the truth of life: everything changes – both good and bad.
Cohn said we can also use the new crown as an example, we are not what we were two years ago.
“It ’ s very good to emphasize [human] resilience, even to use some of the difficulties the child has experienced before but has since won, ” she said.

Building critical thinking through family discussions, evaluating information reliability, modeling argument culture, and teaching lateral reading strategies to verify sources are practical defenses against misinformation. [41].

Title:

Content: Breaking News

PUBLISHED: | UPDATED:

Whether it’s via TV, radio, or the internet, kids and teens, just like adults, are learning about what’s happening in and around Ukraine, and many are likely

concerned, worried or even scared.

Talking and listening to kids

How parents and other adults respond can have a big impact on how a young person handles the news coming out of Ukraine. We can’t hide the fact that something bad is happening, nor should we deny that we are sad, worried or frightened. But we can also be reassuring and help put the crisis into perspective, helping children feel safer but also enabling them to express their feelings about what is happening, and possibly take some action that might — even in some small way — make them feel more empowered to do something to make a difference.

Retired child and adolescent psychiatrist and current developmental life coach Annie Hempstead advises parents to start by listening, asking open ended questions, and continuing to listen. “There are times when our anxiety is high enough that we just want to fix it. We just want to make it OK and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that desire. But sometimes we skip a step” — asking your kids how they are feeling, what they are hearing and thinking about.” You might also ask if they would like you to help them understand these events.

Dr. Hempstead also said it’s important to be “real and “part of that realness is listening to how scared they might be.” You might want to share your own feelings, “I might be scared at times, as a parent.” She added, “authenticity is a really big part of this.” You can model for them that it’s natural to have feelings, and we are OK, even if we are anxious. It’s also important to remind kids that “good things happen much more often than bad things and most people are good.”

Hempstead said that parents should seek out professional help “if you see your kid withdrawing, if you see appetite changes or that they are unable to enjoy themselves.”

Media consumption and possible misinformation

Ask kids what they know and where they are getting their news. If they’re accessing information online, talk about the source and, together, try to determine whether these are credible sources. Talk with them about what they are seeing on social media and how they can tell if something they see may not be completely true. ConnectSafey’s Quick-Guide to Misinformation & Media Literacy (ConnectSafley.org/misinfo) can help.

Also, be wary of what you see on TV. Credible network news organizations strive to give accurate information, but sometimes they speculate or report breaking news that hasn’t been verified. And there is a difference between the reporters who are reporting the facts and the analysts and guests who may be speculating or simply sharing their opinions.

Kerry Gallagher, a veteran educator who currently serves as assistant principal for teaching and learning at St. John’s Prep in Danvers, Mass., and as ConnectSafely’s education director, said that parents of older adolescents should “share information they have checked through lateral reading (which involves consulting several trusted information sources to understand a topic or news event) or other fact checking techniques and comment on information that is inaccurate to redirect the teens to information that is accurate.”

Teens, Gallagher said, “are often getting their news and facts from places like Instagram and TikTok. Some of their sources on those platforms are accurate (many are not), but they should use lateral reading to corroborate.”

Adolescents, she added, “have a very clear sense of right and wrong, fair and unfair. Helping them process this is important.”

Disturbing images and videos

Some of the images on TV and online can be very disturbing. This is a war, which means there will be explosions, fires, burnt out buildings and pictures of people who may be wounded, dead or in desperate conditions. While such images can help build awareness and empathy, they are not suitable for all viewers, especially children.

Online news sources and images shared on social media can be even more explicit than TV news, so talk with your kids about what they are seeing and how they are responding to stories, images and videos.

Even for teens and adults, it’s probably best to limit your consumption of TV news about the war. It may be appropriate to tune in now and then, but a steady diet of bad news can lead to depression and increased anxiety.

You might also want to talk with your teens about what they share online. In addition to making sure they don’t share false information, they should be aware that not everyone may want to view graphic or violent images. They should also be careful before sharing sensitive information such as images of prisoners of war or innocent civilians and be especially careful before sharing any information that could give away a person’s location.

“We are all trying to navigate the information that is coming at us quickly,” Gallagher said. “The situation changes rapidly hour to hour. It is OK to step away for a while and then check in when you are rested and ready, both cognitively and emotionally.”

Hempstead pointed out that it’s appropriate to “limit how much children are visually taking in and they’re audibly taking it as well. In particular, seeing images of war, injury and death, can be a very powerful source of trauma for children.” She recommends being sure TV news channels are turned off when children are within eye or ear range.

What you and your children can do to help in Ukraine

It’s easy to feel helpless during a crisis because there is little if anything you can do directly to stop the Russian attacks against Ukraine. But there are things you can do that not only benefit Ukrainians and others directly affected, but also help give you and your children a sense of empowerment.

Talk with your kids about what they and you can do whether it’s making cards to send to Ukrainian children, raising money online or by having a bake sale, lemonade stand or car wash. Teens can raise funds and awareness on social media and families can attend or even help organize vigils and demonstrations to show their support for the people of Ukraine. Sharing your feelings with others can be therapeutic.

Helping your kids feel they’ll be OK

Hempstead said “the most important factor for children who’ve been traumatized and possibly being re-traumatized, or experiencing trauma for the first time, is knowing that their parents and/or guardians are OK and that they will be OK.”

“Honoring that what they’re feeling is valid, and they have a right to feel that, but the next step is helping them understand that “we’re living in a country where we’re so lucky to be so safe, we’re so lucky to have so many walls of protection” and that, of course, your parents and caretakers are there to take care of you.”

For some children, it may be helpful to point out that Ukraine is far away. You might even want to show them a map or a globe with an ocean between the U.S. and Ukraine. None of this is to diminish the nature of the tragedy, but to reassure children that we live in a safe place that is very far away from war.

Larry Magid is a tech journalist and internet safety activist.

Given that children are heavily targeted by algorithmic amplification of false content, combining digital literacy education with parental controls and prudent monitoring of social media use is advised. [47][57].

Title:

Content: A headteacher has issued a guide for parents on how to talk to their children about safe mobile phone use. Sarah Parry, head of Llanishen High in Cardiff, said she was responding to worries from parents about the time their children spend on social media, cyber bullying, online predators and mental health.

Mrs Parry has published the guide - Navigating social media with your children - on her school website after more than half of the 339 parents answering a survey she sent out reported their teenager checks social media every few hours and more than a quarter said their child had experienced bullying through social media. A further 40% of parents said they have had to speak to their teenager about inappropriate posts

Some parents weren’t sure how to talk to their children about mobile phone use or how to minimise potential risks. The headteacher said that with smart phones now part of every day life parents and teachers must know how to ensure their teenagers’ safety, well-being, and privacy online.

Read more: School has totally banned mobile phones and the results are absolutely staggering

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The guide comes as police figures released today show young people taking nude pictures are adding to a rise in sexual offences committed by children in England and Wales. Potential offenders were aged under 18 in more than half of all reported child abuse cases, according to analysis.

Police say the abuse includes "exploratory behaviour" under-18s may not realise is illegal, and rape while another category of offences involved indecent images of children, taken by children. Officers blame the rise on a combination of mobile phone ownership and the availability of hardcore pornography.

They warned children need to understand it is a crime to take, make, share or distribute an indecent image of a child that is under 18, whether that's in a consensual relationship or not.

Mrs Parry's guide was written before the police data came out. But it also warns: "Depending on the type of content, if a person is sharing abusive or offensive messages, they could be committing an offence."

“In today’s world, key threats include inappropriate content, predators, cyber bullying and more. It’s a lot for any parent to navigate, but you don’t have to do it alone," Mrs Parry said.

“We recently surveyed Llanishen High School parents across all year groups to understand their biggest concerns when it comes to social media, their teenager’s social media use, as well as the challenges they face when it comes to addressing issues around social media.

“30% of parents felt that it was difficult to keep track of all the accounts now available, with 28% saying that their children didn’t want to engage in conversation about social media. Parents were keen to feel more knowledgeable about social media to help tackle these conversations head-on.”

Of the 339 parents responding 25% had children aged 11 to 12 in year seven, 24% in year eight, 19% year 9, 16% year 10, 8% year 11 and 8% sixth form. This shows mobile phone use is already ingrained for most children by the time they start high school.

Parents were worried about safeguarding with one telling the school: “As children get older, parents do not have as much access to their phones and grooming is a worrying factor for parents. Children need to be aware of chat rooms, online gaming, and talking to strangers online.

“As parents, we teach them to be safe online and I’d like to see the school doing the same.”

Another parent admitted: “I don’t fully understand each of the social media options, and what is appropriate or inappropriate” and worried that “the algorithms that social media platforms use push content onto young people in subtle and manipulative ways”

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Llanishen High parents said these are the social media their children use most

Whatsapp 81%

Snapchat 68%

YouTube 67%

Tiktok 66%

Instagram (45%).

Facebook, the social media probably most used by parents, did not feature.

Releasing her guide online on the school’s website, Mrs Parry said she hoped it would help parents start conversations about safe mobile phone use with their children. Llanishen High does not allow mobile phone use during school hours.

Advice from Llanishen High headteacher's social media guide:

Starting the conversation with your teenager:

  • Think twice before hitting ‘post’ - do you know that whatever you post online stays online? And how do you feel about that?
  • Can you wait until you get home to post your location on apps like Instagram or Facebook?
  • When using Snapchat, do you keep your account in ‘Ghost Mode’ so your live location can be hidden?
  • Have you looked at the privacy settings on your social media accounts? Can you talk me through what you’ve set up?

Share but don’t overshare

  • What goes online stays online forever. Even a post which is deleted later, or any disappearing content shared through apps like Snapchat could be quickly screen shot or recorded.
  • It’s now quite common to share a live location on social media especially when out having fun with friends. Turn on privacy settings, especially for your teenagers.
  • Update your child's account so that only people they know, and trust can see their updates. This allows them to judge who sees their content.

Identify and avoid malicious content

Whether they’re sharing or on the receiving end, malicious content can be classed as something indecent, offensive, threatening or containing false information. Depending on the type of content, if a person is sharing abusive or offensive messages, they could be committing an offence.

So, teenagers must be aware of the implications of their actions or understand when they should be reporting certain content. To help your child avoid inappropriate content:

  • Speak to them about things to look out for like inappropriate website pop-ups, unfamiliar DMs with links or even profiles that seem inappropriate or fake.
  • Set up content blockers and firewalls to help block any websites that aren’t regarded as safe for your teen.
  • Speak to your child if they do come across any content that they’re uncomfortable with to help them manage their response.

Avoid online predators and how to stay safe online

Data from UK police forces have shown that online grooming crimes have risen by more than 80% in the last four years, taking the total of offences to more than 27,000.

There are typically two main approaches from online predators:

  • Grooming - where someone works to build trust and a relationship with someone with the intention of exploiting them or causing them harm, which could be sexual abuse or obtaining sexually inappropriate images/ videos.
  • Catfishing - where someone creates a fake profile using someone else’s name, pictures, and details to create a new identity to deceive someone.

To help your child/teen stay safe:

  • Educate them about the implications of sharing a ‘sexy’ selfie.
  • Make it clear that they can always talk to you, and you’re here to listen, judgement free.
  • Tell them how to report any concerns to the platform or a trusted adult.

Questions to ask your child about social media to help their mental health

  • Could they avoid sharing for a few days and engage in more real-world activities?
  • Could they hide the likes on their Instagram posts so they’re not worried about having this on show to their followers?
  • Could they think about what they’re posting and why they’re sharing it?

Remind children and teens that social media isn't the whole truth

  • Remind them social media isn’t reality. It’s more like a highlights reel - you are only shown the bits that someone wants you to see.
  • People can edit their appearance from slimming their face or body to smoothing skin or brightening teeth or eyes.
  • There’s a chance that the major influencers and celebrities that your teen is following are using these apps (the Kardashians have been called out for this many times), and the original is nothing like the version you see on social media.
  • Social media is very addictive, and the perfection ideal can be hard to break away from.

To help your teen avoid the comparison cycle, here’s some advice you might want to share:

  • Unfollow accounts that don’t make you feel great about yourself
  • Find smaller accounts you can relate to and that inspire you (in a good way)
  • Share and engage with content that you find encouraging and positive
  • Create a feed that feels more like ‘you’ - if you wouldn’t keep the type of people you’re following in your close friendship group, then it’s time to make a change.

Managing screen time

  • Encourage them to switch off notifications while they’re doing activities like homework or while they have dinner with you. It can help them to take more regular breaks and focus on just one activity at a time.
  • Sit down and look at their screen time usage together. Ask them how they feel about the amount of time they’re spending on their devices and how they think they could cut it down or even think about what they want to make more time for.
  • Introduce more activities that don’t require a device and you might want to even get outdoors when doing so for those additional mental health benefits. Think about hiking, paddle boarding, and swimming. Or if you’re staying at home, why not try baking, a board game night or anything else that might capture their attention?
  • Create a routine where you have some tech-free time as a family. It might be the first hour after everyone gets home, while you eat dinner or the last hour before bed - that familiarity may help to reduce any conflict when you ask your teen to put their devices down too.
  • Before you pause their screen time, give them a warning when their time is almost up and ask them to save or finish what they’re doing. It feels less abrupt and gives your teen a little more control.

If your child is experiencing online bullying encourage them to:

  • Save messages or evidence to show you or another trusted adult
  • Not respond or rise to the abuse
  • Report or block the account
  • Tell a trusted teacher and seek support.

How to set up parental controls

Apple iOS and iPadOS can filter website content automatically to limit access to adult content in Safari and other apps. You can also add specific websites to an approved or blocked list, or you can limit access to only approved websites for your child.

To do this, follow these steps:

• Go to Settings and tap Screen Time

• Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions and enter your Screen Time password

• Tap Content Restrictions, then click Web Content

• Choose Unrestricted Access, Limit Adult Websites or Allowed Websites

• Depending on the access you want to grant, you may need to add information,

such as the website that you want to restrict.

Or if you have an Android device, the steps are similar.

Here’s what you need to do:

• Open the Google Play app

• Click on the profile icon in the top right corner

• Hit Settings > Family > Parental controls

• Turn on Parental controls

• You can protect your parental controls with a PIN

• Select the type of content you want to filter, including apps and games

• Choose how you filter or restrict access.

How to help manage your child’s online presence

  • Audit your teen’s social media accounts and how they’re representing themselves publicly.
  • Do you think it fairly represents who they are as an individual?
  • Help your teen to understand their ‘digital footprint’ and what this means. Comments, likes, and re-shares matter too, not just the content they share to their feed or stories.
  • Encourage them to be authentic so that their social profiles reflect who they really are.
  • Set guidelines for do’s and dont’s including topics and the types of pictures and videos that should be avoided.
  • Talk to them about how they want to be seen publicly. What are they striving for? What do they want to be known for? How do they want their community to describe them?

To read the entire Llanishen High social media guide for parents see here