Methods to reduce people's belief in conspiracy theories have no effect, UCC study finds

The researchers suggested little research had been done on methods to reduce conspiracy beliefs despite the 'detrimental impact' they can have on personal health, public health, social connection, and public democratic citizenship. Picture: iStock

Methods used by governments to try sway people away from conspiracy theories and misinformation have either no effect or a negative effect, new Irish research has found.

Led by a team from University College Cork (UCC), the study found many well-established programmes for reducing people’s belief in conspiracies were not effective, but training in critical thinking skills could be successful in achieving it.