2021, the year denialism took up arms

Denialism has experienced an outbreak on our screens in 2021, with messages that say that SARS-CoV-2 does not exist and vaccines are not safe, although its most notable milestone has been the assault on Capitol by a crowd unable to accept the victory of Joe Biden.

Until a few years ago, denialism was a phenomenon known for rejecting realities such as the Holocaust, AIDS, climate change, as well as for the activity of creationists, who deny the evolution of species, and flat-earthers, who do not admit the form spherical planet.

However, in recent years the massive use of social networks and political opportunism have multiplied unsubstantiated claims that systematically question proven facts.

And the pandemic, which has fostered a climate of fear and uncertainty, has been especially fertile for the propagation of denialist theses.

When even the snow is a lie

Now everything is in doubt, even whether the snow that fell in central Spain during the storm Filomena was real, as was stated in several viralized videos in January, which were echoed by the Italian press.

Denialism about the COVID-19, which had already manifested itself in 2020, has evolved at the same rate as the pandemic did.

If at the beginning of the year the existence of the new coronavirus was still questioned, later the number of misleading messages about the safety and efficacy of vaccines increased and that denied scientific evidence.

What is denialism and what tactics does it use

Definitions of denial agree that it is an attitude that consists of denying relevant facts and realities.

The French sociologist Didier Fassin adds another nuance when considering that it is “an ideological position by which one reacts systematically rejecting reality and truth.”

This is the case of the assault on the Capitol, carried out by followers of the outgoing president, Donald Trump, who denied the legitimacy of Biden’s incontrovertible electoral victory.

According to a scheme proposed by scientist and popularizer Mark Hoofnagle and cited by other authors, deniers typically use five tactics:

1.- Conspiracy theories: they discard the data and factual evidence and point out that their opponents are part of a conspiracy to hide the truth.

2.- Interested selection (“cherry picking”): they base their arguments on deficient, discredited or outdated academic research.

3.- False experts: false experts are used to support the thesis and authentic researchers are marginalized.

4.- Moving the goalposts: it consists of rejecting evidence presented in response to a specific statement and constantly asking for other evidence with demands that may be impossible.

5.- The use of logical fallacies: they use eloquent arguments that seem valid at first glance but that actually use false connections between the initial statements and the conclusions.

Old and new formats

Deniers have spread their lies on a wide variety of channels. In addition to using social networks and traditional media, they have even spread falsehoods about the pandemic and vaccines on the street, through pamphlets or posters.

But there have also been more sophisticated examples, such as “The Big Reset”, a well-made technical documentary full of deceptions and conspiracy theories, which was published on different video platforms and shared on networks.

In it, prominent voices from the denial platform Doctors for Truth take the floor, an organization that, together with Biologists for Truth, uses techniques exposed by Hoofnagle, such as the interested selection of discredited investigations and logical fallacies.

In addition, in 2021 denialism has continued to have such famous faces as Miguel Bosé and Victoria Abril as spokespersons.

Denialism before and after the assault on the capitol

In the case of the attack on the United States Congress, Trump had made unfounded allegations of voter fraud before, during and after the elections.

These false accusations were amplified by social networks, where the transformation of denialist groups into increasingly violent groups was evident, to the point of becoming militias calling for an armed conflict.

Precisely, far-right militias such as Oath Keepers and Proud Boys had a special role in the attack on the seat of the US legislature, in which five people died.

Why Denialist Theses Spread

The reasons why denialism finds a public that believes and disseminates its theories are varied and have been explained by sociologists and psychologists.

Cognitive biases predispose us to believe in theories that reinforce our previous ideas and, on the other hand, prevent us from thinking clearly in situations of anxiety and fear.

Faced with this uncertainty, conspiracy theories, one of the instruments of denialism, are attractive because they give a feeling of “control”, as the European Commission explains in a guide to identify this type of misinformation.

That is, they offer seemingly logical explanations for situations that are difficult to understand or assimilate.

“We know that there is a link between stress and the credibility of conspiracy theories, so in historical or personal moments where you feel more anxiety or anguish, you tend to be more inclined to believe this ‘information’,” explains the psychologist Sergio García in an article for EFE Salud.

We also tend to be persuaded by the arguments made by most of the people we surround ourselves with or the group to which we belong, as various research since the 1950s has shown.

But, in addition, those who defend them may have the feeling of believing themselves better than others.

This is how García explains it in his article: “Morally, we feel superior since we have been chosen to know ‘the truth’”.