Author: DAVID KLEPPER

https://apnews.com/article/911-conspiracy-qanon-7d288d0678f5cc7425412931b0212009

When reading this article I was able to get a full understanding of how much of a negative impact misinformation and disinformation can have on people. Another thing that is important to mention is how the internet can help spread false information. For example in the article it states, "Polls show belief in 9/11 conspiracy theories peaked in the years immediately following the attack, then subsided." The reason I bring this up is because I believe that the reason these conspiracy theories were high after 9/11 was after the trauma many people experienced it may have made these individuals to become more susceptible to conspiracy theories. Something else that should be noted is how fast conspiracy theories can surface. An example would be when the article states "The first known 9/11 conspiracy theory was put forward only hours after the attack, when an American software engineer emailed a post to an internet forum questioning whether the towers were toppled by a controlled detonation." This helps to put in perspective how common misinformation and disinformation is. In recent years it has been on the rise with the internet and being easier to communicate with others. Covid-19 conspiracy theories make up 3 times as many searches as the 9/11 conspiracy theories, this probably due to how much easier information can spread around now.