Following the appearance of a total solar eclipse on April 8, there has been a surge of conspiracy theories. 

Conspiracy theories serve as our ability to pick apart an event or situation by producing wild “answers” and conclusions that explain what is happening. 

According to American Psychological Association research, “people were motivated to believe in conspiracy theories by a need to understand and feel safe in their environment and a need to feel like the community they identify with is superior to others.”

Conspiracy theories can also be created by humans to dismiss events that we simply cannot wrap our heads around. For instance, many conspiracists have shared their belief that moon landings simply never happened and were made up by the government, or that our Earth is flat. Although the majority of these conspiracy theories have no true evidence, some of them have encouraged people to conduct proper research and find out for themselves. 

Conspiracy theorists are not bad. Giving people something to research or think about in their free time is never bad. However, some conspiracy theories can be all- around scary and create fear instead of intellectual stimulation, much like the conspiracy theories surrounding the upcoming solar eclipse. 

Many people have come to believe that the total solar eclipse will result in a massive human sacrifice or apocalypse.

USA Today reports, from a WIRED headline, that “far-right conspiracy theorists are claiming that ‘elites’ will use the eclipse to control humanity, sway the presidential election and everything else under the sun.”

These conspiracy theories have surfaced all over social media – making their  way to X, formally known as Twitter, and TikTok. 

It is important to note that all of these ideas are simply speculation based on individual beliefs. If you have been excited to witness this once in a lifetime event, do not let fear take you! Stay safe, as always! 

Photo by: Rūdolfs Klintsons via Pexels