COVID-19, the virus that spread across the globe wreaking havoc has also given rise to a slew of conspiracy theories, which an expert says are born out of fear.
Misinformation and disinformation is rife across the world - and New Zealand is no exception.
A recent study by Te Pūnaha Matatini analysed the information on mainstream and social media between February and August and found a significant change in the sorts of narratives being told, with conspiracy theories becoming more common.
Kate Hannah, a research fellow at Te Pūnaha Matatini, says the conspiracies have changed slightly as the virus progressed.
"Earlier theories from the beginning of the outbreak tended to be more health and wellbeing related - but as we got through to it coinciding with the election cycle there were much more international conspiracy theories," she told The AM Show.
When it comes to why people turn to conspiracy theories, Hannah says it's often a fear-related response.
"People enter into narratives which allow for them to not have to make really hard cognitive decisions - so if people are uncomfortable, then they can say 'no, that's not real'".
There's "some truth" in the idea that conspiracy theories spread because people like to feel as if they know things others don't, but a lot of it comes from humanity's love of weirdness, she says.
"We like weird, wacky, out there stories, so the weirder one that we could be the person telling appeals to us, because we could be the one telling this cool story."
But if these "cool stories" are clogging your Facebook feed, it could be wise to simply disengage - unless you really care about the person sharing them.
Hannah says if a random stranger is touting conspiracy theories there is no point trying to convince them otherwise - but if it's a close friend or family member, try and reach out to them in real life.
"Don't engage online because it's not useful so flick them a text and say 'come on let's go for a walk' and try and engage with where that fear is coming from face-to-face."
