The Guardian: “The dark side of wellness: the overlap between spiritual thinking and far-right conspiracies”

In 2011, sociologists Charlotte Ward and David Voas coined the term “conspirituality”. Ward defined it as a rapidly growing web movement expressing an ideology fuelled by political disillusionment and the popularity of alternative worldviews. It describes the sticky intersection of two worlds: the world of yoga and juice cleanses with that of New Age thinking and online theories about secret groups, covertly controlling the universe. It’s a place where you might typically see a vegan influencer imploring their followers to stick to a water fast rather than getting vaccinated, or a meditation instructor reminding her clients of the dangers of 5G, or read an Instagram comment explaining that vaccines are hiding tracking devices. It’s a place where the word “scamdemic” might comfortably run up the side of a pair of yoga pants (88% polyester, £40, also available in “Defund the Media” print, “World Hellth Organisation” and “Masked Sheeple”, in millennial pink).

While the overlap of left-wing, magazine-friendly wellness and far-right conspiracy theories might initially sound surprising, the similarities in cultures, in ways of thinking – the questioning of authority, of alternative medicines, the distrust of institutions – are clear. But something is happening, accelerated by the pandemic – the former is becoming a mainstream entry point into the latter. An entry point that can be found everywhere from a community garden to the beauty aisle at a big Tesco. Part of what makes a successful influencer is the ability to compel their followers to trust them, and they do that by sharing their lives, their homes, their diets, their concerns. It’s become clear, both by the products they buy and the choices they make, that many people trust their influencers more than their own doctor.

Eva Wiseman

I know certain examples among acquaintances as well, specifically an old colleague from work. She was into wellness well before the pandemic, from natural plant oils to vegan food, and now she has become a staunch opposer of vaccines. She and her entire family got infected with coronavirus sometime last winter, but they all had mild illness, and she naturally interpreted this as confirmation that her alternative medicines are working. The latest I heard is that she had a massive fight with her (adult) son, because he got vaccinated behind her back…

It is very easy to get drawn in: Rein Lively, aka QAnon Karen. Illustration: Hayley Warnham/The Observer