Research of the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic conspiracy theories on the students of the Faculty of Education

Društva su se stoljećima mijenjala pa tako i njihova uvjerenja i pogledi na određene teme i probleme s kojima se oni susreću. Ljudi su generacijama gubili povjerenje u sustav i počeli sumnjati u ljude koji taj sustav predstavljaju i tako počinje lančana reakcija gdje pojedinci počinju tražiti odgovore na pitanja koja nisu postavljenja. Tako su se rodile teorije o raznim, nepovezanim radnjama u svijetu, koje smo kasnije nazvali teorije zavjere. Kada govorimo o teorijama zavjera, moramo biti svjesni kako je njihova količina prevelika te je nemoguće navesti sve teorije koje smo čuli ili koje možemo susresti. Tako ćemo spomenuti neke najbitnije koje su obilježile društvo kao Protokol Sionskih mudraca, tajno društvo Illuminati, projekt Apollo, ubojstvo JFK-a, do današnjice gdje prevladavaju teorije zavjere oko pandemije COVID-19, cjepiva, 5G mreže i druge. Pojavom Interneta, društvenih mreža i foruma, širenje teorija zavjera se uveliko olakšalo te je dobilo potrebnu platformu za razvijanje istih. U diplomskome radu spomenuti ćemo nastanak teorija zavjera, njihovu povijest i neke probleme koje one uzrokuju. U radu ćemo prikazati neke ključne trenutke koji su prethodili današnjem sustavu i načinu razmatranja vijesti koje nam se plasiraju. Zatim ćemo pobliže proučiti teorije zavjere vezane uz pandemiju COVID-19. Uspoređivat ćemo njihove posljedice i načine kako zapravo one nastaju i opstaju u društvu. Središnji dio diplomskog rada prikazuje istraživanje provedeno s ciljem dobivanja uvida u svijest i znanje o ovoj temi među populacijom studenata Fakulteta za odgojne i obrazovne znanosti u Osijeku.Societies have changed over the centuries, including their beliefs and perspectives on specific topics and problems they face. People kept losing trust in the system for generations and started doubting the people who represent the system, creating a chain reaction where individuals begin to seek answers for questions that are not being asked. This gave rise to theories of various, unconnected actions in the world, which we will later call conspiracy theories. When talking about conspiracy theories, we need to be aware that there are too many of them, and it is impossible to list all the theories we have heard or that we can come across. Because of that, I will mention some of the most critical theories marked by society as the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, secret society Illuminati, project Apollo, or the murder of JFK, to today where there are conspiracy theories involving the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccines, 5G network and others. The emergence of the Internet, social media and forums, the dissemination of conspiracy theories greatly facilitated and provided the necessary platform to develop them. In this thesis, I will mention the emergence of conspiracy theories, their history and some of the problems they cause. In this thesis, I will show some of the key moments that preceded today's system and how we look into the news given to us. I will then look more closely at the conspiracy theories involving the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, I will compare their consequences and how they actually materialise and survive in our society. A central part of my thesis shows a survey carried out to gain insight into awareness and knowledge of this topic among the student population of the Faculty of Education in the Osijek