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Conspiracy rhetoric can be dangerous. So why do we fall for it? 
Confirmation Bias: This information resonates with us. It just feels correct based on our prior knowledge and feelings, so it's easy to accept as true without checking to see if it's real.
Anecdotal Evidence: Believing evidence given by someone we know or trust, rather than statistical evidence. While we love our family and value their opinions, sometimes we need to separate our feelings to understand potential bias. [Start class discussion; fun way to explore our own bias] If 4 out of 5 dentists recommend Colgate toothpaste for a sparkling, clean smile but your mom swears that Crest toothpaste is better... Which toothpaste would you buy. Why?

Related Reading #1:
Is there any scientific reason that some people are really into conspiracies? Is it in our nature to be skeptical? 
Source: 
van Prooijen, Jan-Willem, and Mark van Vugt. “Conspiracy Theories: Evolved Functions and Psychological Mechanisms.” Perspectives on Psychological Science : a Journal of the Association for Psychological Science, SAGE Publications, 2018, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6238178/.
Read it here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6238178/
Why is this important? The related text provides additional information about why people tend to believe conspiracies. It points to conspiracies as a psychological mechanism that people use to:
Identify potentially dangerous groups
Recognize problematic patterns
Analyze and detect threats before they happen
People want to feel prepared for potential danger in their life! They fear large scale events like war, population control, genocide, and ruthless dictators. This leads people to make hasty connections between powerful groups that feed into their confirmation bias. However, a brief history review will tell us that some conspiracies turned out to be true....So how do you spot a baseless conspiracy theory? 
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Related Reading #2
Source: 
Byford, Jovan. “How to Spot a Conspiracy Theory When You See One.” The Conversation, 2020, theconversation.com/how-to-spot-a-conspiracy-theory-when-you-see-one-133574.
Read it here: https://theconversation.com/how-to-spot-a-conspiracy-theory-when-you-see-one-133574
Why is this important? This article compares and contrasts the differences between conspiracy theories and conspiracies that actually happened. Being able to distinguish valid concerns from baseless drivel is key!
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