https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. The European rabbit is a common sight in the British countryside today. Yet it was not always so. They are not native to the British Isles and are one of the most devastating invasive species. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-rabbits-medieval-royal-luxury-england.html Archaeology Fri, 16 Oct 2026 19:40:06 EDT news711371644 Andrew Tate, a self-described misogynist and an online influencer with millions of followers, faces charges in several countries of allegedly causing physical harm, including rape and sex trafficking of women and girls. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-sexual-violence-concepts-online-real.html Social Sciences Fri, 16 Oct 2026 18:00:05 EDT news711371687 Federal prosecutors recently described an interstate criminal enterprise with all the trappings of organized crime: clandestine warehouses, money laundering and stolen goods transported across state lines. The mid-September 2026 announcement stated that 19 defendants faced charges; two had just pleaded guilty, while the remainder are slated for trial in April 2027. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-criminal-conspiracy-cooking-oil-trash.html Environment Wed, 30 Sep 2026 13:20:24 EDT news709983722 Election officials can build public trust in procedures and results—even among suspicious voters who fear partisan manipulation—by creating videos that factually explain their security safeguards in simple terms. These are the findings of studies co-authored by a UC Riverside scholar, offering strategies for election officials to respond to false claims and conspiracy theories about election fraud and security, as well as suspicions that arise when mail-in ballot counting delays results. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-simple-messaging-elections.html Social Sciences Wed, 16 Sep 2026 18:20:01 EDT news708779591 No, President Joe Biden did not engineer Hurricane Milton. No, the ice crystal contrails left behind by high-altitude aircraft are not "chemtrails" sprayed by governments to control the weather or manipulate populations. No, state-run cloud seeding did not cause the record floods in Dubai. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-artificially-dim-sun-scientists-theyre.html Environment Tue, 15 Sep 2026 17:40:01 EDT news708702685 Trust in scientists in the UK is strong overall, with 63% indicating they have high trust in scientists in general—but a major new study finds this trust is closely shaped by people's values, identity and politics, showing some of the same patterns of division over science that have emerged in the U.S. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-polarized-scientists-driven-values-identity.html Social Sciences Wed, 09 Sep 2026 20:20:04 EDT news708165767 Imagine overhearing on a bus that the city council plans to implement new restrictions under an urban planning program called "15-minute cities." Curious, you search the term on Google. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-google-ai-overviews-conspiracy-theories.html Political science Wed, 02 Sep 2026 08:40:03 EDT news707549102 Election rumors, such as unverified accounts of voter fraud, have run rampant in the U.S. in recent years. Powered by the speed of social media and artificial intelligence (AI), it can be hard for people to know what messages to trust. Now, a team led by Caltech researchers is using AI as a tool for good in the fight against election misinformation. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-ai-thwart-election-misinformation.html Political science Thu, 27 Aug 2026 13:20:06 EDT news707050621 Simultaneous belief in logically incompatible claims is linked to conspiratorial thinking, according to a study that models belief using a Bayesian framework. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-link-incoherent-beliefs-conspiracism.html Political science Tue, 18 Aug 2026 10:00:08 EDT news706262762 A research team led by Professor Hitoshi Yamamoto of Rissho University analyzed five years of longitudinal panel survey data collected between 2020 and 2024 and examined how vaccine-related conspiracy beliefs were associated with media skepticism during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study's results appear in Scientific Reports. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-distrust-mainstream-media-fuel-vaccine.html Social Sciences Wed, 05 Aug 2026 14:00:03 EDT news705152056 New research from Rutgers University–Newark psychologist Kent Harber reveals a strong connection between conspiracy theories, antisemitic attitudes and hostility toward Israel. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-strong-link-conspiracy-beliefs-antisemitism.html Political science Wed, 05 Aug 2026 12:00:06 EDT news705148021 People who experience greater hardship throughout their lives may become more susceptible to conspiracy theories when those experiences lead them to see the world as fundamentally unfair, according to new research. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-life-hardships-conspiracy-theories-appealing.html Social Sciences Tue, 04 Aug 2026 20:10:02 EDT news705047117 Mathematicians have shown that completely fair elections are—in a sense—impossible. No electoral system can guarantee both that local votes translate directly into local seats and that total seat distribution matches overall vote shares—not without an indefinitely growing parliament. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-math-vote.html Mathematics Fri, 31 Jul 2026 05:00:05 EDT news704551291 For years, social media companies have faced pressure from users and government watchdogs to stop misinformation from distorting elections, deepening political divisions and undermining Americans' trust in institutions. But what if dramatically reducing people's exposure to unreliable sources that frequently spread misinformation doesn't actually change what they believe? https://phys.org/news/2026-07-misinformation-facebook-instagram.html Social Sciences Thu, 30 Jul 2026 10:20:08 EDT news704623622 Why do some people who embrace conspiracy theories simply hold those beliefs, while others act on them? A new study published in the British Journal of Social Psychology identifies three characteristics that help determine when conspiracy beliefs are most likely to shape real-world behavior: how certain people are that the belief is true, how personally important they consider it, and whether they see it as "actionable"—useful for deciding what to do. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-conspiracy-beliefs-action.html Social Sciences Wed, 29 Jul 2026 10:20:08 EDT news704538721 Paris Hilton's mother, Kathy Hilton, recently tried the "Jell-O diet" to lose weight. She believed other celebrities—Oprah Winfrey, Doctor Oz, Michelle Obama and Kelly Clarkson—had endorsed it. But the diet was fake, and so were the endorsements. Both had been generated by artificial intelligence (AI). https://phys.org/news/2026-07-fake-jell-diet-celebrity.html Social Sciences Wed, 29 Jul 2026 07:40:04 EDT news704524082 In a world where trust in institutions is generally declining, trust in science remains relatively high. Yet belief in scientific conspiracy theories, such as hushed-up effects of vaccines or airplane "chemtrails," is also widespread. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-people-science-scientific-conspiracy-theories.html Social Sciences Mon, 20 Jul 2026 15:00:04 EDT news703773121 Users who participate in online communities linked to conspiracy theories show distinctive linguistic characteristics even when discussing apparently neutral topics, such as films, music, cooking or science, and even before they take part in conspiracy communities. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-distinctive-language-reveals-conspiracy-community.html Social Sciences Tue, 09 Jun 2026 17:40:07 EDT news700232068 Texting while driving. Bullying people on social media. Buying into the latest conspiracy theory. Passing off AI-generated work as your own. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-sophrosyne-ancient-greek-virtue-age.html Social Sciences Mon, 08 Jun 2026 14:40:05 EDT news700139761 "When people think of extremists, they tend to think of neo-Nazis," said Francesco Campisi, a lecturer at Université de Montréal's School of Criminology. "But there are many other fringe groups that may not be violent yet can give rise to extremism." https://phys.org/news/2026-05-conspiracy-theories-real-news-qanon.html Political science Sat, 09 May 2026 19:00:01 EDT news697280991 A mythical army of genetically engineered raccoons has helped Australian researchers show that belief in conspiracy theories may be less common than previously thought. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-absurd-raccoon-army-exposed-hidden.html Social Sciences Fri, 08 May 2026 08:10:01 EDT news697445031 The internet and social media platforms have given rise to a rising wave of misinformation, with many users now posting fake news, AI-generated photos or videos and other types of misleading content online. Over the past few years, this rise in misinformation has become a heated topic of debate, with some studies suggesting that it could influence voters during political elections. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-videos-blunt-misinformation-country.html Social Sciences Sun, 26 Apr 2026 09:00:02 EDT news695900044 From false claims that a historic lunar fly-by was staged in a movie studio to unfounded narratives that footage of the crew was AI-generated, the Artemis II mission has been clouded by a blizzard of misinformation. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-artemis-ii-lunar-mission-conspiracy.html Space Exploration Sat, 11 Apr 2026 06:40:02 EDT news695106046 New research from the University of Bath reveals that online influencers can mobilize followers and legitimize harmful behaviors without ever issuing explicit instructions, offering fresh insight into how digital platforms shape public attitudes, emotions and decision-making. The researchers found that far-right influencer Tommy Robinson (whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) used his Telegram channel to comment on ongoing events and legitimize violence during the anti-immigration protests and riots of 30 July to 7 August 2024 without ever giving direct instructions, allowing him to maintain plausible deniability. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-tommy-robinson-social-media-reveals.html Social Sciences Thu, 09 Apr 2026 15:00:06 EDT news694954982 Disinformation communicated by and on behalf of foreign powers is now part and parcel of digital statecraft in the information age, an expert from Cardiff University has said. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-disinformation-eradicate-global-expert.html Economics & Business Tue, 07 Apr 2026 20:10:01 EDT news694773781 People who prefer structured, rule-based explanations may find conspiracy theories appealing because they offer a clear, ordered explanation for events that feel chaotic. New research led by Flinders University has found that understanding how someone processes information can be a strong predictor of whether they are drawn to conspiracy beliefs that can influence vaccine uptake, trust in institutions and responses to emergencies. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-conspiracy-theories-irresistible.html Social Sciences Thu, 26 Feb 2026 07:00:05 EST news691304462 Researchers in the School of Psychology at the University of Kent have found that sharing conspiracy theories on their dating profiles can seriously damage first impressions and reduce romantic interest, but this reaction depends on the political views of the person viewing the profile. In particular, the study, which involved more than 1,600 participants from the U.S., found that liberals were less willing to engage romantically with someone whose profile endorsed conspiracy theories—especially right-wing conspiracy theories, compared to profiles that did not endorse them, whereas conservatives were more accepting and, in some cases, showed higher romantic interest. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-swipe-left-conspiracy-theories-dating.html Social Sciences Thu, 12 Feb 2026 18:10:06 EST news690126163 YouTube is a key tool in recruiting far-right activists to the largest British fascist group Patriotic Alternative (PA), according to new research. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-autoplay-youtube-algorithm-built-fascist.html Social Sciences Thu, 22 Jan 2026 06:39:19 EST news688286342 If there are two things the internet loves talking about, they're conspiracy theories, and who may or may not be a narcissist. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-people-fall-conspiracy-theories-narcissism.html Social Sciences Tue, 13 Jan 2026 07:35:28 EST news687512102 An international project investigating the form, content and consequences of online conspiracy theories has found that in German-speaking countries, such theories often originate locally and have come to form a complex ecosystem of alternative news websites, print media and parts of the political spectrum. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-tackling-conspiracy-theories-requires-tactics.html Social Sciences Wed, 07 Jan 2026 11:41:23 EST news687008461