कोशिश गोल्ड - मुक्त

Wellness to wrongness

The Independent

|

May 12, 2025

As a surge of New Age influencers perpetuating right-wing ideologies swarms the internet, Olivia Petter questions how wellness became a gateway to harmful conspiracy theories

Wellness to wrongness

We've all followed that friend of a friend online. The one who suddenly went sober during lockdown, cut out sugar, and started posting about her hardcore juice cleanse and daily gratitude ritual. She's dubious of modern medicine and societal convention; there's a rumour going around that she never got vaccinated against Covid. You heard she recently moved to Bali to become a yoga instructor. That she had started cutting off friends who weren’t “aligned” with her “energy”. That she’d found a higher purpose. A calling. Then you hear that the mutual friend you have in common is in a WhatsApp group of people who are concerned she’s losing touch with reality.

This is not an unusual trajectory. Since the pandemic, much has been written about the rise of wellness and spirituality fostering a subsequent spike in right-wing ideologies; a pathway that is also cultivating conspiratorial thinking. Misinformation merchants posing as wellness gurus. In the US, there are many, including Kelly Brogan, a “holistic psychologist” whose website carries the slogan: “Own your body. Free your mind.” The antivaxxer and New York Times bestselling author has promoted several widely disproven conspiracy theories. She went viral in 2020 for claiming that Coronavirus may not exist and that deaths from the virus were caused by fear.

Elsewhere, there’s JZ Knight, another notorious anti-vaxxer who claims to have channelled a 35,000-year-old Lemurian warrior and has spewed hate for Jews and Mexicans. There’s also Amy Carlson, co-founder of the Love Has Won religious group, who claimed to heal cancer victims “with the power of love” and promoted conspiracy theories about 9/11 and UFOs. Carlson died in 2021 of alcohol abuse, anorexia and chronic colloidal silver ingestion.

All this and more is what prompted the launch of the hugely popular

The Independent से और कहानियाँ

The Independent

The Independent

Flying start for Gunners secures win over Wigan

Arsenal scored four times in 17 first-half minutes to cruise through to the fifth round of the FA Cup with an emphatic 4-0 drubbing of League One Wigan.

time to read

2 mins

February 16, 2026

The Independent

The Independent

'Blair has more influence now than when in No 10'

As the director of a new documentary exploring the success of Tony Blair, Michael Waldman spent hours talking to his critics and former colleagues – including Peter Mandelson

time to read

5 mins

February 16, 2026

The Independent

The Independent

Britain must build its future in Europe, warns Starmer

Sir Keir Starmer has insisted he will lead Labour into the next general election as he argued for closer links with the EU, saying Britain is “turning its back” on the Brexit years.

time to read

2 mins

February 16, 2026

The Independent

The Independent

How famous women are still treated like animals in cages

The video made me feel sick.

time to read

3 mins

February 16, 2026

The Independent

The Independent

'We know what to do in a war': the vast bunkers ready to protect Finns from Putin

Annabel Grossman explores a network of underground shelters deep below Helsinki and learns how Finland plans to shield citizens in the face of a hostile neighbour to the east

time to read

3 mins

February 16, 2026

The Independent

The Independent

Chief prosecutor warns the royals are not above the law

The UK’s top prosecutor has warned “nobody is above the law” as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor faces a police probe over alleged leaks to Jeffrey Epstein.

time to read

1 mins

February 16, 2026

The Independent

The Independent

Why England's golden run ended at house of horrors

Scotland's dismantling of Borthwick's 12-game unbeaten side raises key questions about its away form and team selection

time to read

4 mins

February 16, 2026

The Independent

The Independent

This week in history

Tizane Navea-Rogers peers into The Independent's archive to see which world events were dominating the front page

time to read

8 mins

February 16, 2026

The Independent

The Independent

'Putin's goal is to break our defiance, but it won't work'

In Kyiv, Sam Kiley meets a politician whose daughter was born just before the Russian invasion and - alongside her family - is battling to survive as Putin targets power supplies

time to read

4 mins

February 16, 2026

The Independent

The Independent

Putin has poisoned his legacy and made a deal unpalatable

It is the type of story that could run under a “You couldn’t make it up” heading in a tabloid newspaper.

time to read

3 mins

February 16, 2026

Listen

Translate

Share

-
+

Change font size