Havana Syndrome. It’s the story with nine lives that resembles a game of whack-a-mole. Just when you think it’s gone, it suddenly pops up somewhere else. On Sunday, March 31st60 Minutes broadcast a special televised report which suggested that it is a real medical condition caused by a directed energy weapon and that Russian operatives are behind it. Havana Syndrome is the name given to the mysterious set of symptoms that befell American diplomats in Cuba starting in 2016 and has been the subject of intense speculation ever since. When asked about the 60 Minutes report, the White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre bluntly shot down the claims: "The intelligence community has not concluded that," she said emphatically. While the story caused a sensation on social media, it was devoid of concrete evidence. In this column, I will discuss some social psychological factors that appear to be driving people to latch onto the belief that Americans are being zapped by energy weapons despite compelling evidence to the contrary.

Before I begin, let’s make one thing clear: there is no credible evidence for Havana Syndrome. In 2023, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence announced that after many years of investigation, a consensus had emerged among U.S. intelligence agencies that Havana Syndrome never existed. Instead, they concluded that it resulted from an array of pre-existing health conditions and anxiety disorders. Environmental factors also played a role, such as conditions prompted by chemical exposures and allergies. Two recent studies by the National Institutes of Health reached the same conclusion; it found no evidence that anyone was attacked or suffered brain injuries, as had been........

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