The particle accelerator at CERN is shut down—and now absurd conspiracy theories are running rampant

Here's what it's all about

• The LHC particle accelerator at CERN was shut down as scheduled for about four years. The shutdown is part of normal operations.
• Unsubstantiated claims about alleged changes since the shutdown are circulating on social media. Such conspiracy theories surrounding CERN crop up regularly.
• Experts warn that such narratives can undermine trust in science and institutions. When interacting with those affected, they recommend respectful conversations and jointly verifying sources.

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CERN in Geneva is home to the world's largest particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). It was shut down on June 29: CERN plans to remodel and upgrade it over the next four years or so to increase the chances of new discoveries in physics.

It is precisely this routine shutdown that some people are now using as a pretext for claims that are, in some cases, quite absurd. In numerous videos circulating on platforms like TikTok since the shutdown, they’re trying to outdo one another.

For example, one user murmurs that “The Matrix” no longer works since the accelerator has been shut down. Others claim to have noticed that the birds have been chirping louder ever since, and still others report a changed sense of time. Some of these videos have thousands of views, and the comment sections are full of agreement and claims of personal observations.

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Das hat die Forschung am Cern mit deinem Alltag zu tun

There’s a history behind the fact that CERN, of all places, has become a canvas for such speculation. Even before the LHC went online in 2008, some feared the facility might create black holes and swallow the Earth—there was even a lawsuit filed against it with the European Court of Justice. And when CERN announced the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012, its nickname, the “God particle,” gave particle physics a quasi-religious connotation that it has never quite shaken off.

They're familiar with that at CERN

Since then, stories have been circulating in conspiracy circles about “portals” and “other dimensions” that are allegedly being opened at CERN. In pop culture as well—for example, in Dan Brown’s novel *The Da Vinci Code*—the research center serves as the backdrop for sinister schemes.

At CERN, they’re familiar with this. “Conspiracy theories pop up regularly and then disappear again,” a spokeswoman wrote in response to an inquiry. She explains this by noting that CERN’s work deals with fundamental questions, that its experiments are on an enormous scale, and that CERN simply appears frequently in science fiction. “Such a presence and this level of success inevitably give rise to conspiracy theories.” They are also aware of and monitoring the current stories.

Physicist Peter Higgs stands in front of a photograph of the particle accelerator. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2013 for his theory on the Higgs boson.

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This assessment is also confirmed by Relinfo, the church’s center for religions, sects, and worldviews. “At CERN, researchers work with particles, energies, and physical processes that most people cannot directly observe or understand,” write the center’s directors, Nona Poghosyan and Georg Schmid, in response to an inquiry from blue News. “Such gaps in knowledge can be filled with speculative or mystical interpretations.” A comparable example, they note, are the conspiracy theories surrounding the 5G cellular standard.

The fact that there is no truth to the current conspiracy theories about CERN is evident from the basic premise itself: The particle accelerator has not been in continuous operation to date, but has been shut down several times. Typically, it is shut down after about three years of operation for extensive upgrades and maintenance—most recently in 2013 and 2019. The facility also remains idle for several months during the winter, and shorter interruptions for maintenance are part of normal operations.

The remaining claims are ones for which there is simply no evidence. Anyone who relies on their own feelings cannot be directly refuted. That is precisely what makes such statements appealing to conspiracy theories. “Virtually any personal feeling can be interpreted as confirmation,” according to the Relinfo resource center.

An Introduction to Problematic Worldviews

This also highlights elitism—a typical characteristic of belief in conspiracy theories. People consider themselves particularly sensitive, observant, or “intuitive” and believe they can perceive changes that remain hidden from the majority. “This feeling of belonging to a small group of insiders can be a key motive for adopting and spreading conspiracy narratives,” according to Relinfo.

So how seriously should we take the conspiracy videos on social media? The center is clear on this point. Even though much of it may seem like entertainment and fleeting internet mysticism that will soon disappear, the mindset behind it is not harmless: “Scientific explanations are fundamentally questioned, subjective feelings are treated as evidence, and hidden motives are suspected behind technical or societal developments.”

This becomes particularly problematic when such theories increasingly undermine trust in science, the media, or government institutions. “They can therefore certainly serve as a gateway to broader and more problematic worldviews,” according to the center.

The particle accelerator at CERN in Geneva is currently undergoing maintenance and is no longer accelerating particles. Such interruptions are common.

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This is consistent with a broader finding from a study published in 2026 and led by the University of Zurich, which surveyed 47 experts from 13 countries on conspiracy theories and misinformation online—including researchers as well as experts from fact-checking organizations, media outlets, government agencies, and think tanks. More than half of them view the growing distrust of science and research institutions as the most significant challenge of the coming years—along with the increasing spread of pseudoscience.

The study does not examine whether more people believe in conspiracy theories today than in the past. What has increased, above all, are their visibility and the speed at which they spread, because digital platforms have lowered the barriers to producing and disseminating such content.

How to deal with it depends on how deep someone is in it

However, debunking alone does little to counter this. According to the study, experts rank debunking and fact-checking as the least important countermeasures: Those who believe such narratives often distrust the very institutions that could refute them. One expert points out that you can’t win these people back by telling them just how wrong they are. Structural approaches are more important—such as regulating large platforms or news media that prioritize accuracy over clicks.

According to Relinfo, how to deal specifically with people who espouse such narratives also depends on how deeply someone is already involved. “Discussions about individual conspiracy theories only make sense if the person sharing them has only recently become interested in them,” the center states. In such cases, one should ask questions respectfully, examine sources together, and avoid trying to embarrass the person.

When dealing with people who have long held conspiracy beliefs, it is advisable to avoid debating specific theories. Instead, it is better to encourage those affected to engage in meaningful activities. “Meaningful activities and social integration are among the best ways to combat rampant belief in conspiracy theories.”

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