What was once the stuff of urban legends now spreads virally through social media claims the tunnels beneath our cities are used for child trafficking. The truth is both more mundane and important.
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Articles on Conspiracy theories
Displaying 141 - 160 of 270 articles
Before pilot Charles Taylor and company mysteriously vanished in the Bermuda Triangle in 1945, Taylor had to be rescued from the Pacific Ocean twice.
In the 1820s, an anti-Masonic conspiracy theory dominated politics in the Northeast and even birthed its own political party.
A would-be speaker at the Republican National Convention was yanked for encouraging people to read up on a hoax that has long been discredited but refuses to die.
QAnon is gaining ground in Australia due to a growing distrust in the government and media, part of which is rooted in a perceived lack of transparency over the coronavirus response and restrictions.
The woeful record of populist governments in dealing with COVID-19 is unlikely to convince voters New Zealand should emulate them.
Being ‘Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition" during a pandemic is challenging, and the risks of getting it wrong are very high.
When it comes to COVID-19 misinformation, not all nations are the same. Some are peddling a larger variety of myths than others - and each seems to have its own personal favourite.
Our desire to condemn and punish non-cooperative behaviour is strong. But we must also try to understand the complex emotional motivations of those refusing to wear masks.
Sovereign citizens believe citizens are in an oppressive contract with the government, but that by declaring themselves ‘living’ or ‘natural’ people, they avoid being bound by certain rules or laws.
QAnon conspiracists think Trump’s ‘secret war’ against an elite celebrity ‘deep state’ network will eventually lead to a day of reckoning where his opponents will fall.
Most people will know someone who has succumbed to conspiracy theories about coronavirus – here’s how to talk to them.
As Donald Trump’s re-election looks in doubt, supporters of the U.S. president will amp up conspiracy theories about billionaire George Soros.
The evidence suggests the novel coronavirus evolved naturally.
New analysis of 500 public submissions to a parliamentary inquiry shows just how prevalent conspiracy theories on 5G have become.
Believers of QAnon fringe conspiracy theories have moved into the mainstream political arena, including several who will be running as Republican candidates in the U.S. elections this fall.
An economist puzzles over why fireworks have been going off nightly across the country for so many weeks in a row.
As the US faces historic challenges to its democracy, Trump is mirroring tactics used by the former FBI director to smear his critics and consolidate power.
The technology isn’t the problem – conspiracy theories were around long before the internet.
Don’t jump to conclusions about 5G conspiracy theories or those that believe in them.
Top contributors
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Chair of Cognitive Psychology, University of Bristol
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Senior Lecturer and Researcher in Cognitive and Parapsychology, Manchester Metropolitan University
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Professor of Social Psychology, University of Kent
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Assistant Professor in Social Psychology, University of Nottingham
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Reader in Applied Cognitive Psychology, Manchester Metropolitan University
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Host of The Anthill Podcast, The Conversation
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Professor of American Studies, University of Manchester
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PhD candidate Individualized Program, 2020-2021 Public Scholar, Concordia University
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Senior Lecturer in Social Psychology, La Trobe University
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Senior Lecturer in Psychology, The Open University
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Senior Lecturer in Philosophy and Education; Curriculum Director, UQ Critical Thinking Project, The University of Queensland
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Senior Research Fellow, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne
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Department of Media & Culture, Faculty of Humanities, University of Amsterdam
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Research Lead, Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism, Middlebury
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Professor of American Literary and Cultural History, University of Tübingen
