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Articles on Conspiracy theories
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In episode 2 of The Conversation's new podcast series, we look at how people reacted to the moon landing – and why some still believe it was a hoax.
Conspiracy theories help sports fans make sense of unexpected events – like when a whole rugby team becomes sick before a world cup final, or the retirement of Michael Jordan from basketball.
Media-savvy, far right-wing activists in the U.S., Hungary and Poland spread white nationalist politics using paranoid Soros conspiracy theories. This new global extremism is coming to Canada.
If you believe a conspiracy theory about a specific minority group, you are more likely to have negative views about other, unrelated groups too.
If you think Americans are suckers for conspiracies theories, you ought to hear some of the theories that are popular in Putin’s Russia.
Over a quarter of people believe that humans have psychic abilities.
Some people are habitual conspiracy thinkers – there’s a plan behind everything, and it’s usually malevolent. One scientist set out to understand who is likely to ascribe to these theories.
Ever since the philosopher Karl Popper popularised the expression in the 1950s, conspiracy theories have had a bad reputation. But is it justified?
The reverberations of JFK’s assassination can still be felt to this day in the paranoid and racialised politics of the American right
New research shows how ‘teleological thinking’ means that conspiracists are more likely to also be creationists.
This is the real reason you believe in superstitions.
Conspiracy theories have always existed but the internet fuels them in new ways.
Family members of Sandy Hook victims sued media personality Alex Jones over his claims that the killings were a hoax they participated in. Current law makes their lawsuit unnecessarily hard to prove.
Conspiracy theorists have an à la carte attitude to data and trust, so what can scientists do about it?
Conspiracy theorists are commonly seen as fundamentally irrational, with an all-encompassing obsession. But new research suggests they may have quite different motivations, beliefs and attitudes.
Proof of time travel, false memories or a parallel universe? A look at the wacky world of the ‘Mandela Effect’.
Some journalists have claimed that ‘thousands’ of documents which have gone missing at the National Archives are proof of ‘history theft’. It’s probably just old-fashioned incompetence.
Dealing with a co-worker or manager who says demonstrably false things can be a challenge, particularly at holiday office parties. Here’s a guide to handle a colleague in denial.
Easy experiments that show the Earth is round.
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
