What a ballot-rigging conspiracy theory says about India’s toxic political climate
Election results almost always come with conspiracy theories attached, but India's latest round of recriminations goes deeper than usual.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Articles on Conspiracy theories
Displaying 1 - 20 of 42 articles
How AIDS denialism spreads in Russia through online social networks
In Russia, social networks have given a new life to the conspiracy theory that HIV-AIDS is a global hoax.
What the Heaven’s Gate suicides say about American culture
Twenty years ago, the paranoia that consumed cults like Heaven's Gate existed on the margins of American society. Now it's moved toward the center of the nation's political life.
How to cut through when talking to anti-vaxxers and anti-fluoriders
Reassuring people "not to worry" about public health issues like vaccination or fluoridated water doesn't work. Nor does telling people "don't panic". So, what does?
Shallow impact: when crackpot conspiracy theories are touted as news, we all lose
The reporting of crackpot theories as news by mainstream news outlets only damages the credibility of the media and science, and undermines public trust in both.
How social media and human nature have spawned hoaxes and hate-mongering
Unrestricted access to information is vital to a vibrant democracy.But if this information is inaccurate, biased or falsified, the fundamental freedom of informed choice is denied.
Is Google’s eagerness to answer questions promoting more falsehood online?
When a search query is loaded with implicit false assumptions, Google's results don't always promote the truth.
How can we learn to reject fake news in the digital world?
Researchers have found that today's students, despite being 'digital natives,' have a hard time distinguishing what is real and what is fake online. Metaliteracy might provide the answers.
Anthill 7: On belief
The Antill 7: On belief.
The Conversation, CC BY-ND46.9 MB (download)
Four stories on belief: from the allure of cults and conspiracy theories, to the effect of trauma on faith, to the way dogma has influenced science – and if technology can actually shift our beliefs.
Trump’s claims of a conspiracy against him are undermining democracy
Democracy rests heavily on the idea that, though we may not like those who govern, they gained that power by fair means. Donald Trump is undermining that idea.
Who are Syria’s White Helmets, and why are they so controversial?
A volunteer force that provides humanitarian aid in the worst of conditions, the White Helmets are the target of some very caustic conspiracy theory.
The rise of a conspiracy candidate
The same forces that drive belief in conspiracy theories are the ones driving the rise of Donald Trump. So it's no wonder that, less than two months until the election, he continues to dabble in and promote them.
Paranoid politics: how does Donald Trump get away with it?
How does Donald Trump get away with the type of campaign he’s running? Why, if he’s a narcissistic demagogue, has he found an audience who respond to his politics?
One Nation’s Malcolm Roberts is in denial about the facts of climate change
Contrary to the claims of One Nation Senator-elect Malcolm Roberts' that climate change is not happening, there is abundant evidence it is, but it might not be enough to persuade him.
Why are people starting to believe in UFOs again?
Whether it's Hillary Clinton's courting the UFO vote or Donald Trump's lending credibility to various conspiracy theories, the "triumph of reason" seems to have gone by the wayside.
Cracking the mystery of the ‘Worldwide Hum’
Shortly after Glen MacPherson started hearing strange humming noises, he created the World Hum and Database Project so people around the world could document their own experiences with the Hum.
Why we shouldn’t dismiss Bilderberg conspiracies so lightly
They may not be the Illuminati but there is a different kind of conspiracy at play at the secretive annual Bilderberg meeting of global elites.
Why the Internet isn’t making us smarter – and how to fight back
We now have access to an Internet containing a vast store of information much bigger than any individual brain can carry - and that's not always a good thing.
How a comic character sparked our very modern privacy fears – 200 years ago
No laughing matter: privacy fears were stoked in the 19th century even as people relished the tale of a Nosy Parker.
Making sense of the Scalia conspiracy theory
How do rational people get sucked into believing conspiracies? According to research, we're more susceptible than you'd think.
Top contributors
-
Chair of Cognitive Psychology, University of Bristol
-
Lecturer in Critical Thinking, The University of Queensland
-
Professor of Organisation and Culture, University of Leicester
-
Research Assistant Professor, Center for Climate Change Communication, George Mason University
-
Associate Professor in the School of Humanities and Communication Arts, Western Sydney University
-
Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Texas State University
-
Professor and Director of Doherty Epidemiology, University of Melbourne
-
Adjunct Research Associate, School of Political and Social Inquiry, Monash University
-
Lecturer in Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Sheffield
-
Associate Professor and Research Fellow, Swinburne University of Technology
-
Senior Lecturer in Journalism, Media and Communication, Queensland University of Technology
-
Doctoral candidate, University of York
-
PhD in Cultural Studies; teaches in justice studies/criminology, Griffith University
-
Senior Lecturer in English Literature, Charles Sturt University
-
Senior Lecturer and Coordinator, Health and Medical Humanities, University of Sydney
Most read on The Conversation
American slavery: Separating fact from myth
Reverse engineering mysterious 500-million-year-old fossils that confound our tree of life
ATMs dispense more than money: The dirt and dope that’s on your cash
Dear students, what you post can wreck your life
When – and why – did people first start using money?
The understated affection of fathers
Why dads can’t be the dads they want to be
How US gun control compares to the rest of the world
Does hookup culture differ on Catholic campuses?