Overcoming conspiracy theories isn’t just about information. A scholar of religion explains that the emotions they inspire are part of their appeal.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Articles on Conspiracy theories
Displaying 1 - 20 of 203 articles
Romano Didulo has declared herself the Queen of Canada. Thousands of people follow her and her outlandish conspiracy theories, and here’s why that’s so dangerous.
Why do people believe conspiracies like flat-Earth theory? An expert explains.
The Buffalo mass shooting reignited discussion of replacement theory. This conspiracy isn’t new, but understanding its roots is helpful to understand its connection to extremism.
New Zealand has a high concentration of extremist alt-right groups relative to similar countries. The challenge now is to head off hate crime and violence.
Attacking your own side and blaming your foe has a long history and a firm grip on the popular imagination. But the internet makes it difficult to pull off – and less desirable.
Attacking your own side and blaming your foe has a long history and a firm grip on the popular imagination. But the internet makes it difficult to pull off – and less desirable.
Anti-vaccination Instagram posts deliberately depict mothers in a certain way to drive up rates of vaccine hesitancy.
It can be easy to despair about the problem of misinformation. But the problem is smaller than you might think.
Myths related to Jewish conspiracies to control the world have long circulated in the US and continue to fuel hatred.
The image of the red and blue pills is central to the movie’s narrative but has been co-opted by hate groups who want adherents to think only they know the ‘truth’.
Social media isn’t simply awash in conspiracy theories and extremism. It contains pathways designed to lead people to ever more extreme material.
The January 6, 2021, Capitol riot happened a year ago. But the attempt to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power was just one part of a larger, and more long-term, attempt to undo US democracy.
Apocalyptic thinking undermines democracy because it delegitimizes political opponents, turning them into enemies of God.
The popularity of zombie apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic narratives has emerged from some of the same economic and cultural currents that gave rise to Trump’s presidency.
Almost eight years before the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack, nearly one-third of Americans surveyed – and 44% of Republicans – said armed rebellion might soon be necessary in the US to protect liberties.
The Sandy Hook school shooting continues to reverberate in the US nine years later, marking a new age of misinformation.
Activists are using a traditional newspaper format to spread misinformation and promote real-world harms.
Alex Jones lost a defamation suit by Sandy Hook parents for falsely claiming they helped fake the murders of their children. But the judgment doesn’t deal with important First Amendment questions.
To combat online radicalisation, we first need to understand that the picture is rarely as simple as we’d like it to be.
Top contributors
-
Chair of Cognitive Psychology, University of Bristol
-
Host of The Anthill Podcast, The Conversation
-
Professor of Social Psychology, University of Kent
-
Professor of American Studies, University of Manchester
-
Reader in Applied Cognitive Psychology, Manchester Metropolitan University
-
Senior Lecturer and Researcher in Cognitive and Parapsychology, Manchester Metropolitan University
-
PhD candidate Individualized Program, 2020-2021 Public Scholar, Concordia University
-
Research Assistant Professor, Center for Climate Change Communication, George Mason University
-
Senior Lecturer in Philosophy and Education; Curriculum Director, UQ Critical Thinking Project, The University of Queensland
-
Assistant Professor in Social Psychology, University of Nottingham
-
Senior Lecturer in Psychology, The Open University
-
Department of Media & Culture, Faculty of Humanities, University of Amsterdam
-
Professor of Organisation Studies, University of Bristol
-
Senior Lecturer in Physics, Nottingham Trent University
-
Professor of American Literary and Cultural History, University of Tübingen
