Activists are using a traditional newspaper format to spread misinformation and promote real-world harms.
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Articles on Conspiracy theories
Displaying 81 - 100 of 269 articles
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.
Pseudolaw arguments against vaccine, mask and test rules mix real and fantasy legal ideas.
To combat online radicalisation, we first need to understand that the picture is rarely as simple as we’d like it to be.
Equality and corruption perceptions appear to explain more than 80% of the differences in trust levels between nations.
The circulation of misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine poses the danger of hampering the government’s efforts to control the pandemic.
At this stage of the pandemic, when behavioural change is so key to vaccine take-up, the government ignores the views of the public at its peril.
People have denied germ theory since the moment it was born in the late 19th century.
The difference between conspiratorial thinking and believing the official narrative isn’t necessarily as big as you might you think.
New theories about the lab leak don’t make the case for it any stronger, but do reveal the messiness of how historical events play out.
Canadians are increasingly turning to private messaging apps where COVID-19 misinformation and conspiracy theories spread in an unregulated manner.
Despite outbreaks, some church leaders in Alberta have continued to downplay the severity of COVID-19. Choosing to double down on pandemic skepticism.
Child sexual abuse and child sex trafficking are serious problems. Misinformation is harming efforts to combat them.
Online abuse is often dismissed as “just online.” But the rise of QAnon and similar groups demonstrates the very real consequences of online speech.
At least half of Australians and New Zealanders in a recent study believed in one major conspiracy theory.
The followers of QAnon gained national notoriety for their support of former President Donald Trump. But QAnon members are influencing the GOP at the state and local levels, too.
A professor of religious studies argues that describing QAnon followers as brainwashed overlooks their role in accepting and spreading potentially dangerous beliefs.
How many Americans really have lost touch with reality?
Long overlooked in the West, the Byzantine Empire has recently picked up interest among far-right and conspiracist circles. A historian of medieval culture explains what white supremacists get wrong.
Donald Trump didn’t make a triumphant return on Jan. 20 and is unlikely to on March 4. How a 19th-century religion dealt with a similar disappointment may give clues on how QAnon supporters may react.
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
