Let's Talk About Conspiracy Theories.

PODCAST INFO

• A new podcast episode drops every Monday.
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CITATIONS

• Definition of conspiracy theory
• Increase in attention, not increase in belief 
• Studies referenced:
  • One study found that half of all Americans believe in at least one conspiracy theory.
  • 2013 study: over a third of Americans believe that global warming is a hoax.
  • 2013 study: over half of Americans believe that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone in the assassination of John F. Kennedy
  • COVID
    • A May 2020 online survey of 2,501 adults in England found that 25 percent of respondents believe unproven COVID-19 conspiracy theories.
    • In October 2020…
      • More than 1 in 3 Americans believe that the Chinese government engineered the coronavirus as a weapon, and another third are convinced that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has exaggerated the threat of Covid-19 to undermine President Trump.
    • A handful of people set 5G telecommunications towers ablaze after reading social media posts that alleged the new technology can cause COVID-19. 
    • Voter/Election
      • A January 2021 poll of 1,239 U.S. voters found that 77 percent of Republican respondents believe there was widespread election fraud, despite courts ruling otherwise.
        • See also:
          • "Attorney General William Barr said last month that the U.S. Justice Department has found no evidence of widespread voter fraud. Even Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell—a Republican ally of Trump through much of his presidency—recently called some of Trump’s voter fraud claims “sweeping conspiracy theories.”
• Why do people believe them?
  • The need for certainty & knowledge
    • Conspiracy theories offer explanations that provide this connection during uncertainty.  They want to know what happened.
    • COVID Example
    • A person's education level also can influence this..
    • Confirmation Bias
  • The need for control
    • when feeling anxious
    • when they feel powerless
  • The need to feel good about themselves
    • Feel unique
  • They see a benefit in it
    • "For example, someone may strongly prefer that a certain political candidate win an election because they think that person will keep them physically and financially safe. Other people may not want to believe climate change is real because they work or invest in the coal industry."
  • Collective Narcissism 
    • Study
  • Certain personality factors make people more prone to believe conspiracy theories.
    • Another study
  • Ideas of populism
    • Conservative media consumption
  • Social Connection
  • Pride
• Consequences
  • Increased anxiety and negative schemas
  • Society
    • Capitol Hill
      • "Then came January 6 and a vivid illustration of the consequences of the conspiracies the president and the right-wing conspiracy theorist had been promoting. The pro-Trump mob that ransacked the Capitol building chanted slogans like, “fight for Trump,” and were spurred on by the conspiracy theory that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump."
    • Measles/refusal to vaccinate
    • Diminishes trust in science
    • Discourages people from participating in the social world
• How to deal
  • Quote by Joseph A. Vitrol