Worrying about how many people believe false ideas misses the real danger – that people are influenced by them whether they believe them or not.
Articles on Conspiracy theories
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Belief in conspiracy theories can be incredibly damaging. So we must resist, and engage with those who deny the facts where possible.
Conspiracy theories help people make sense of chaos and tragedy by finding a ‘reason’ behind the coincidences.
Romana Didulo and her followers are seeking to replace legitimate governments via their sovereign citizenship movement. Their claims are outrageous and baseless, but they must not be ignored.
Threats to law enforcement have risen in the aftermath of the FBI raid on former President Trump’s Florida estate. Does ‘message laundering’ by top GOP figures have something to do with it?
With the exception of a few states, dereliction of a duty is mostly used in military law and does not apply to citizens, including US presidents.
Season Four of ‘Stranger Things’ shows how easily people are influenced when they’re clamouring for answers during times of uncertainty.
Overcoming conspiracy theories isn’t just about information. A scholar of religion explains that the emotions they inspire are part of their appeal.
Romana 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.
Social psychology researchers found that people commonly exaggerate the presence of certain groups – including ethnic and sexual minorities – because they perceive them as ideologically threatening.
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.
Google search algorithms often pull up misleading descriptors for controversial people, and results can differ across languages. Understanding how these algorithms function can address misinformation.
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.
We need to interrogate how evidence might be used to do more than describe a conspiracy; it might work to maintain a certain status quo — in this case, anti-Black racism.
Top contributors
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Associate Professor in Social Psychology, School of Psychology, University of Nottingham
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Professor in Applied Cognitive Psychology, Manchester Metropolitan University
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Senior Lecturer and Researcher in Cognitive and Parapsychology, Manchester Metropolitan University
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Host of The Anthill Podcast, The Conversation
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Professor of Social Psychology, University of Kent
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Chair of Cognitive Psychology, University of Bristol
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Professor of American Studies, University of Manchester
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Senior Lecturer in Social Psychology, La Trobe University
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PhD candidate Individualized Program, 2020-2021 Public Scholar, Concordia University
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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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Senior Lecturer in Philosophy and Education; Curriculum Director, UQ Critical Thinking Project, The University of Queensland
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Senior Lecturer in Psychology, The Open University
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Associate Professor in Psychology, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University
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Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Dayton