Is the label 'conspiracy theory' a cause or a consequence of disbelief in alternative narratives?

Editorial—The truth is out there: The psychology of conspiracy theories and how to counter them

“Conspiracy theory”: The case for being critically receptive

Does nationalism increase beliefs in conspiracy theories that frame minorities as subversives? From China to Russia to India, analysts and public commentators increasingly assume that nationalism fuels belief in false or unverified information. Yet existing scholarly work has neither theoretically nor empirically examined this link. Using a survey experiment conducted among 2,373 individuals and 6 focus groups with 6–8 participants each, for a total of 50 individuals, we study the impact of nationalist sentiment on belief in conspiracy theories related to ethnic minority groups in Pakistan. We find that nationalist primes – even those intended to emphasize the integration of diverse groups into one superordinate national identity – increase belief in statements about domestic minorities collaborating with hostile foreign powers. Subgroup analysis and focus groups suggest that nationalism potentially increases the likelihood that one views rights-seeking minorities as undermining the pursuit of national status.

We examined the interrelation between religiosity, anti-intellectualism, and political mistrust in predicting belief in conspiracy theories. Improving on previous psychological research on the link between religiosity and societal and political attitudes, we assessed the predictive power of religious self-categorization and the importance attached to one's own (non)religious worldview predicting belief in conspiracy theories separately. Applying quota sampling in a study in Australia (N=515), the sample consisted of 48.9% believers (i.e., those who self-categorized as religious persons) and 51.1% non-believers (i.e., those who self-categorized as non-religious persons). The results showed that believers and non-believers did not differ in the belief in conspiracy theories. Unpacking this further though, we did find that the extent to which religious worldviews were endorsed predicted belief in conspiracy theories. Among believers, the importance attached to their religious worldview was directly associated with higher belief in conspiracy theories and this link was partly mediated by higher anti-intellectualism. Political trust, in turn, served as an inhibitor of the link between religiosity and conspiracy beliefs. Among non-believers, there was no direct association between the importance of non-religious worldview and belief in conspiracy theories. However, we found that higher trust in political institutions accounted for the negative association between non-religious worldview and lower belief in conspiracy theories. The results underline the importance of distinguishing religiosity as a self-categorization and religiosity as a worldview. We find that it is not the self-categorization as religious, but the extent to which religious worldviews are endorsed that could predict people's beliefs in conspiracy theories.

Conspiracy theories, often dismissed as fringe or irrational beliefs, hold significant sociological importance as reflections of broader societal anxieties, power dynamics, and cultural transformations. This paper explores conspiracy theories not merely as misinformation but as social phenomena deeply embedded in the structures of modern societies. It examines how conspiracy theories emerge in response to perceived inequalities, institutional mistrust, and the search for meaning in complex or uncertain circumstances. The sociology of conspiracy theories considers the role of social conditions—such as economic distress, political polarization, and media fragmentation—in facilitating the widespread acceptance of alternative narratives that challenge official accounts. Conspiracy theories are shown to thrive in environments marked by rapid change, declining trust in authorities, and the erosion of shared epistemologies. The paper also addresses the psychological underpinnings of conspiratorial thinking, such as cognitive biases and the desire for control, but situates these within collective experiences and social contexts. It analyzes how media, particularly digital and social platforms, serve as accelerators for the formation of conspiratorial communities and the circulation of unverified information. Conspiracy theories can serve both as forms of resistance and as tools of manipulation, used by political actors to mobilize support or discredit opponents. Their implications for democracy, social cohesion, and institutional legitimacy are profound, particularly in societies where pluralism and trust are already under strain. Rather than viewing conspiracy theories solely as a threat to rational discourse, this paper argues that they must be understood as meaningful social texts—expressions of grievances, fears, and contested knowledge. Through a sociological lens, conspiracy theories reveal the ways in which modern individuals and groups navigate uncertainty, power, and belonging in increasingly complex societies. By analyzing their origins, dissemination, and social functions, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of contemporary belief systems and collective behavior.

Conspiracy theories are particularly prevalent in times of crisis and pose a major threat to democracy. Young people are especially susceptible to conspiracy theories, as this period is characterized by high social vulnerability and constant reflection on one's position in society. However, to date little is known about the determinants of young people's belief in conspiracy theories in general and in times of crisis in particular. In this study, we address this research gap by investigating the belief of young people in Germany (N = 2437, aged 16 to 29) in conspiracy theories about the war in Ukraine. Drawing on Douglas and colleagues’ (2017) taxonomy, we find that epistemic (e.g., political self‐efficacy), existential (e.g., political trust), and social (e.g., social exclusion) motives influence belief in conspiracies about the war among young people. However, while the taxonomy suggests equal influence of the three motives, the effects of feelings of social exclusion on war‐related conspiracy beliefs among youth are mainly mediated by a strong influence of political distrust. In this way, our findings contribute to a better understanding of conspiracy beliefs among young people and highlight the importance of increasing young people's political trust to prevent the spread of conspiracy theories.

Creating Conspiracy Beliefs: How Our Thoughts Are Shaped

Why do people believe in conspiracy theories? This paper responds to this ever‐significant question by scrutinizing people's belief in conspiracy theories in Turkey. Building on Max Weber's theory of rationalization, it proposes that value‐laden and instrumentally rational predispositions, namely religiosity and partisanship, predict people's beliefs in conspiracy theories. This current study tests this hypothesis by analyzing two nationwide surveys conducted during a period of significant changes in modern Turkish politics: January and July 2013. The findings confirm the hypothesis that people interpret conspiracy theories in line with their instrumental, rational interests and values.

Conspiracy theories can be regarded as subjective theories, devised by people to explain impactful negative events. Consequently, methods to investigate subjective theories might be useful in researching (subjective) conspiracy theories. The study presented here aimed to explore the role of conspiracy theories in subjective theories of illness for people who have turned away from scientifically-oriented medicine. The Heidelberg structure-formation technique was used to capture the subjective theories of six adherents of alternative medicine. Our findings give first insights that health-related conspiracy theories are an inherent part of alternative medical narratives and might serve the purpose of differentiating them from conventional medicine. A follow-up survey during the first wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic supported this view. The study also gave insight into which aspects of alternative medical treatments were appealing to our participants. Here, supposed psychological and spiritual mechanisms were deemed most important. A key factor, both for turning towards alternative medicine and for believing in conspiracy theories, was an individual experience of control.

The current research tested if explicit anti‐conspiracy arguments could be an effective method of addressing the potentially harmful effects of anti‐vaccine conspiracy theories. In two studies, participants were presented with anti‐conspiracy arguments either before, or after reading arguments in favor of popular conspiracy theories concerning vaccination. In both studies, anti‐conspiracy arguments increased intentions to vaccinate a fictional child but only when presented prior to conspiracy theories. This effect was mediated by belief in anti‐vaccine conspiracy theories and the perception that vaccines are dangerous. These findings suggest that people can be inoculated against the potentially harmful effects of anti‐vaccine conspiracy theories, but that once they are established, the conspiracy theories may be difficult to correct.

Are conspiracy theory believers drawn to conspiratorial explanations, alternatives explanations, or both?

The COVID-19 pandemic signifies not only a global health crisis but has also proven to be an infodemic characterised by many conspiracy theories. Prior research informs us that belief in health-related conspiracies can harm efforts to curtail the spread of a virus. Therefore, as the global efforts of mass inoculation are underway, it is crucial to understand which factors shape tendencies to believe in conspiracy theories. In the current study, we explore how Pakistani adults’ perceived risk of COVID-19, sense of national identity, and trust in traditional and social media sources, are associated with their belief in conspiracy theories related to the pandemic. The data for this study come from an online survey of 501 adults ages 18–49 conducted in April and May 2020 in Pakistan. Our results show that a perception of risk makes it less likely for the participants to believe in conspiracy theories even when taking into account key demographic factors. Furthermore, trust in social media has a positive association with belief in conspiracy theories, whereas trust in traditional media and people’s sense of national identity are not associated with conspiracy beliefs. This study offers important scholarly and policy implications for navigating major global health issues, in Pakistan and other similarly situated countries.

Research on conspiracy theories in digital media has grown considerably in recent years. As a result, the field of research has become more multidisciplinary and diverse. To bridge disciplinary boundaries, identify foci of analysis and research gaps, this study provides an interdisciplinary systematic literature review (2007–2020), analyzing current research on conspiracy theorizing online, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Findings show that the majority of studies lack a definition of conspiracy theories and fail to conceptually delineate conspiracy theories from other forms of deceptive content. We also found that while the field employs a variety of methodological approaches, most studies have focused on individual, “mainstream” social media platforms, “Western” countries, English-language communication, and single conspiracy theories. We use the findings of our review to remedy conceptual and empirical shortcomings and to provide suggestions on how to move forward in research on conspiracy theories online.

This research explores the alternative media ecosystem through a Twitter lens. Over a ten-month period, we collected tweets related to alternative narratives — for example, conspiracy theories — of mass shooting events. We utilized tweeted URLs to generate a domain network, connecting domains shared by the same user, then conducted qualitative analysis to understand the nature of different domains and how they connect to each other. Our findings demonstrate how alternative news sites propagate and shape alternative narratives, while mainstream media deny them. We explain how political leanings of alternative news sites do not align well with a U.S. left-right spectrum, but instead feature an anti-globalist (versus globalist) orientation where U.S. Alt-Right sites look similar to U.S. Alt-Left sites. Our findings describe a subsection of the emerging alternative media ecosystem and provide insight in how websites that promote conspiracy theories and pseudo-science may function to conduct underlying political agendas.

Actors of the most fiendish character: Explaining the associations between the Dark Tetrad and conspiracist ideation