The Problem of Conspiracism

Belief in conspiracy theories is typically considered irrational, and as a consequence of this, conspiracy theorists––those who dare believe some conspiracy theory––have been charged with a variety of epistemic or psychological failings. Yet recent philosophical work has challenged the view that belief in conspiracy theories should be considered as typically irrational. By performing an intra-group analysis of those people we call “conspiracy theorists”, we find that the problematic traits commonly ascribed to the general group of conspiracy theorists turn out to be merely a set of stereotypical behaviours and thought patterns associated with a purported subset of that group. If we understand that the supposed prob- lem of belief in conspiracy theories is centred on the beliefs of this purported sub- set––the conspiracists––then we can reconcile the recent philosophical contribu- tions to the wider academic debate on the rationality of belief in conspiracy theories

Clearing Up Some Conceptual Confusions About Conspiracy Theory Theorising

A reply to Gérald Bronner, Véronique Campion-Vincent, Sylvain Delouvée, Sebastian Dieguez, Nicolas Gauvrit, Anthony Lantian, and Pascal Wagner-Egger's piece, '“They” Respond: Comments on Basham et al.’s “Social Science’s Conspiracy-Theory Panic: Now They Want to Cure Everyone”

Apocalypticism as a Predictor of Conspiracism Among American Adults

Apocalypticism is the belief in an impending large-scale catastrophic event that would threaten the survival of the human race. Despite the high level of apocalypticism among American adults, there has been little empirical research conducted to determine whether this proclivity is socially consequential. Conspiracism, a related factor, is widely studied empirically and is associated with many negative societal effects. Though research suggests a possible correlation between these variables, empirical research has not examined whether apocalypticism is a robust predictor of conspiracism. I hypothesize and test whether apocalypticism is predictive of belief in conspiracy theories using data from the 2018 Chapman Survey of American Fears, a nationally representative sample of American adults. From this data a multi-item conspiracism index was created and analyzed in relation with a measure of belief in apocalypticism. Regression analyses show that apocalyptic belief is the strongest predictor of conspiracism within the model, surpassing sociodemographic, political and religious characteristics. These results demonstrate that apocalypticism is an important factor to consider when studying conspiracism, and suggests that future researchers should further investigate apocalypticism using a variety of social scientific methods

Trivialized Content, Elevated From: Aesthetics of Secrecy in Turkish Politics in the 2000s

This essay will first provide a brief history of the Islamist party\u27s coming to power by means of its effective use of a populist imagery. The paper will then focus on the emergence of a new regime of secrecy in Turkish politics by looking at two high-profile legal cases, Ergenekon and the “Cosmic Room,” in which one can observe the blueprints of a struggle between different factions for taking over the state. During the investigations, secret documents about the wrongdoings of the secular establishment were leaked to and widely covered by the media. Sober debates on the contents of such documents were dwarfed by the tendency to scandalize, stigmatize, and foster fascination for the purported clandestine organizations within the state in line with conspiracist aesthetics. In later sections of the paper, the elements of entertainment and seriousness of this conspiracist aesthetics are analyzed

Conceptualizing platformed conspiracism: Analytical framework and empirical case study of BitChute and Gab

This article introduces the notion of platformed conspiracism to conceptualize reconfigured forms of conspiracy theory communication as a result of the mutual shaping between platform specificities and emergent user practices. To investigate this relational socio-technological shaping, we propose a conceptual platform-sensitive framework that systematically guides the study of platformed conspiracism. To illustrate the application of the framework, we examine how platformed conspiracism unfolds on BitChute and Gab during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings show that both platforms have positioned themselves as technological equivalents to their “mainstream” counterparts, YouTube and Twitter, by offering similar interfaces and features. However, given their specific services, community-based and politically marketed business models, and minimalist approaches to content moderation, both platforms provide conspiracy propagators a fertile refuge through which they can diversify their presence and profit monetarily from their supply of conspiracy theories and active connection with their followers

Book review: A lot of people are saying: the new conspiracism and the assault on democracy by Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum

In A Lot of People Are Saying: The New Conspiracism and the Assault on Democracy, Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum identify and outline the emergence of a new type of conspiracist thinking in our contemporary moment, showing it to pose a fundamental threat to democratic functioning. While questioning whether the book ascribes too much intentionality to those engaging in ‘the new conspiracism’, this is nonetheless a timely and important conceptualisation, writes Ignas Kalpokas

A (Cold) War for Vaccines:Retro-Conspiracism in Kremlin-Aligned Russian Discourse on Sputnik V

In August 2020, Vladimir Putin proudly reported “the world’s first-registered vaccine against the new Corona-virus”. Developed by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, it received the brand name “Sputnik V,” a nod to the pioneering Sputnik-1 satellite launched by the Soviets in 1957. The period following the announcement saw a steady outpouring of allegations leveled by, and at, Russia. Western governments and media outlets frequently denounced the Russian spread of fake news on traditional and online media platforms insisting on the health risks of Western-produced vaccines. Conversely, the Russian public was flooded with pro-Kremlin media stories on concerted efforts by Western governments, news agencies, and medical regulatory bodies to smear the country’s success, frustrate the Russian vaccine’s European certification, and delay its global rollout.Focusing on the period between the summer of 2020 and the fall of 2021, this chapter discusses conspiracy-based interpretations of the fate of Sputnik V (and its “competitors”) in the global arena. It analyzes such vaccine conspiracism inRussian-language Kremlin-aligned television programs; in statements by political leaders; and on Sputnik’s official, multi-language website. Proposing the conceptual label “retro-conspiracism” for this state-sanctioned rhetoric, I argue that it derives its persuasiveness from a combination of conspiratorial interpretation (keen to unveil hidden intentions and concerted manipulations) and commemorative gestures, of which the Sputnik name is only the most obvious manifestation. On the one hand, retro-conspiracism borrows profusely from the contemporary lingo of a globalized conspiracy culture. On the other, it relies on affectively charged invocations of Soviet-era events, symbols, and explanatory paradigms, which are inserted into, or projected onto, the reading of current affairs

On Narrative Approaches to Conspiracy Theory

This thesis handles narrative approaches to conspiracy theory. It provides an overview of conspiracy theory and narrative before affirming a relationship between the two. It then introduces Fenster’s work on conspiracy narrative before engaging with the considerations therein. After discussing the tradition of visualizing narrative structure, it applies these practices to conspiracy narrative. This application allows for a discussion of recent innovations within conspiracy narrative. By using the QAnon as a case study, the paper investigates the emergence of protagonism and non-narrativism within the genre. Ultimately, this investigation suggests that contemporary conspiracy narrative is both better suited to the modern media landscape and better equipped to overcome the problems that have long plagued conspiracy theories