Conspiracy thinking and digital media: Disentangling a complex relationship
Short description
Despite conspiracy theories being seemingly omnipresent, not least on digital media, the relationship between digital media and conspiracy thinking is more complex than is often assumed. Based on the distinction between conspiracy mindset and beliefs in specific conspiracy theories, this project aims to disentangle the longitudinal relationship between digital media and media use on the one hand, and conspiracy mindset and beliefs in specific conspiracy theories on the other.
Background and research questions
What is the relationship between digital media and media use, on the one hand, and conspiratorial thinking, on the other? An important distinction in this context is between a conspiratorial mentality, which refers to a psychological tendency to be generally more inclined to believe in different conspiracy theories, and belief in specific conspiracy theories. This means, among other things, that people are affected to varying degrees and in different ways by exposure to conspiracy theories in digital media.
Against this background, the project sought to answer three questions that had previously remained unanswered:
- What is the longitudinal relationship between different types of digital media use and (a) conspiracy mindset and (b beliefs in specific conspiracy theories?
- What characterizes conspiratorial language use in digital mainstream media, political alternative media, and social media, and what roles do these different settings play in enabling or mitigating conspiratorial language use?
- How are conspiracy mindset and beliefs in specific conspiracy theories triggered by exposure to conspiracy theories in digital media?
To answer these questions, the project will be carried out over four years by a team of three scholars specialized in the different methods involved.
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