How News Media Coverage of Crises Promotes Conspiracy Beliefs
Grade Level at Time of Presentation
Senior
Major
Political Science - Applied Politics
Institution
University of Louisville
KY House District #
29
KY Senate District #
38
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Adam Enders, PhD
Department
Department of Political Science
Abstract
While scholars of conspiracy theories have recently made great strides in understanding the basic nature and correlates of conspiratorial thinking, we still know little about how conspiracy beliefs are disseminated and communicated, especially when it comes to traditional media. In this instance, we use a unique experiment to investigate whether media coverage of mass shootings – complete with the uncertainty, conflicting reports, and dubious official narratives that characterize such coverage – provides the raw material for conspiracy theories and promotes conspiracy beliefs among viewers. We find that implicit conspiratorial information – that which causes confusion and foments uncertainty – does not enflame conspiracy beliefs. However, more explicitly conspiratorial information – that which challenges the official narrative and questions the details of investigative findings – does, fostering conspiracy beliefs about second shooters and governmental false flag operations. These findings suggest that conspiracy theories may be a natural consequence of the 24/7 news cycle.
How News Media Coverage of Crises Promotes Conspiracy Beliefs
While scholars of conspiracy theories have recently made great strides in understanding the basic nature and correlates of conspiratorial thinking, we still know little about how conspiracy beliefs are disseminated and communicated, especially when it comes to traditional media. In this instance, we use a unique experiment to investigate whether media coverage of mass shootings – complete with the uncertainty, conflicting reports, and dubious official narratives that characterize such coverage – provides the raw material for conspiracy theories and promotes conspiracy beliefs among viewers. We find that implicit conspiratorial information – that which causes confusion and foments uncertainty – does not enflame conspiracy beliefs. However, more explicitly conspiratorial information – that which challenges the official narrative and questions the details of investigative findings – does, fostering conspiracy beliefs about second shooters and governmental false flag operations. These findings suggest that conspiracy theories may be a natural consequence of the 24/7 news cycle.