Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: What leads people to believe in conspiracy theories? While scholars have learned much about both the psychological, social, and political factors associated with individuals’ receptivity to conspiracy theories, and the rhetoric with which these ideas are communicated, these two lines of research have often proceeded in isolation, leaving scholars not fully understanding if rhetoric persuades audiences of conspiracy theories. Employing two U.S. national survey experiments, we test the effect of six rhetorical devices on respondents’ endorsements of eleven different conspiracy theories. Across both studies, we fail to find evidence showing that these rhetorical devices increased the endorsement of any of the eleven conspiracy theories. These findings suggest that conspiracy theory beliefs are more the product of worldviews and group identities than of leaders’ communication styles.
Source: Genealogy
Authors: Casey Klofstad, Joseph Uscinski
Institution: University of Miami
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,591
OpenAlex ID: W4405724720