Responding to the spread of conspiracy theories

Bibliographic Data

ID21335286
AuthorsNader Shoaibi (0000-0002-4313-0353, Gonzaga University, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume68
Issue7
Pages1874-1899
Publication date2025-08-09
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueInquiry (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0020-174X • E-ISSN: 1502-3923
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/0020174x.2022.2126393
OpenAlexW4297978054
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited21

Conspiracy theories are spreading faster than ever and pose a real danger to our societies. It is natural to accuse the consumers of conspiracy theories of irrationality – that they are either not looking at or appropriately sensitive to all the available evidence. In this paper, I attempt to determine if we can make sense of this general idea. I argue that we cannot: conspiracy theories do not spread because the people who believe them are irrational – at least, not necessarily so. In addition, I explore some alternative strategies for responding to the problem of the spread of conspiracy theories. I argue that in addition to confrontational strategies such as social shaming, we need more constructive programs of community activism to battle the spread of conspiracy theories

Battle · Constructive · Epistemology · Irrational number · Irrationality · Natural (archaeology) · Rationality · Sociology · Computer Science · Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics · Hate Speech and Cyberbullying Detection · History · Mathematics · Misinformation and Its Impacts · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology

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