Conspiracy theoryDon’t Blame Social Media for Conspiracy Theories – They Would Still Flourish without It
COVID-19 conspiracy theories have encouraged people to engage in some dangerous activities in the past few months. There is no simple explanation for why people believe conspiracy theories like these, and the best researchers can say is that the causes of such beliefs are complex and varied. And yet journalists, activists and politicians are increasingly blaming the internet, and social media in particular, for the spread of conspiracy theories. The problem with such accusations is that the evidence paints a more nuanced picture.
COVID-19 conspiracy theories have encouraged people to engage in some dangerous activities in the past few months. There is no simple explanation for why people believe conspiracy theories like these, and the best researchers can say is that the causes of such beliefs are complex and varied.
And yet journalists, activists and politicians are increasingly blaming the internet, and social media in particular, for the spread of conspiracy theories.
The accusations aimed at social media tend to take the same narrative form as many conspiracy theories. It might be an anecdote, perhaps testimony from a trusted source such as a doctor claiming that social media companies “truly have blood on their hands”. Or it might be the portrayal of the public as an innocent victim at the hands of malicious internet profiteers – all designed to appeal to people already disposed to distrust corporations and tech companies.
The problem with such accusations is that the evidence paints a more nuanced picture.
The Pre-Internet Era
Conspiracy theories were being generated, spread, and believed well before the internet and social media.
US President John Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963. Shortly afterwards most Americans believed – in opposition to the official explanation – that the president had been killed by an unidentified group of conspirators rather than by a lone gunman. By 1975, 80% of Americans believed in one form of Kennedy conspiracy theory or another.
In the late 1940s, someone found debris in the New Mexico desert at Roswell. By 1997, 71% of Americans believed the government was hiding information about UFOs, 45% believed that aliens had visited Earth, and only 25% believed the government’s explanation of what actually happened at Roswell.
Our polling of Americans has uncovered few examples of conspiracy theories that enjoy as much support as those about JFK and aliens from the pre-internet era. For example, the theories that President Barack Obama faked his birth certificate to illegally usurp the presidency, and that the Bush administration or some other group was behind the 9/11 terror attacks typically find support among no more than 30% of the American public.
It remains an open question if conspiracy theories were even more widespread and influential before the internet. Consider, for example, the anti-communist Red Scares of the 20th century, the Illuminati panics of the early 19th century, or the witch trials of the 17th century.
