The Logic of Conspiracy Theories in the Internet Day
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31861/mhpi2019.40.11-25Keywords:
conspiracy theories, internet, social media, traditional mediaAbstract
The paper reviews the logic of conspiracy theories in the age of internet, emphasizing that the spread of internet usage increased the amount and variety of political information, which has created unprecedented opportunities to communicate with supporters about current events. The wide availability of content provided by users on online social media makes it easier to connect people around common interests, beliefs and narratives. However, the internet also allows you to quickly spread anecdotal rumors and conspiracy theories, which often cause fast, large, but often naive social responses. It is the internet that allows conspiracy theories to travel farther and faster than before. Belief in conspiracy theories reduces trust in traditional media and government institutions, even if they are not associated with conspiracy theories.
Keywords: conspiracy theories, internet, social media, traditional media.
References
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2. Bessi A., Coletto M., Davidescu G. A., Scala A., Caldarelli G., Quattrociocchi W., Science vs Conspiracy: Collective Narratives in the Age of Misinformation, URL: https://doi.org/10.1371/
journal.pone.0118093.
3. Bessib A., Zolloa F., Petronic F., Scalaad A., Caldarelliad G., Stanleye H. E, Quattrociocchia W., Del Vicarioa M., The spreading of misinformation online. “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS)”, 19.01.2016, vol. 113, no. 3.
4. Broderick J.F., Miller D.W., Web of Conspiracy: A Guide to Conspiracy Theory Sites on the Internet Kindle Edition. CyberAge Books, Medford, NJ 2008.
5. Byford J., Conspiracy theories: A critical introduction. Springer, Berlin 2011.
6. Cherep-Spiridovich C., The Secret World Government or “The Hidden Hand”: The Unrevealed in History. New York 1926.
7. Clarke S., Conspiracy theories and conspiracy theorizing. “Philosophy of the Social Sciences”, 2002, Vol. 32, no 2.
8. Climate change: evidence and causes, URL: https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/
projects/climate-change-evidence-causes/?gclid=CjwKCAjwpIjZBRBsEiwA0TN1r81cjKYAtlrEi7M
pzk618-Dxk4AD7PuWCIJ2ceCOw40Vkg4RnO-4rBoCx1QQAvD_BwE.
9. Coady D., Conspiracy theories and official stories. “International Journal of Applied Philosophy”, 2003, Vol. 17, no.2.
10. Conspiracy theories: The philosophical debate, [w:] D. Coady (red.), Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2006.
11. Converse R. W., World Government – Utopian Dream Or Current Reality, Vol. 1, Tom 1. Algora Publishing, New York 2010.
12. Davis G., World Government, Ready Or Not! World Government House, 1984.
13. Douglas K. M., Sutton R. M., Cichocka A., The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories Current, “Directions in Psychological Science”, 2017, Vol. 26(6).
14. Estulin D., Prawdziwa historia Klubu Bilderberg. Sonia Draga Sp. z o.o., Katowice 2015.
15. Fenster M., Conspiracy theories: Secrecy and power in American culture. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis 1999.
16. Gijswijt T. W., Informal Alliance: The Bilderberg Group and Transatlantic Relations during the Cold War, 1952-1968. Routledge, New York 2018.
17. Hagger N., The World Government. John Hunt Publishing, Winchester 2010.
18. Jeffers H. P., The Bilderberg Conspiracy: Inside the Worldʼs Most Powerful Secret Society, Kensington Publishing Corp. 2009.
19. Jensen T., Democrats and Republicans differ on conspiracy theory beliefs, 2013, URL: http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/polls/democrats-and-republicansdiffer-on-conspiracy-theory-beliefs/.
20. Keeley B. L., Of conspiracy theories. “The Journal of Philosophy”, 1999, Vol. 96, no 3.
21. Kofta, M., Sedek, G., Conspiracy stereotypes of Jews during systemic transformation in Poland. “International Journal of Sociology”, 2005, no 35.
22. Krieger L., Internet conspiracies link wildfires to takeover schemes.“Hidden powers behind these calculated strikes,” they warn, 3.12.2018, URL: https://www.dailydemocrat.com/ 2018/12/03/golden-state-of-paranoia-internet-conspiracies-link-wildfires-to-takeover-schemes-2/.
23. Lewandowsky S., Gignac G. E., Oberauer K., NASA Faked the Moon Landing-Therefore, (Climate) Science Is a Hoax: An Anatomy of the Motivated Rejection of Science. “Psychological Science”, 2013, no 24 (5).
24. Lewandowsky, S., Cook, J., Oberauer, K., Brophy, S., Lloyd, E. A., Marriott, M. , Recurrent fury: Conspiratorial discourse in the blogosphere triggered by research on the role of conspiracist ideation in climate denial. “Journal of Social and Political Psychology”, 2015, no 3.
25. Leżeński C., Masoni Bez Maski. Wydawnictwo Graffiti BC, Toruń 2006.
26. Łukowski P., Sens wyrażenia „Teoria Spiskowa”, Czyli jak odróżnić teorię spiskową od niespiskowej. „Hybris”, 2016, nr 33.
27. Mosz S., Masoni i masoneria: fakty i mity. Biblioteka Klubu da Vinci. Wydawnictwo „Lux”, Katowice 2010.
28. Müller Jan-Werner, What is populism? Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, Kindle edition 2016.
29. Naughton J., Populism and the internet – a toxic mix shaping the age of conspiracy theories, URL: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/25/populism-and-the-internet-a-toxic-mix-shaping-the-age-of-conspiracy-theories.
30. OʼHara K., Stevens D., Echo Chambers and Online Radicalism: Assessing the Internetʼs Complicity in Violent Extremism, 19.04.2015, URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/poi3.88.
31. Olmsted K.S., Real Enemies: Conspiracy Theories and American Democracy, World War I to 9/11. Oxford University Press, New York 2011.
32. Ortmann S., John H., Conspiracy Theories in the Post Soviet Space. “The Russian Review”, 2012, Vol.71, no 5.
33. Pagán V. E., Conspiracy Narratives in Roman History. University of Texas Press, Austin 2004.
34. Pipes D., Potęga spisku. Wpływ paranoicznego myślenia na dzieje ludzkości, przeł. S. Krędzierski, BEJ Service, Warszawa 1998.
35. Popper K. R, Społeczeństwo otwarte i jego wrogowie, t. 1-2, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 2006.
36. Quattrociocchi W., Scala A.,.Sunstein C. R, Echo Chambers na Facebooku. 13.06.2016, URL: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2795110 lub URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2795110.
37. Richardson I., Kakabadse A., Kakabadse N., Bilderberg People: Elite Power and Consensus in World Affairs. Routledge, New York 2013.
38. Sapountzis A., Condor S., Conspiracy accounts as intergroup theories: Challenging dominant understandings of social power and political legitimacy. “Political Psychology”, 2013, no 43, p. 731-752.
39. Shermer M., Conspiracy central. Who believes in conspiracy theories – and why. “Scientific American”, 2014, nr 311(6)
40. Summary for Policymakers of IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C approved by governments, URL: https://www.ipcc.ch/2018/10/08/summary-for-policymakers-of-ipcc-special-report-on-global-warming-of-1-5c-approved-by-governments/.
41. Sunstein C. R., Vermeule A., Conspiracy Theories: Causes and Cures. “Political Rhilisophy”, 2009, Vol.17, Issue 2.
42. Uscinski J. E., Klofstad C., Atkinson M. D., What drives conspiratorial beliefs? The role of informational cues and predispositions. “Political Research Quarterly”, 2016, no 69, p.57-71.
43. Uscinski J. E., Parent J. M., American Conspiracy Theories. Oxford University Press, New York 2014.
44. Uscinski J., Is the Internet Driving a New Age of Conspiracy Theory? URL: https://arcdigital.media/is-the-internet-driving-a-new-age-of-conspiracy-theory-5c956ddc16cd.
45. Uscinski J.E., DeWitt D., Atkinson M.D., A Web of Conspiracy? Internet and Conspiracy Theory, [in:] Handbook of Conspiracy Theory and Contemporary Religion, ( eds.) A. Dyrendal, D.G. Robertson, E.Asprem. Leidein: Brill. Boston 2018.
46. Wojtowicz J., Masoneria--wielka niewiadoma?: studium z dziejów tzw. tajnych towarzystw w Europie nowożytnej, XVIII-XX w. Wydawn. Adam Marszałek, Toruń 1992.
47. Wood M. J., Douglas K.M., Sutton R.M., Dead and Alive: Beliefs in Contradictory Conspiracy Theories, “Social Psychological & Personality Science”, 2012, nr 3.
48. Yunker J. A., The Idea of World Government: From Ancient Times to the Twenty-first Century. Taylor & Francis, New York 2011.
49. Zdybel L., Idea spisku i teorie spiskowe w świetle analiz krytycznych i badań historycznych. Wydawnictwo UMCS, Lublin 2002.
50. Żelazińska A., Alex Jones, siewca teorii spiskowych, zbanowany na Twitterze, URL: https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/ludzieistyle/1763166,2,alex-jones-siewca-teorii-spiskowych-zbanowany-na-twitterze.read.
51. Zimmerman M., Czy śmierć księżnej Diany była wynikiem spisku? 28.08.2012, URL: https://wiadomosci.onet.pl/na-tropie/czy-smierc-ksieznej-diany-byla-wynikiem-spisku/mfh39.
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Published
2019-12-15
How to Cite
Wasyuta, O., & Wasyuta, S. (2019). The Logic of Conspiracy Theories in the Internet Day. Modern Historical and Political Issues, (40), 11–25. https://doi.org/10.31861/mhpi2019.40.11-25
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