Conspiracy theories in United States politics

Conspiracy theories in United States politics are beliefs that a major political situation is the result of secretive collusion by powerful people striving to harm a rival group or undermine society in general.

Such theories draw from actual conspiracies, in which individuals work together covertly in order to unravel a larger system.[1][2][3] Often, the struggle between a real conspiracy theory and a misconception of one leads to conflict, polarization in elections, distrust in government, and racial and political divisions.[1][4]

Many political conspiracies begin and spread from politically charged circumstances, individuals' partisan affiliations, and online platforms that form echo chambers with like-minded individuals.[1][5] Belief in American political conspiracy theories applies to all parties, ideologies, races, ethnicities, socioeconomic levels, and genders.[6][7][8]

  1. ^ a b c Merlan, Anna (May 2, 2019). "Why we are addicted to conspiracy theories". The Guardian. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  2. ^ Davis, James; Wetherell, Geoffrey; Henry, P. J. (2018). "Social devaluation of African Americans and race-related conspiracy theories". European Journal of Social Psychology. 48 (7): 999–1010. doi:10.1002/ejsp.2531. ISSN 1099-0992. S2CID 150196529.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference What Drives was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Smallpage Enders Uscinski was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Michael Kirk - USoC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Healy - Voters across the spectrum was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Waters, Anita M. (1997). "Conspiracy Theories as Ethnosociologies: Explanation and Intention in African American Political Culture". Journal of Black Studies. 28 (1): 112–125. doi:10.1177/002193479702800107. ISSN 0021-9347. JSTOR 2784897. S2CID 149300973.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Compensatory Control was invoked but never defined (see the help page).