some conspiracy theorists are actually mentally ill -- suffering from delusions or psychotic symptoms.
it's really easy to see this if you just go to the conspiracy regions of social media -- people providing "evidence" consisting of strange numerology, pointing to nonexistent patterns in photos and texts, claiming that random events are coded messages or evidence they are being monitored, etc.
i think these people are relatively small in number but have outsized influence in conspiracy communities, because they are much more vocal than average online.
attempts like this document makes to explain conspiracy in terms of emotional needs, personality, and cognitive habits are not without merit, but I think they will never provide a complete explanation.
none of these recommendations will work for someone who is not currently capable of normal cognition due to mental illness.
of course it's doubly irresponsible for laypeople to try to diagnose specific strangers. and history shows that "my political enemies are mentally ill" is a very dangerous idea.
still, I think communication strategies around conspiracy theories should take into account that the community they want to reach includes these people, and research into conspiratorial thinking also ought to take it into account.
it's really easy to see this if you just go to the conspiracy regions of social media -- people providing "evidence" consisting of strange numerology, pointing to nonexistent patterns in photos and texts, claiming that random events are coded messages or evidence they are being monitored, etc.
i think these people are relatively small in number but have outsized influence in conspiracy communities, because they are much more vocal than average online.
attempts like this document makes to explain conspiracy in terms of emotional needs, personality, and cognitive habits are not without merit, but I think they will never provide a complete explanation.
none of these recommendations will work for someone who is not currently capable of normal cognition due to mental illness.
of course it's doubly irresponsible for laypeople to try to diagnose specific strangers. and history shows that "my political enemies are mentally ill" is a very dangerous idea.
still, I think communication strategies around conspiracy theories should take into account that the community they want to reach includes these people, and research into conspiratorial thinking also ought to take it into account.