The psychology and politics of conspiracy theories
Event
EVENT: In the past year, conspiracy theories have had a big impact on politics and public health. What makes them so appealing? How can we disrupt their influence? Join us to explore these issues and more.
9.21.2021
Wednesday, October 27, 2021 | 8:30AM San Francisco | 11:30AM New York | 4:30PM London
Conspiracy theories played a role in the insurrection at the US Capitol in January and continue to fuel resistance, in some circles, to getting vaccinated for Covid-19. It may seem like conspiracy theories are more prevalent now than ever, and more common on the political right than on the left — but are they really?
Recent research suggests that no one is totally immune. That’s because conspiracy theories tap into fundamental aspects of human psychology, helping to explain why they’re so alluring —and so hard to dispel once they take hold. Researchers are trying to develop ways to disrupt their influence on our minds and our society.
Join us for a discussion with two experts — a social psychologist and a political theorist —about the psychological underpinnings and political consequences of conspiracy theories.
Tune in to learn more and get your questions answered. And, if you can’t join us live, please register and we’ll send a link to the replay following the event.
Speakers
Nancy Rosenblum, Harvard University
Dr. Nancy Rosenblum is the Senator Joseph Clark Professor of Ethics in Politics and Government emerita at Harvard University. Her field of research is historical and contemporary political thought. She is co-editor of the Annual Review of Political Science, and co-author with Russell Muirhead of the 2019 book A Lot of People Are Saying: The New Conspiracism and the Assault on Democracy, which argues that the rise of a new type of conspiracy thinking during the Trump era has undermined American democracy.
Sander van der Linden, University of Cambridge
Dr. Sander van der Linden is Professor of Social Psychology in Society and Director of the Cambridge Social Decision-Making Lab in the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge. He has won numerous awards for his research on human judgment, communication and decision-making. He recently co-designed the award-winning fake news game “B ad News,” and frequently advises governments and social media companies on how to fight misinformation. His research is regularly featured in outlets such as the New York Times, NPR, Rolling Stone and the BBC. He is currently working on his new book The Truth Vaccine.
Moderator
Greg Miller, science journalist and contributing editor to Knowable Magazine
Greg has covered biomedical and behavioral science research for nearly 20 years. Previously, he was a senior writer at Wired and a staff writer at Science. He has a PhD in neuroscience from Stanford University and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
About
This event is part of Reset: The Science of Crisis & Recovery, an ongoing series of live events and science journalism exploring how the world is navigating the coronavirus pandemic, its consequences and the way forward. Reset is supported by a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Knowable Magazine is a product of Annual Reviews, a nonprofit publisher dedicated to synthesizing and integrating knowledge for the progress of science and the benefit of society. Major funding for Knowable comes from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
Resources
More from Knowable
- The enduring allure of conspiracy theories
- The pernicious contagion of misinformation
- Speaking of pandemics: The art and science of risk communication
- Synthetic media: The real trouble with deepfakes
- How online misinformation spreads
Related Annual Reviews articles
- Judging Truth Nadia M. Brashier and Elizabeth J. Marsh
- Political Misinformation Jennifer Jerit and Yangzi Zhao
- Vaccine Hesitancy, Acceptance, and Anti-Vaccination: Trends and Future Prospects for Public Health Ève Dubé, Jeremy K. Ward, Pierre Verger, and Noni E. MacDonald
- Climate Change Disinformation and How to Combat It Stephan Lewandowsky
Other online resources
- Bad News Game – a fake news intervention developed by the Cambridge Social Decision Making Lab
- Research and articles on conspiracy theories and digital media from the Harvard Kennedy School’s Misinformation Review
- The Center for an Informed Public at the University of Washington
10.1146/knowable-092121-2
This article originally appeared in Knowable Magazine, an independent journalistic endeavor from Annual Reviews. Sign up for the newsletter.
