This guide explores the effects of conspiracy theories in the media on society and the real-world issues they cause.
The research thesis of this guide is to explore how Conspiracy theories have evolved with modern media and the new dangers they present. In today's world, they have a greater effect on people's thinking, beliefs, and ability to trust.
Some research questions on my topic that I intend to respond to in this guide:
Why do people fall for and believe in conspiracy theories?
How has social media changed conspiracy theories?
How do conspiracy theories present danger?
What can we do to prevent conspiracy theories?
Over the past few decades, there have been hundreds upon hundreds of conspiracy theories that have originated from seemingly nowhere. However, they haven't been taken seriously by the general public and are treated with little to no caution whatsoever. This research paper was intended to inspect conspiracy theories with a critical perspective, in order to uncover the hidden dangers they present. The method used was searching through social and academic articles found in SVC databases, Google, and Google Scholar websites. Ten articles were compiled and annotated. There were admittedly limited amounts of credible papers on the subject, but all of them held consensus. The results found that conspiracy theories have indeed been growing in danger over the decades, and now present a real threat to the public and our democracy. Further and more serious research should be done to prove to the public that conspiracies are more dangerous than they seem, in order to maintain security for our society.
Conspiracy theories may have been around forever, but were mostly popularized in the last century or so, largely because of the advancement of technology. After the invention of the television, news was easier to broadcast and share around the globe, meaning more people were aware of what was happening in the world around them. With so many eyes on their screens, however, along came new opinions and skepticism. Between the 1960s and 1990s, Conspiracies took off like never before, many of which are still popular today. For example, theories surrounding the JFK assassination and the moon landing are now synonymous with the events in question. Then famously in 1972, they had evidence to support their theories with the Watergate scandal, when Richard Nixon was caught in a web of political spying and sabotage. Now they've advanced alongside modern technology and present new risks with their popularity.
The graph shown below is a depiction of research done by YouGov, which sought to find the number of Americans who believe in conspiracy theories. In their study, they found that a surprising number of Americans believe in at least one theory, with the most popular being the JFK assassination, affecting about 54%. Even the smaller theories, however, considering the size of the American population, account for millions of people. Altogether, conspiracy theories have a dangerously tight grip on the American population.
Orth, Taylor. “Which Conspiracy Theories Do Americans Believe?” YouGov, 8 Dec. 2023, today.yougov.com/politics/articles/48113-which-conspiracy-theories-do-americans-believe. https://today.yougov.com/politics/articles/48113-which-conspiracy-theories-do-americans-believe
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