Start Spreading the (fake) News: The Role of Fear and Anger in the Formation and Dissemination of Conspiratorial Beliefs

Abstract

Why do some people believe in political conspiracy theories and others do not? Why, for instance, do 60 percent of Americans believe that the CIA killed President John F. Kennedy while 25 percent believe that Barack Obama was born outside of the United States? This dissertation demonstrates that an important yet overlooked factor influencing the spread of conspiracy theories is emotionally charged language. This dissertation demonstrates that i) exposing an individual to a conspiracy theory through a negative emtive frame of fear ore anger increases the probability of them believing it; ii) conspiracy theorists utilse heightened levels of fea and anger in their Facebook posts; and iii) conspiracy theorists Facebook posts perform better when they contain heightened levels of fear and anger. Thus, this dissertation demonstrates the profound effect that negative emotions have on conspiratorial beliefs in society.