A generalized climate of distrust in political institutions is not functional to healthy
democracies. With the advent of social media, recent scholarly efforts attempt to better …

Populism and beliefs in conspiracy theories fuel societal division as both rely on a
Manichean us‐versus‐them, good‐versus‐evil narrative. However, whether both constructs …

Recent approaches from social psychology lend support to conspiracy beliefs as a
motivated form of social cognition, structured around and consistent with a higher‐order …

Although an increasing volume of research has identified several negative sociopolitical
attitudes as correlates of conspiracy theories, to date it remains unclear whether belief in …

Many citizens distrust powerful societal institutions, and hold conspiracy theories about
them. What are the implications of this suspicion of institutions for people's social …

During COVID-19, conspiracy theories were intensely discussed in the media. Generally,
both believing in conspiracy theories (ie, explanations for events based on powerholders' …

Scholarly efforts to understand conspiracy theories have grown significantly in recent years,
and there is now a broad and interdisciplinary literature. In reviewing this body of work, we …

Scholars and policy‐makers are increasingly concerned with the detrimental effects of
conspiracy theories. Yet, it remains unclear whether conspiracy beliefs actually pose a threat …

Conspiracy theories thrive in moments of crises because they provide straightforward
answers that assist individuals in coping with threats. The COVID-19 outbreak is such a …

Past research has demonstrated that conspiracy belief is linked to a low level of self-
reported general trust. In four experimental online studies (total N= 1105) we examined …