conspiracy theories

Does Tucker's Path Lead to (Alex) Jonestown?

Like Alex Jones, Tucker Carlson's success hinged on smuggling far-right conspiratorial views into the mainstream through incredulity and absurdity to encourage viewers to accept an alternate, grievance-driven reality. 

Edsall: Is Trump Trapping the GOP in Conspiratorial Madness?

Ron DeSantis can bolster his standing with the right by governing. Donald Trump, still the leader of the party, must invoke conspiracies and cartoonishly evil enemies. Historian Jeffrey Herf helps Thomas Edsall understand if there's an off-ramp. 

Why the Larouche Conspiracy Cult Keeps On

If the followers of Lyndon Larouche seem to be fading from the public square, perhaps it's because the sensibility of the movement has been so much absorbed by the mainstream. 

Conspiratorialism is Now a Defining Feature of Republican Politics

While both British and American politics have become bitterly polarized and dysfunctional, the embrace by American leaders on the right of conspiracy theories as a uniquely American phenomenon. 

The Good News and the Bad News about (Mis)Information – Historians Included

Recent studies of media consumption and conspiracy theory adherence suggest misinformation is not terribly influential on political behavior. Unfortunately, neither is mythbusting, given the social and cognitive complexity of belief. 

What the German Coup Plotters Took from the American Right

by Lucian Staiano-Daniels

The German Reichsburger movement has been influenced both by the legalistic theories of the American "sovereign citizen" movement and the lurid conspiratorial fantasies of QAnon. 

A Hundred Years On, Tutankhamun's Alleged Curse Still Captivates

by Gill Paul

The fevered belief that visitors to Tutankhamun's tomb (and their families) were cursed became a media phenomenon in 1922, but popular culture from the Bible to Victorian serial stories and stage plays had already linked mummies and the supernatural. Today, curses persist alongside conspiracy theories to help ease the randomness of tragedy.

Michigan GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Claimed in 2020 Dems Plotted Overthrow of US in Retaliation for Losing Civil War

Tudor Dixon used a far-right streaming network to make this claim in 2020; she also has made unfounded claims about abortion and schools teaching socialist ideology. 

Edward Miller on Why Republicans Won't Dump Alex Jones

Only a tiny majority of Republicans in contested races will go on record with an opinion about Sandy Hook conspiracist Alex Jones. A historian of the conspiratorial far right explains why. 

Can Jurors Hold Alex Jones Accountable?

by Heather Cox Richardson

Alex Jones's defenders on the far right claim the judgment is a political persecution. They must remember that the agents of that verdict weren't government officials, but jurors – American citizens exercising a duty to weigh facts and evidence. Maybe the excesses of MAGA need to meet a jury as well. 

Nicole Hemmer on Alex Jones and the Right-Wing Media Machine

Will Alex Jones's expensive defeat in court slow down the spread of conspiratorialism in right-wing media? 

Political Scientist Skocpol: "Stop the Steal" is Metaphor for White Resentment

"They believe that urban people, metropolitan people—disproportionately young and minorities, to be sure, but frankly liberal whites—are an illegitimate brew that’s changing America."

How QAnon Catchphrases Took Over the KBJ Hearings

by Donald Moynihan

"QAnon, a sprawling set of baseless conspiracy claims, is built on nods and winks, which has allowed it to move from the fringes to the center of American politics without toppling the mainstream conservative politicians who are courting its adherents."

Whack-a-Mole

by Rivka Galchen

Reviewer Rivka Galchen looks at two recent books that highlight the importance of cultural beliefs in the acceptance or rejection of vaccines. 

The Apocalypse Never Dies, It Just Gets Weirder

by Thomas Lecaque

"Not only has the apocalypticism of the last few years not died out, but things aren’t getting better." A historian considers the intensification of apocalyptic rhetoric in American evangelicalism, and its fusion with the Trumpist political movement.

The Conspiracy Theorists Are Coming for Your Schools

by Thomas Lecaque

"Over the past year, as the conspiracy theorists have come together under one big apocalyptic tent we have seen organized campaigns of harassment, threats of violence, attempts to harm members of school administrations, and physical altercations at school board meetings when masks are mandated."

Another 9/11 Legacy? The Spread of Conspiracy Theories Online

by Jeff Melnick

9/11 happened as traditional American media outlets were being consolidated into a small number of corporate networks, encouraging people seeking information to turn to decentralized sources and, eventually, social media, opening space for misinformation and conspiracy theories. 

Richard J. Evans on Fascism, Today's Right, and Historical Truth

by Aaron J. Leonard

"Honest historians know they have to abandon their arguments when the evidence turns out to disprove them; dishonest historians and conspiracy theorists bend the evidence to fit the argument."

Spike Lee’s New Documentary Platforms a 9/11 Conspiracy Theorist [UPDATE: LEE TO EDIT DOC]

"There’s still time, though, before Episode 4 airs, for Lee to do the right thing by excising the 30-minute section from the film, which is totally unnecessary to the true and important story he tells in the rest of the episode."

Bad Information: QAnon is a Social Problem, Not a Cognitive One

by Nicolas Guilhot

"The champions of debunking and the new information vigilantes are not interested in entertaining the possibility that the root cause of conspiracy theories may be located outside the mind and may require a reexamination of our economic and social arrangements."