Conspiracy theories as opportunistic attributions of power

Comparing the ideological correlates of anti-government and anti-Roma conspiracy beliefs in Romania

“…LGBT minorities can be seen as benefitting from the support of lobbies and intellectuals, see Nera et al, 2022). The Roma minority, by contrast, is indisputably a disempowered and marginalized minority.…”

“…Studying anti-Roma conspiracy theories appears particularly relevant because it is a striking example of downward conspiracy theories. Indeed, minorities typically targeted by conspiracy theories can be seen as benefitting of the support of objectively powerful groups (e.g., Muslim minorities can be seen as supported by wealthy Muslim countries, and LGBT minorities can be seen as benefitting from the support of lobbies and intellectuals, see Nera et al, 2022). The Roma minority, by contrast, is indisputably a disempowered and marginalized minority.…”

Rage against the machine: investigating conspiracy theories about the video assistant referee on Twitter during the 2018 FIFA World Cup

“…Congruent with our findings, a study based on YouTube comments on the FIFA official channel found that viewing the VAR as a neo-colonialist biased tool was widespread (Petersen-Wagner & Ludvigsen, 2019). Another explanation could be that status matters, and that only fans perceiving their team as a low-status team suffering from power asymmetries (see, Nera et al, 2022a) endorse conspiracy theories as an explanation of failure. This would be congruent with research showing that members of disfavored groups are more inclined to explain the situation of their ingroup using conspiracy theories (Nera et al, 2022b).…”

The psychological study of conspiracy theories: Strengths and limitations

“…It can be studied at the intrapersonal level, as conspiracy beliefs are related to individual difference variables [11,12], and are rooted in emotions and intuitions [13e15], and basic cognitive processes [16e20]. Conspiracy beliefs can be studied at the interpersonal level, as conspiracy beliefs increase following social rejection experiences [21], and are associated with for instance power differences [22], interpersonal trust [23], and paranoia [24]. And, conspiracy beliefs can be studied at the (intra-and inter-)group level, as conspiracy beliefs are heavily intertwined with people's social and political identities [25], differ across cultures [26e28], and are rooted in intergroup conflict [29].…”