Conspiracy theories in online environments: An interdisciplinary literature review and agenda for future research

Abstract

Research on conspiracy theories in digital media has grown considerably in recent years. As a result, the field of research has become more multidisciplinary and diverse. To bridge disciplinary boundaries, identify foci of analysis and research gaps, this study provides an interdisciplinary systematic literature review (2007–2020), analyzing current research on conspiracy theorizing online, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Findings show that the majority of studies lack a definition of conspiracy theories and fail to conceptually delineate conspiracy theories from other forms of deceptive content. We also found that while the field employs a variety of methodological approaches, most studies have focused on individual, “mainstream” social media platforms, “Western” countries, English-language communication, and single conspiracy theories. We use the findings of our review to remedy conceptual and empirical shortcomings and to provide suggestions on how to move forward in research on conspiracy theories online.

Similar Attitudes, Different Strategies: A Limited Survey of the Discourse Strategies to Oppose Genetically Modified Organisms Conspiracy Theories by Chinese Scientist Communicators and Citizen Communicators on Zhihu

“…The rapidly developed digital environment is considered to have fuelled the amplification and dissemination of conspiracy theories, including those that are GMOs related (Mahl et al, 2022), especially since it gives the public a greater voice and the possibility of becoming communicators based on the empowerment of the digital media environment (Hussein et al, 2020;Mahl et al, 2022). When the growth of the public's scientific literacy cannot keep up with the growth of their voice power in the digital age, Xu and Lu (2019) found that conspiracy theories about GMOs are more likely to appear on the Chinese Internet.…”

Conspiracy theories in digital environments: Moving the research field forward

“…Many conspiracy theories are conceptually ambivalent and analytically complicated. First, even though existing definitions share conceptual elements for understanding conspiracy theories, a comprehensive and consistent framework on how to operationalise ‘conspiracy theories’ is still lacking ( Mahl et al, 2022 ). Second, conspiracy narratives are notoriously diverse and intertwined simultaneously.…”

“…Despite the rapidly growing research interest, scholarship can clearly benefit from further diversification and from integrating more heterogeneous research perspectives. A recent systematic review by Mahl and colleagues (2022) demonstrates that, on the level of geo-location and language, prior studies of conspiracy theories online strongly focused on Western democracies and Anglophone content, neglecting non-Western countries, the Global South and countries in which English is not the dominant language. Regarding the analysed platforms, Mahl and colleagues (2022) demonstrate that studies of conspiracy theories on digital media focus predominantly on major Silicon Valley platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube and not, for example, on non-Western platforms.…”

“…A recent systematic review by Mahl and colleagues (2022) demonstrates that, on the level of geo-location and language, prior studies of conspiracy theories online strongly focused on Western democracies and Anglophone content, neglecting non-Western countries, the Global South and countries in which English is not the dominant language. Regarding the analysed platforms, Mahl and colleagues (2022) demonstrate that studies of conspiracy theories on digital media focus predominantly on major Silicon Valley platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube and not, for example, on non-Western platforms. In addition, methodological innovation is needed to fully leverage the potential of digital data for conspiracy theory research, such as tools/dictionaries built to conduct automated content analyses of conspiracy theory-related content.…”

Science communication in the face of skepticism, populism, and ignorance: what ‘Don’t Look Up’ tells us about science denial — and what it doesn’t

“…Don't Look Up tells the story of a team of scientists whose research on a deadly comet approaching Earth is ignored by significant parts of the general population and undermined by the ambitions of politicians -specifically those of the conservative US President Janie Orlean. The film shows several more facets of contemporary challenges to scientific expertise beyond science denial, hostility against scientists, and partisan reasoning, for example conspiracy theories on social media [Mahl, Schäfer & Zeng, 2022], corporate counter-research [Oreskes & Conway, 2010], and populist anti-elitism [Mede & Schäfer, 2020]. Don't Look Up thus offers a vivid picture of current anti-science resentment, the societal settings surrounding it, and ways in which scientists and science communicators can -or cannot -respond to it.…”