Conspiracy Theory: Truth Claim or Language Game?

Bjerg, Ole; Presskorn-Thygesen, Thomas

doi:10.1177/0263276416657880

Cited by 42 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Some people are clearly repulsed by these terms, while others are attracted to them (see Wood, ). Nonetheless, conspiracy theories are a controversial subject (Bjerg & Presskorn‐Thygesen, ; Smallpage, ) which can arouse passions both in and out of academia (Cullen, ; Lewandowsky, ).…”

Section: Definitionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Conspiracy Theories

Douglas

Uscinski

Sutton

et al. 2019

Political Psychology

959

907

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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 ask three specific questions. First, what factors are associated with conspiracy beliefs? Our review of the literature shows that conspiracy beliefs result from a range of psychological, political, and social factors. Next, how are conspiracy theories communicated? Here, we explain how conspiracy theories are shared among individuals and spread through traditional and social media platforms. Next, what are the societal risks and rewards associated with conspiracy theories? By focusing on politics and science, we argue that conspiracy theories do more harm than good. We conclude by suggesting several promising avenues for future research.

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Section: Definitionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Conspiracy Theories

Douglas

Uscinski

Sutton

et al. 2019

Political Psychology

959

907

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…All three labels -pseudoscience, denier and conspiracy theory -are derogatory, at least when applied by supporters of orthodoxy [Bjerg and Presskorn-Thygesen, 2016]. Labelling using these terms is both a method of boundary work and a method of denigration.…”

Section: Wikipediamentioning

confidence: 99%

Policing orthodoxy on Wikipedia: Skeptics in action?

Martin¹

2021

JCOM

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Wikipedia has been accused of being biased against challengers to scientific orthodoxy due to efforts by editors having affinities with the Skeptics movement. Examination of Wikipedia, including entries on fluoridation, the origin of AIDS and vaccination, reveals several characteristics typical of a Skeptics sensibility, including the definition of scepticism, lists of deviant ideas, derogatory labelling of heterodox viewpoints, and categories established without reference to reliable sources.

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“…This is not to rule conspiratorial intentions or events out from the situation in principle. It is only to separate its hypothetical explanations from the actual processes of governmentality that this paper has analyzed (see Bjerg and Presskorn-Thygesen 2017).…”

Section: Summary and Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

To Be or Not to Be Governed Like That? Harmful and/or Offensive Advertising Complaints in the United Kingdom’s (Self-) Regulatory Context

2020

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This paper demonstrates how the UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) governs advertising ethics with and on behalf of its members and stakeholders. Drawing on an archive of 310 non-commercial (i.e., not-for-profit and public) adjudication reports, we highlight the substantive norms and procedural mechanisms through which the ASA governs advertising complaints alleging offence and/or harm. Substantively, the ASA precludes potential normative transgressions by publishing, disseminating, consulting upon, and updating detailed codes of advertising conduct. Procedurally, the ASA adjudicates between allegations and justifications of offence and harm on a received complaint-by-complaint basis, often upon consequentialist grounds. Such consequentialism, we claim, has the effect of normalizing power imbalances between the ASA's members, on the one hand, and wider stakeholders, on the other hand. The paper argues that, in the context of UK advertising, what Michel Foucault called the right 'to be or not to be governed like that' is enjoyed by relatively few subjects. Having demonstrated how UK advertising practices are governed, the paper closes with suggestions as to how they might be governed otherwise.

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Conspiracy Theory: Truth Claim or Language Game?

Cited by 42 publications

References 38 publications

Understanding Conspiracy Theories

Understanding Conspiracy Theories

Policing orthodoxy on Wikipedia: Skeptics in action?

To Be or Not to Be Governed Like That? Harmful and/or Offensive Advertising Complaints in the United Kingdom’s (Self-) Regulatory Context

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