From “Nasa Lies” to “Reptilian Eyes”: Mapping Communication About 10 Conspiracy Theories, Their Communities, and Main Propagators on Twitter

Abstract

In recent years, conspiracy theories have pervaded mainstream discourse. Social media, in particular, reinforce their visibility and propagation. However, most prior studies on the dissemination of conspiracy theories in digital environments have focused on individual cases or conspiracy theories as a generic phenomenon. Our research addresses this gap by comparing the 10 most prominent conspiracy theories on Twitter, the communities supporting them, and their main propagators. Drawing on a dataset of 106,807 tweets published over 6 weeks from 2018 to 2019, we combine large-scale network analysis and in-depth qualitative analysis of user profiles. Our findings illustrate which conspiracy theories are prevalent on Twitter, and how different conspiracy theories are separated or interconnected within communities. In addition, our study provides empirical support for previous assertions that extremist accounts are being “deplatformed” by leading social media companies. We also discuss how the implications of these findings elucidate the role of societal and political contexts in propagating conspiracy theories on social media.

Tearing apart the “evil” twins: A general conspiracy mentality is not the same as specific conspiracy beliefs

“…Conspiracy theories exist for virtually any class of events -from natural disasters, celebrity death, (lack of) technological progress, to pandemics [1,2]. Although such specific conspiracy theories appear as diverse as the events they seek to explain, their endorsements cling together in a seemingly close-knit network of conspiracy beliefs [3,4].…”

Angry Enough to Riot: An Analysis of In-Group Membership, Misinformation, and Violent Rhetoric on TheDonald.win Between Election Day and Inauguration

“…Although TheDonald.win has been labeled as a home for online right-wing extremism, it is far from the only home for online right-wing extremism. Other modern digital spaces have been noted for their place in this ecosystem as well, such as 4chan, 8chan, Parler, and Gab (Kennedy et al, 2018;Mahl et al, 2021;Ng et al, 2021;Zelenkauskaite et al, 2021). TheDonald.win has been often noted for its contribution to the rise in online right-wing extremism, especially as it relates to the questions over the deliberate use of disinformation and vague threats to cloud political discourse (Zimdars & Mcleod, 2020).…”

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

“…The spread of critical, hostile, and populist reservations against scientific expertise is closely intertwined with the media and communication ecology of contemporary societies: for example, newspaper reporting may feature (and challenge) climate change skeptics [Brüggemann & Engesser, 2014]. Social networking sites may harbor (and deplatform) conspiracy theorists [Mahl, Zeng & Schäfer, 2021]. Instant messaging services may allow users to share (and debunk) mis-and disinformation [Rossini, Stromer-Galley, Baptista & de Oliveira, 2021].…”