Conspiracy theories in digital environments: Moving the research field forward
Open accessAbstract
In the past few years, the discussion of conspiracy theories has embroiled researchers, politicians and the public alike. During the COVID-19 pandemic in particular, the term ‘conspiracy theory’ became a buzzword in the news media, public communication and everyday discussions. The pandemic also demonstrated that conspiratorial narratives disseminated online are not benign, obscure and eventually harmless ideas, but can mislead policy making, hinder crisis relief and public health efforts, or undermine trust in institutions and science. Factors contributing to the prevalence of conspiracy theories are complex and include psychological as well as socio-political factors. This special issue focuses specifically on the role of digital media and how they shape the dissemination and mitigation of, as well as research on, conspiracy theories. The special issue includes 13 research articles by authors from 11 countries and regions, which provide timely insights into the phenomenon of conspiracy theories with cross-cultural and cross-platform advances.
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The proliferation of social media, especially alternative platforms with minimal moderation, has greatly facilitated the dissemination and consumption of conspiracy theories.
“The proliferation of social media, especially the emergence of numerous alternative platforms with minimal moderation, has greatly facilitated the dissemination and consumption of conspiracy theories.”
From The Seed of Doubt: Examining the Role of Alternative Social and News Media for the Birth of a Conspiracy Theory (2024) · cites this paper as Zeng et al., 2022
The ‘Affordance of digital media’ section (page unavailable) says digital media has amplified the visibility of conspiracy-theory content and that social-media platform dynamics can promote its circulation. The ‘Research conspiracy theories in digital environments’ section (page unavailable) notes migration to non-mainstream platforms, but does not say those platforms have minimal moderation or that their emergence has especially facilitated dissemination and consumption. The paper also questions whether digital media is the crucial cause of growth in conspiracy theories or belief in them. (LLM, conf=0.86)
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- Authors
- Zeng, J., Schäfer, M. S., & Oliveira, T. M.
- Affiliations
- University of Zurich (CH)
- Universidade Federal Fluminense (BR)
- Corresponding author
- Zeng, Jing
- Venue
- Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2022-08
- Volume
- 28
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 929-939
- ISSN
- 1354-8565 (ISSN-L)
- 1748-7382
- PMC
- PMC9483695
- OpenAlex
- W4296312686
- Cited by
- 21
- References
- 58
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 1
- FWCI
- 3.96
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Convergence The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich)
- Funders
- Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur FÃ&z.hfl;Ârderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung (IZBRZ1_186296)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Misinformation and Its Impacts
- Social Sciences › Communication › Communication and COVID-19 Impact
- Social Sciences › Communication › Public Relations and Crisis Communication
- Keywords
- conspiracy theories, digital media, digital dissemination, COVID-19 pandemic, misinformation, institutional trust, cross-cultural research
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