• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Thursday, October 2, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Chemistry

Beliefs in conspiracy theories may not be increasing

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
July 20, 2022
in Chemistry
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
“Conspiracy” typed out on a typewriter.
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

A new analysis contradicts popular thinking about beliefs in conspiracy theories, suggesting that such beliefs may not have actually increased over time. Joseph Uscinski of the University of Miami, Florida, and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on July 20, 2022.

“Conspiracy” typed out on a typewriter.

Credit: Markus Winkler, Unsplash, CC0 (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)

A new analysis contradicts popular thinking about beliefs in conspiracy theories, suggesting that such beliefs may not have actually increased over time. Joseph Uscinski of the University of Miami, Florida, and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on July 20, 2022.

Belief in a conspiracy theory involves holding the opinion that a small group of people has covertly coordinated to cause a certain event or circumstance, despite a lack of appropriate evidence. In recent years, the perception that beliefs in conspiracy theories have increased has become widespread among the general public, as well as among scholars, journalists, and policymakers, with many blaming social media. However, few studies have examined whether such perceptions actually hold true.

To help clarify whether beliefs in conspiracy theories are increasing, Uscinski and colleagues conducted four different survey analyses. For the first, they investigated whether beliefs in certain conspiracy theories—including theories related to COVID-19 and the Kennedy assassination—have increased among Americans. The second analysis evaluated beliefs in conspiracy theories, such as the idea that human-driven global warming is a hoax, in six European countries. The third analysis addressed Americans’ beliefs in which specific groups are conspiring, and the fourth measured general lines of thought in the U.S. linked to belief in conspiracy theories.

In all four analyses, the researchers found no statistically significant evidence that beliefs in conspiracy theories have increased over time. A greater number of beliefs in specific theories decreased than increased over time, and of those that did increase, none involved the COVID-19 pandemic nor QAnon.

The researchers emphasize the importance of caution in making inferences based in their findings and note that additional research will be needed to confirm the findings and to better understand beliefs in conspiracy theories, such as their psychological underpinnings and how they are promoted.

Nonetheless, these findings suggest that beliefs in conspiracy theories exist at certain baseline levels that may be concerning, and perhaps these levels are only now becoming more apparent to the public.

Dr. Adam Enders adds: “Despite popular claims about America slipping down the conspiracy theory rabbit hole into a state of post-truth, we do not find that conspiracism has increased over time. We examine beliefs in dozens of specific conspiracy theories, perceptions of who is likely to be involved in conspiracy theories, and the general predisposition to interpret events and circumstances as the product of conspiracy theories––in no case do we observe an average increase in conspiracy beliefs.”

Dr. Joseph Uscinski adds: “Some conspiracy theories are gaining in popularity, but many are not. At any given time, perhaps because of political circumstances, some conspiracy theories will be more attractive, but at the same time, many other will recede into history.”

#####

In your coverage please use this URL to provide access to the freely available article in PLOS ONE: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0270429

Citation: Uscinski J, Enders A, Klofstad C, Seelig M, Drochon H, Premaratne K, et al. (2022) Have beliefs in conspiracy theories increased over time? PLoS ONE 17(7): e0270429. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270429

Author Countries: U.S.A., U.K.

Funding: National Science Foundation Grant #2123635 paid for effort by JU, CK, MS, KP, and MM’s efforts. URL: https://www.nsf.gov/. Portions of the data used in this study was funded by the Leverhulme Trust. Project title: Conspiracy and Democracy URL: https://www.leverhulme.ac.uk/former-schemes/conspiracy-and-democracy. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.



Journal

PLoS ONE

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0270429

Method of Research

Survey

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Have beliefs in conspiracy theories increased over time?

Article Publication Date

20-Jul-2022

COI Statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Share14Tweet9Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

blank

Palladium Filters Pave the Way for More Affordable, Efficient Hydrogen Fuel Production

October 1, 2025
Revolutionary Organic Molecule Poised to Transform Solar Energy Harvesting

Revolutionary Organic Molecule Poised to Transform Solar Energy Harvesting

October 1, 2025

Innovative Biochar Technology Offers Breakthrough in Soil Remediation and Crop Protection

October 1, 2025

CATNIP Tool Expands Access to Sustainable Chemistry Through Data-Driven Innovation

October 1, 2025

POPULAR NEWS

  • New Study Reveals the Science Behind Exercise and Weight Loss

    New Study Reveals the Science Behind Exercise and Weight Loss

    90 shares
    Share 36 Tweet 23
  • Physicists Develop Visible Time Crystal for the First Time

    74 shares
    Share 30 Tweet 19
  • New Study Indicates Children’s Risk of Long COVID Could Double Following a Second Infection – The Lancet Infectious Diseases

    72 shares
    Share 29 Tweet 18
  • How Donor Human Milk Storage Impacts Gut Health in Preemies

    64 shares
    Share 26 Tweet 16

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Spirituality Eases Occupational Stress in Nurses’ Lives

Edge States Shaped by Eigenvalue, Eigenstate Winding

Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis: CA 19-9 and CA 72-4 Levels

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 60 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.