Conspiracy theories in United States politics

Conspiracy theories often arise during new political or social circumstances in which one group of people feels threatened by another group that is politically, religiously, ethnically, racially, or economically different.[1][8][9][4] Theories began as early as when Europeans began to colonize the United States and deemed Native Americans a threat.[10] As a result, many colonizers, including Cotton Mather, speculated that Native Americans were controlled by the devil.[1] Some even believed in the "myth of the super-chief" in which every Indigenous attack was orchestrated by a tribal chief, who controlled thousands of Native American soldiers and strived to wipe out the whites.[1]

Theories also arose in response to the counterculture, feminist, and anti-war era of the 1960s.[1] Many conservatives felt threatened and began to believe that the movements had been formed with communist motivations to undermine the U.S. government.[1] During the 1990s, many right-wing conspiracy theorists also feared that the Clintons were involved in drug cartels and assassinations.[1] Some have theorized that the government is planting drugs in predominately-black neighborhoods to breed a greater rate of incarceration and crime in the community.[1][9][7][2] In 2020, conspiracy theories spread out during the coronavirus pandemic partly because of the increased anxiety, larger number of people staying at home, and greater focus on the Internet and social media outlets.[11][12] One such conspiracy that proliferated from the 2020 Presidential election was QAnon.[13][14][11]

Conspiracy theories exist because of fear of the other or a frustration with one's own disenfranchisement.[9][8] They correlate with an increase in social, political, or economical change and are responses to rationalize anxiety about the events, and they bring them into context with the country's ideals and laws.[2][1] Frank Donner, a 1980s civil liberties lawyer, claimed:

Especially in times of stress, exaggerated febrile explanations of unwelcome reality come to the surface of American life and attract support. [The new conspiratorial movements] illuminate a striking contrast between our claims to superiority, indeed our mission as a redeemer nation to bring a new world order, and the extraordinary fragility of our confidence in our institutions. [That] has led some observers to conclude that we are, subconsciously, quite insecure about the value and permanence of our society.[1]

Conspiracy theories arise among all races and parties because of the fear of a society and a country destabilizing and how that would affect one's own life.[1][6][9] Conspiracy theories, according to Benedictine University Professor of Psychology James Davis, come in three related types:

A recent review proposes three categories of motivations underlying belief in conspiracy theories.... The motivation people have to seek causal explanations to reduce uncertainty... and to feel in control and safe in their lives.... A third motivation for conspiracy theory endorsement is the desire for individuals to see themselves and their group in a more positive light.[2]

Class structure is also likely to influence one's belief in a political conspiracy theory. Those who have a low income, a lack of higher education, or a lack of secure employment are more likely to believe in a conspiracy due to a general feeling of helplessness.[8][15] This lack of control is correlated with class: individuals from higher classes have been proven to feel more in control with their lives, employment, education, and standard of living.[8][15] A low socioeconomic status can generate political and economical anxiety and a desire to explain the dire circumstances. That helplessness may lead several to find a psychologically-soothing explanation: the idea that a group of government actors is plotting against them.[8]

Those with higher education or a higher IQ level still engage in conspiracy theories. In fact, many conspiracy theories require substantial mental effort to understand.[6] Believers are defined by more than just their class; they also engage in the psychological phenomenon of confirmation bias in which they accept information validating their beliefs and reject information that is inconsistent with their theories.[6][16]

Many individuals also live in positions in which specific government policies may cause economic distress. For example, many Americans believe that the government is forcing health industries to hide the cure for cancer.[1][17] They also have been taking drugs that are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration because they do not trust the medical industry.[1] This likely stems from a fear of and frustration with current U.S. policies on public health. Many ill Americans cannot afford healthcare and may look to sources that blame the medical industry, including conspiracies.[8][1] This may also originate from a history of fear about the government's lack of transparency or truth in terms of medication since American doctors once approved of mercury, radioactive material, and cigarettes and falsely deemed them to be healthy.[1][18][19]

The blue donkey and the red elephant are the symbols for the two main political parties.

Partisan affiliations sometimes determine belief in conspiracy theories, but this depends on the theory.[3] There is a correlation between political parties and beliefs in the "birther" conspiracy, the Kennedy assassination conspiracy, the "truther" conspiracy, the "levee branch" theory, and the "death panel" conspiracy. Partisanship loyalty affects beliefs in some theories, and "conspiratorial thinking," a general paranoia about the government,[20] determines others. Conspiracies directly affiliated with the Obama administration (e.g. the "birthers" and "death panel" conspiracies) leaned politically to the right,[21] and Democrats were less likely to believe in theories that lobbied against Obama and his policies.[3] As for the "levee branch," "truther," and Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories, both political parties had a similar number of people believing in them.[3] Individuals who believed in those specific theories also had a previous affinity for conspiratorial thinking or questioning the credibility of governmental actors.[20] However, it has also been studied that conspiratorial thinkers may be more focused on an anti-governmental mindset because of their lack of trust for higher authority, rather than a specific theory or party.[20]

Each partisan group is partial to believe in conspiracies that target the opposite party because of it disbelieves the other party's ideologies and policies.[3][22][21] Therefore, conspiracies can come from both political affiliations.[6][3] In fact, the University of Miami political scientist Joseph Uscinski stated that "both sides are equally conspiratorial in their thinking.... No one has a monopoly."[6]

Political parties are not alone in determining the cause of conspiratorial thinking. Rather, intuitionism and rationalism are two psychological patterns of thought that can determine specific conspiracies and perhaps even catalyze partisan divisions.[16] Intuitionism is individuals relying on their emotional responses to current events and then using heuristics to create an explanation for why the events are happening. Rationalists instead determine the causes and effects of events based on quantitative evidence.[16] Both intuitionists and rationalists believe in conspiracies, but intuitionists more commonly associate themselves with conspiracies for their association with more qualitative emotional data stemming from anxiety about society.[16]

The current polarization occurs because of increasingly far-right and far-left thinking, and may also come from the conflict between intuitionists and rationalists.[16] Because both have different ways of thinking, if an intuitionist conservative argues with a rational liberal or vice versa, disagreement arises.[16] Over the course of history, the right wing has become increasingly intuitionist, often using Biblical or Christian reasoning to justify political beliefs[23] or trust in conspiracies.[16] The left wing has been commonly associated with basing belief on quantitative thought, rather than religious affiliation.[24] Conspiratorial beliefs may stem from misinterpretation of numerical data.[16]

Often, political parties engage in us versus them mentality in understanding theories and believe that the opposite party started the conspiracy.[4] By tying specific theories to. political affiliation, many party members become polarized.[4] In fact, Steven Smallpage, Adam Enders, and Joseph Uscinski, political researchers and authors of Research and Politics, explained:

Although conspiracy theories are often attributed to cognitive hiccups, psychological traits, or psychopathologies, they actually follow the contours of more familiar partisan battles in the age of polarization.... Many conspiracy theories function more like associative partisan attitudes than markers of an alienated psychology.[4]

Conspiracy theories do not arise just from psychology but usually reflect divisions in society. As conspiracies increase, political divisions only grow with them.[4][5][11][25]

Lack of awareness of political issues may also perpetuate belief in conspiracy theories.[22] Often, because individuals believe that they have "just one vote" with little impact, they have little motivation to look at politics objectively or to discover credible information about current events.[22] Individuals apathetic towards politics may remain ignorant about issues. As voters latch onto ignorance and apathy, some may care little whether political information is biased or sometimes even true.[22] Lack of knowledge about how political systems function, or about a given political candidate, makes people much more likely to believe extreme or false claims, such as conspiracy theories.[22]

Conspiracy theories have evolved with the media. YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and other social media sites use algorithms to bring up posts, videos, and news that correlate with past searches and interests. Conservative users commonly receive conservative information, liberal users usually receive liberal news, and every opinion in between likely receives likewise.[5][26] Social media is a key element in creating echo chambers for conspiracy theorists.

Alex Jones, the creator of InfoWars.

One example of echo chambers is Alex Jones, the talk show host of InfoWars. A far-right host who discusses and analyzes political issues, Jones has frequently brought up information that was deemed extreme and sometimes even false, several times with little evidence to back up his claims.[5][27] Because of the ability of YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms to connect individuals with similar thinking and beliefs,[26] InfoWars and its community grew quickly, and like-minded individuals were given extreme information that they were more likely to believe because of their political affiliations.[5]

The fear of a divided nation, or the definition of what it means to be "American" also causes several conspiracies. Often, whenever a nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender differs from specific identities with which someone already affiliates, fear of national overthrow, oppression by a separate group, or attack on one's own way of life form a distinct "us versus them" mentality.[1] As such fears and mentalities proliferate within like-minded groups, conspiracy theories form on the opposing party to justify the group's existence and beliefs.[5][22][28][9][3]

For example, conspiracies have been perpetuated in the African-American community that the U.S. government instigated AIDS or cocaine into the population, which follows the fear of one group oppressing another (in this case, white Americans).[9][2][1][29][30] Conspiracies have also been created concerning Native Americans that either argue against or advocate for them.[10]

Robert Alan Goldberg, a University of Utah professor on history, also states that both stigmatized and more privileged groups struggle with conspiracy theories about the other:

"Recall a uniquely American word – Un-American. There are no unFrench, or UnSwedish, or UnIsraeli counterparts. Americans harbor this suspicion, the danger of betrayal from within...."[31]

Americans are afraid of having their identity as "Americans," comprised by the "other" group that is different from them culturally, ethnically, racially, or religiously.[31] Thus, several conspiracies have affected the social life of the Indigenous]], blacks, and whites.[1][7][10]

Several conspiracies have been generated out of elections; one election-specific conspiracy is the belief in election fraud. The fear that ballots may have been faked or cast incorrectly spans political parties, genders, and races.[25] Partisan affiliations and conspiratorial thinking are both to blame.[3] Before the election, a belief in widespread voter fraud influencing the election outcomes commonly came from conspiratorial thinking and distrust in higher authority.[25] After the election, belief in fraud was likely to come from partisan affiliations and usually originated from the losing party.[32] While both Democrats and Republicans believe in election fraud, they generally mean different types of fraud. Republicans often fear illegal ballots, such as from noncitizens, and Democrats worry that their supporters will be prevented from voting by voter suppression.[25] Conspiracy theories, the fear of an opposite party, and their influence as a result may also drive citizens to vote and influence the outcomes of an election.[4]

During the 2016 presidential election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, many conspiracy theories developed and spread on social media about the opposite candidate, particularly theories against Clinton or Trump's other opponents.[33] As a result, social media, especially Facebook, came under fire for fanning the flames of fake news.[34] Because 44% of Americans receive their news from Facebook, some claim that if Facebook does not filter disinformation in extreme posts, the conspiracies could be dangerous.[34] Many also argue about the potential conflicts censorship has with the First Amendment.[35]

Symbol of QAnon

In response to the 2020 presidential election from fears generated out of whether Trump or Joe Biden would win, several conspiracies spread on social media, particularly Facebook and Twitter.[36] The QAnon conspiracy theory originated in the U.S. and alleges that Trump is fighting against a deep state cabal of "child sex-abusing" and "Satan-worshipping" Democrats.[36][37][38][39][40][41] QAnon is a conspiracy with a massive following and has generated over 100 million comments and likes on Facebook in the year 2020 alone.[11]

The number of QAnon adherents is unclear,[37][38][42] but the group maintains a large online following.[37][38] Many have expressed the fear that QAnon's influence and its belief that Donald Trump will save the world make it support Trump's threats to prevent a peaceful transfer of power.[11] Since the Associated Press declared Biden the winner of the 2020 presidential election,[43] however, QAnon followers have experienced a crisis of faith or been in denial and believe that Trump is working behind the scenes to defeat the "shadowy forces" that determined Biden's win.[44]

Facebook has banned over 790 QAnon-related groups, 100 pages, and 1,500 advertisements in an attempt to dispel it.[45] Instagram has also taken action by restricting over 10,000 accounts for which QAnon could have an effect on the population and the election.[11][45] To avoid the creation of echo-chambers and further political polarization, Facebook prevents QAnon groups from forming but allows individuals to post their support occasionally. Facebook has also prevented followers from organizing fundraisers and selling merchandise to raise money for the organization.[45] After Trump lost the election to Biden, updates from Q declined dramatically, with the last post by Q made in December 2020.[46] QAnon beliefs became a part of attempts to overturn the election and culminated in Trump supporters attacking the United States Capitol. That has led to a further crackdown on QAnon-related content on social media.[36][47][48][49][50]

The stolen election conspiracy theory falsely claims that the 2020 United States presidential election was "stolen" from Donald Trump, who lost that election to Joe Biden. It justifies attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election, including the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol. A particular variant of this theory is the "Soros stole the election" conspiracy theory that claims that George Soros stole the election from Trump.[51] Polls conducted since the aftermath of the 2020 election have consistently shown that majority of Republicans falsely believe that the election was "stolen" from Trump.[52][53][54][55]