Nov 2, 2021 | Arts & Culture
By Anders Furze Although scientific evidence says the Earth is a sphere orbiting the Sun, there are some people around who still think our planet is flat… and social media plays a role. If you type ‘flat Earth’ into Google, you’d be joining a group of people...
May 4, 2021 | Arts & Culture
By Matthew Marques, James McLennan, John Kerr, Matthew Ling & Matt Williams Research suggests avoiding ridicule, showing empathy, affirming critical thinking and appealing to trusted message sources can help when talking to someone who believes in conspiracy...
Jan 11, 2021 | Arts & Culture, Politics & Society
By Danny Osborne “By situating the cause of these events in the hands of a few nefarious actors, conspiracy theorists are able to take the unpredictability out of life and regain a sense of control.” From bushfires to a pandemic that led to nation-wide...
Nov 19, 2020 | Arts & Culture, Politics & Society
By Peter Geoghegan Social media platforms have allowed US conservatives to delegitimise the election and sow mistrust of democracy. In late August, roughly five weeks before Americans went to the polls, a story appeared in The New York Times reporting new data about...
Aug 27, 2020 | Arts & Culture, Politics & Society
By M Dentith Polls indicate that the public broadly supports the coalition government’s COVID-19 pandemic response, and public condemnation of conspiracy theories about COVID-19 is easy to find. When the Prime Minister, Jacinda Arden, and the Director-General of...
Jun 14, 2019 | Arts & Culture
Post-truth. Alternative facts. Fake news. We are living in a world where conspiracy theories are allowed to flourish. With every mass shooting, terrorist attack, and new political policy announcement, it seems like a new conspiracy theory will be dreamt up somewhere...
Dec 6, 2018 | Arts & Culture, Politics & Society
By Heather Wood & Leslie Hahner Heather Woods and Leslie Hahner discuss how mainstream media helps to weaponize far-right conspiracy theories. Once an anti-Semitic rumor moved from fringe to the mainstream, it took less than two weeks for violence to erupt. The...
May 29, 2018 | Arts & Culture
By Gareth Dorrian & Ian Whittaker Flat Earthers vs climate change sceptics: why conspiracy theorists keep contradicting each other. Flat Earthism and the idea that human activity is not responsible for climate change are two of the most prevalent conspiracy...