The research we review spans a range of methodologies including content analysis of texts, discourse analysis of political tracts and private interviews, analyses of public survey data, psychological experiments, studies of personality variables, trends within individuals over time, archival studies of societal trends, computer simulations, and automated computerized coding. We consider conspiracy theories ranging in topics from science, health, the environment, immigration, racism, terrorism, and politics to international relations. In this article, we review studies from psychology, political science, sociology, history, information sciences, and the humanities. Also, conspiracy theories drive people to reject scientific consensuses, most notably the consensus around anthropogenic climate change. Conspiracy theories have also driven people to reject mainstream medicine to the point where once-cured diseases are now making a comeback in some parts of the world. Many perpetrators of terrorist attacks were known to be keen supporters of conspiracy theories. Across history they have been closely linked to prejudice, witch hunts, revolutions, and genocide. It is imperative that scholars better understand conspiracy theories for many important reasons. Conspiracy theories are abundant in social and political discourse, yet a coordinated research agenda to grapple with their causes and consequences has only developed in the last decade.
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