There have always been conspiracy theories [the JFK assassination, the Trilateralists, the moon landing etc.], however, they now seem to pop up and spread faster than ever before. Moreover, in the past they were generally viewed as minor irritants restricted to small fringe groups like the followers of Lyndon LaRouche in the 1970s and 80s. Today, they are increasingly part of our national debate on critical public policy issues such as climate change, voting rights, the Covid

Recent academic research shows that Republicans and men are more likely to buy into popular Covid-19 myths including claims that "China or the U.S. accidentally released the virus; that 5G cell towers are causing the virus; that Bill Gates is plotting to somehow inject us with a vaccine [containing a tracking device]; and that scientists are trying to make Donald Trump look bad by exaggerating the seriousness of the pandemic." Political psychologist, Dr. Joanne Miller, of the

Even Republicans in Congress are distancing themselves today from President Trump's deranged tweet yesterday about an elderly protester in Buffalo, NY. Trump tweeted a conspiracy theory that he had heard about the man. Trump, Twitter: "Buffalo protester shoved by Police could be an ANTIFA provocateur. 75 year old Martin Gugino was pushed away after appearing to scan police communications in order to black out the equipment. @OANN I watched, he fell harder than was pushed. Was

After the release of the Mueller report the more conspiratorial minded members of the right-wing, egged on by Attorney General William Barr, concocted theories to suggest that the FBI "spied" on the Trump campaign for some nefarious purposes. Trump's Department of Justice debunked this theory last year. Newsweek: "...After Trump tweeted last year about "Spygate," which alleged the FBI planted a spy in his 2016 presidential campaign, DOJ investigated. They found nothing to sup

A new study conducted by researchers at UCLA found that individuals with a conservative world view were more likely to believe conspiracy theories about potential threats and see dark forces at work that could endanger their well-being. Such fears make conservatives more suspicious of new public policy proposals and a changing social environment. UCLA Newsroom: "The study found that people who were more conservative tended to have a higher “conspiracy mentality.” UCLA Newsroo