Belief in one form of stigmatized knowledge predicts belief in unrelated others

Evidence

The quest for allies is structured by the nature of pseudoscience, which avoids seeking the consensus of the scientifi c community. Instead, its partisans utilize popular media and similar venues to present their views. To the extent that they receive support from those with academic credentials, it comes from individuals whose scientifi c expertise lies in areas remote from the matters in question. In this respect, changes in modes of communication can be crucial. Mechanisms like the Internet acquaint people who believe in one form of stigmatized knowledge with other forms. This process favors the expansion of their stigmatized-knowledge belief systems. Because those who accept stigmatized-knowledge claims often link stigmatization to conspiracies, they argue that powerful and immoral forces have plotted to suppress or delegitimize ideas that are true but work against the plotters’ interests. For this reason, those who believe the earth is hollow, or that aliens visit the earth in fl ying saucers, also often believe the world is run by a secret cabal. — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 545

It will be remembered that not only do conspiracy theories reside in this domain, but that believers in one kind of stigmatized knowledge are likely to fi nd other kinds attractive. Thus it is hardly surprising that those attracted to the birther theory might gravitate toward belief in FEMA concentration camps, the New World Order, or 9/11 plots. — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 905

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: A genuinely unifying mechanism: why ‘resistance to orthodoxy’ is cross-domain, why believers cluster pseudosciences together, and why stigmatization itself flips into evidence of a conspiracy.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic…, 545; Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic…, 905
• recurring: this claim recurs 2 times within its source
• XREF: connects to: Stigmatized knowledge persists but has lost its separateness — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic…, 1132; Polarized groups bundle unrelated beliefs into correlated packages — Cailin O’Connor and James Owen Weatherall, The Misinformation Age: How False…, 464; Belief in some conspiracies predicts endorsement of unrelated fictional ones — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 184 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Encountering one stigmatized belief exposes seekers to the whole domain #expands (0.82) — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 1105
• Awareness of one’s own multiple social categories predicts generalized tolerance beyond those categories #corroborates (0.75) — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 539