Brief exposure to conspiracy content reduces science acceptance and civic-mindedness

Evidence

In a key experiment after which this chapter takes its title, I exposed just over 300 regular people (not conspiracy theorists) to a two-minute video clip of a conspiracy movie about global warming, The Great Global Warming Swindle. Shockingly, I found that even after brief exposure (compared to various control videos) people were significantly less likely to support the scientific evidence on climate change and much less willing to sign a petition to help stop global warming. People also tended to be less civically minded in general after exposure, as indicated by a reduced willingness to want to volunteer and donate to charities in the near future. I described this as the ‘conspiracy effect’; even just brief exposure to this dangerous form of thinking decreases science acceptance and civic engagement. — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 196

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to contagion-of-misinformation studies and inoculation theory; also resonates with the knock-on effects of dehumanizing media seen in The New Crusades. — connects to: Conspiracy exposure reduces civic participation and political engagement — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 978; Conspiracy beliefs erode democratic participation and breed extremism — Holm Gero Hümmler, Ulrike Schiesser, Fact and Prejudice: How to Communicate…, 287
• QUESTION: What is the persistence of this effect — does it fade after hours or days? The author says ‘even brief exposure’ reduces engagement, inviting a durability question.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 196

Broader Connections

• Conspiracy exposure reduces civic participation and political engagement #corroborates (0.92) — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 978
• Conspiracy beliefs erode democratic participation and breed extremism #corroborates (0.85) — Holm Gero Hümmler, Ulrike Schiesser, Fact and Prejudice, 287