Conspiracy theories succeed only when anchored in issues people care about

Evidence

What all these theories have in common is that they use a grain of truth, a real event – something people care about – in order to gain mainstream traction and appeal. The reason why you have probably never heard of Alan Tarica’s conspiracy theory about Shakespeare’s sonnets is because, even though it is anchored around a real discussion about authorship, most people probably don’t really care that much whether or not Shakespeare wrote his own sonnets. — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 748

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Conspiracy theories stay viable by anchoring to real events people care about — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 747; Stigma level, not truth, determines which conspiracy beliefs reach mass audiences. — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic…, 417; Marginalized groups retain conspiracy theories longer than groups with variable fortunes. — Joseph E. Uscinski and Joseph M. Parent, American Conspiracy Theories, 107

Broader Connections

• Stigma level, not truth, determines which conspiracy beliefs reach mass audiences. #qualifies (0.80) — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 417