Elites can publicize conspiracies but cannot invent them from nothing

Evidence

As with partisan politics and the information environment, crying wolf is costly in the competitive game of politics. Rabblerousing elites (this means you, Donald Trump) can catalyze conspiracy theories in the minds of highly predisposed partisans, but that is unlikely to spread further. Demagogues are usually successful for only brief periods of time in the United States, and then the fundamentals of the information environment win out. Elites are well positioned to get access to conspiratorial evidence and to publicize it, but they cannot create it from scratch. Information quality is critical. — Joseph E. Uscinski and Joseph M. Parent, American Conspiracy Theories, 681

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Elite rhetoric substantially raises public conspiracy talk — Joseph E. Uscinski and Joseph M. Parent, American Conspiracy Theories, 679; Out-of-power groups always drive conspiracy talk as winners disengage — Joseph E. Uscinski and Joseph M. Parent, American Conspiracy Theories, 590; Rooted conspiracy ideas gain legitimacy that novel inventions lack — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic…, 344 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Elites read Jewish success as conspiracy rather than merit #exemplifies (0.80) — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 263
• Ordinary people can generate conspiracy theories on demand #contradicts (0.78) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 218