The Atlantic
What Conspiracy Theorists Don’t Believe
Distinguishing excessive doubt from excessive belief can help inform how to bring a conspiracy theorist back to reality.
March 16, 2021
Paul Spella / The Atlantic
Some people believe the most extraordinary things. Earth is flat, and airplane GPS is rigged to fool pilots into thinking otherwise. COVID-19 vaccines are a pretext to inject thought-controlling microchips into us all. The true president of the United States is Donald Trump; his inauguration will happen on January 20, make that March 4, make that a date to be arranged very soon.
The question “How could anybody believe this stuff?” comes naturally enough. That may not be the most helpful question, however. Conspiracy theorists believe strange ideas, yes. But these outlandish beliefs rest on a solid foundation of
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