Partisanship, Individual Differences, and News Media Exposure as Predictors of Conspiracy Beliefs

Partisanship, Individual Differences, and News Media Exposure as Predictors of Conspiracy Beliefs

Conspiracy theories are woven into America’s social and political fabric. While such beliefs help some individuals organize their political world, their popularity also raise concerns about the health of a democracy when those governed also suspect powerful forces work against their interests. The r...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journalism & mass communication quarterly Vol. 95; no. 3; pp. 691 - 713
Main Author: Hollander, Barry A.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01-09-2018
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects:
American culture
Conspiracy
Democracy
Individual differences
News media
Partisanship
Polls & surveys
Popularity
Power
misperceptions
conspiracy theories
news exposure
democracy
partisanship
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Summary:Conspiracy theories are woven into America’s social and political fabric. While such beliefs help some individuals organize their political world, their popularity also raise concerns about the health of a democracy when those governed also suspect powerful forces work against their interests. The research here examines national survey data to demonstrate such beliefs have both partisan and individual difference explanations. Generic news media exposure offers little explanatory power, but exposure to Fox News programming predicts greater belief in theories critical of Democrats.
ISSN:1077-6990
2161-430X
DOI:10.1177/1077699017728919