9 votes

Culture, community and narratives: key elements of violent conspiracy theories

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  1. TeaMusic
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    I'm sad to see I'm the first to comment after two days-- I think conspiratorial thinking is an interesting topic to discuss. My normal interest is specifically with regards to the role of...

    I'm sad to see I'm the first to comment after two days-- I think conspiratorial thinking is an interesting topic to discuss.

    My normal interest is specifically with regards to the role of antisemitism is conspiratorial thinking (of which there is a lot) but I think this focus on social structures is quite important.

    My question, which the author fails to address, is if there is some element of "virtue signaling" when a conspiracy theorist acts out on their beliefs. Are acts of violence (or even nonviolent acts of protest) a way for these conspiracy theorists to signal commitment to the group? Would they still engage if it were not public? Do they do it for show? Or are they actually "true believers" committed to the cause?

    3 votes