Editing Conspiracy theory (section)

==Popularity==
Conspiracy beliefs are widespread around the world.<ref name="van ProoijenDouglas2018"/> In rural Africa, common targets of conspiracy theorizing include societal elites, enemy tribes, and the Western world, with conspirators often alleged to enact their plans via sorcery or witchcraft; one common belief identifies modern technology as itself being a form of sorcery, created with the goal of harming or controlling the people.<ref name="van ProoijenDouglas2018"/> In China, one widely published conspiracy theory claims that a number of events including the [[rise of Hitler]], the [[1997 Asian financial crisis]], and [[climate change]] were planned by the [[Rothschild family]], which may have led to effects on discussions about [[Monetary policy of China|China's currency policy]].<ref name="SunsteinVermeule2009"/><ref name="Byford2011">{{cite book|author=J. Byford|title=Conspiracy Theories: A Critical Introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m5Er9ELOwQkC|date=12 October 2011|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-0-230-34921-6|pages=7–8}}</ref>

Conspiracy theories once limited to fringe audiences have become commonplace in [[mass media]], contributing to conspiracism emerging as a [[cultural phenomenon]] in the United States of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.{{sfn|Barkun|2003|p=58}}<ref name="Camp 1997">{{Cite book|title=Selling Fear: Conspiracy Theories and End-Times Paranoia|author=Camp, Gregory S.|publisher=Commish Walsh|year=1997|asin=B000J0N8NC}}</ref><ref name="Goldberg 2001">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/enemieswithincul00gold_0|title=Enemies Within: The Culture of Conspiracy in Modern America|author=Goldberg, Robert Alan|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2001|isbn=978-0-300-09000-0|access-date=6 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217045836/https://archive.org/details/enemieswithincul00gold_0|archive-date=17 December 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Fenster 2008">{{Cite book|title=Conspiracy Theories: Secrecy and Power in American Culture|author=Fenster, Mark|publisher=University of Minnesota Press |edition=2nd|year=2008|isbn=978-0-8166-5494-9}}</ref> The general predisposition to believe conspiracy theories cuts across partisan and ideological lines. Conspiratorial thinking is correlated with antigovernmental orientations and a low sense of political efficacy, with conspiracy believers perceiving a governmental threat to individual rights and displaying a deep skepticism that who one votes for really matters.<ref>Adam M. Enders, "Conspiratorial Thinking and Political Constraint". ''Public Opinion Quarterly'' 83.3 (2019): 510–533.</ref>

Conspiracy theories are often commonly believed, some even being held by the majority of the population.<ref name="van ProoijenDouglas2018"/><ref name="SunsteinVermeule2009"/><ref name="Brotherton2015-i">{{cite book|author=Robert Brotherton|title=Suspicious Minds: Why We Believe Conspiracy Theories|chapter=Introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=awrcCQAAQBAJ|date=19 November 2015|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-4729-1564-1}}</ref> A broad cross-section of Americans today gives credence to at least some conspiracy theories.<ref>{{cite book|last1=West|first1=Harry G.|last2=Sanders|first2=Todd|year=2003|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HeMdeV_LvAMC&pg=PP9|title=Transparency and conspiracy: ethnographies of suspicion in the new world order|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=978-0-8223-3024-0|page=4|access-date=18 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170122093329/https://books.google.com/books?id=HeMdeV_LvAMC&pg=PP9|archive-date=22 January 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> For instance, a study conducted in 2016 found that 10% of Americans think the [[chemtrail conspiracy theory]] is "completely true" and 20–30% think it is "somewhat true".<ref name=Gizearth /> This puts "the equivalent of 120 million Americans in the 'chemtrails are real' camp".<ref name=Gizearth>{{cite news|last=Kahn|first=Brian|date=2 November 2017|title=There's a Damn Good Chance Your Neighbor Thinks Chemtrails Are Real|url=https://earther.gizmodo.com/theres-a-damn-good-chance-your-neighbor-thinks-chemtrai-1820077077|work=Gizmodo Earther|access-date=5 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190307173758/https://earther.gizmodo.com/theres-a-damn-good-chance-your-neighbor-thinks-chemtrai-1820077077|archive-date=7 March 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Belief in conspiracy theories has therefore become a topic of interest for sociologists, psychologists and experts in [[folklore]].

Conspiracy theories are widely present on the [[World Wide Web|Web]] in the form of [[blog]]s and [[YouTube]] videos, as well as on [[social media]]. Whether the Web has increased the prevalence of conspiracy theories or not is an open research question.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Wood, M.|title=Has the Internet been good for conspiracy theorising?|journal=Psychology Postgraduate Affairs Group (PsyPAG) Quarterly|year=2015|number=88|pages=31–33|url=http://www.psypag.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Issue-88.pdf|access-date=12 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150813062541/http://www.psypag.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Issue-88.pdf|archive-date=13 August 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> The presence and representation of conspiracy theories in [[search engine]] results has been monitored and studied, showing significant variation across different topics, and a general absence of reputable, high-quality links in the results.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Ballatore, A.|title=Google chemtrails: A methodology to analyze topic representation in search engine results|journal=[[First Monday (journal)|First Monday]]|year=2015|volume=20|number=7|url=http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/5597|doi=10.5210/fm.v20i7.5597|access-date=12 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924102123/http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/5597|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=live|doi-access=free}}</ref>

One conspiracy theory that propagated through former US President Barack Obama's time in office<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Enders|first1=Adam M.|last2=Smallpage|first2=Steven M.|last3=Lupton|first3=Robert N.|date=9 July 2018|title=Are All 'Birthers' Conspiracy Theorists? On the Relationship Between Conspiratorial Thinking and Political Orientations|journal=British Journal of Political Science|volume=50|issue=3|pages=849–866|doi=10.1017/s0007123417000837|s2cid=149762298}}</ref> claimed that he was [[Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories|born in Kenya, instead of Hawaii where he was actually born]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sweek|first=Joel|date=October 2006|title=Michael Barkun. A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003. xii+243 pp. $24.95 (cloth).|journal=The Journal of Religion|volume=86|issue=4|pages=691–692|doi=10.1086/509680}}</ref> Former governor of Arkansas and political opponent of Obama [[Mike Huckabee]] made headlines in 2011<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hunt|first=Albert R.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/04/us/04iht-letter04.html|title=Republicans Ride Theories of the Fringe|date=3 April 2011|work=The New York Times|agency=[[Bloomberg News]]|access-date=23 April 2020|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110408044013/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/04/us/04iht-letter04.html|archive-date=8 April 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> when he, among other members of [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] leadership, continued to question Obama's citizenship status.

{|class="wikitable sortable"
|+colspan=3 align=center|'''Belief in conspiracy theories in the United States, December 2020 – NPR/Ipsos poll, ±3.3%'''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/12/30/951095644/even-if-its-bonkers-poll-finds-many-believe-qanon-and-other-conspiracy-theories|title=Even If It's 'Bonkers,' Poll Finds Many Believe QAnon And Other Conspiracy Theories|publisher=[[NPR]]}}</ref>
|-
! Conspiracy theory
! Believe
! Not sure
|-
|"A group of Satan-worshipping elites who run a child sex ring are trying to control our politics and media" ([[QAnon]])
| {{right|17%}}
| {{right|37%}}
|-
| "Several mass shootings in recent years were staged hoaxes" ([[crisis actor]] theory)
| {{right|12%}}
| {{right|27%}}
|-
| [[Barack Obama]] was not born in the United States ([[birtherism]])
| {{right|19%}}
| {{right|22%}}
|-
| [[Moon landing conspiracy theories]]
| {{right|8%}}
| {{right|20%}}
|-
| [[9/11 conspiracy theories]]
| {{right|7%}}
| {{right|20%}}
|}