Weaponized Conspiracy Theories: A New Method for Strategic Communicators to Analyze Conspiracy Theories in the Service of Malign Actors

Abstract

Scientific research has proven that conspiracy theories can result in a variety of social harms. History has proven that a conspiracy theory can serve as an information weapon similar to propaganda. The initial problem they face is determining what is and what is not a conspiracy theory because there is no real consensus on what constitutes a conspiracy theory. Just because a communicative text presents a paranoid argument does not automatically make it a conspiracy theory. Recent psychological research, presented in the Existential Threat Model, offers a definitive structure for conspiracy theories, but the model has never been tested in a communication context. This study offers an initial test of the model on a Kremlin backed website known for spreading conspiracy theories and propaganda. The results reveal that the Existential Threat Model has much to offer strategic communicators tasked with combating adversarial conspiracy theories.