How Social Media Helps Spread Conspiracy Theories

Conspiracy theories are not new. However, they do spread faster, reach a larger audience, and last longer due to social media. In the past, they remained on the margins, being shared in small groups or on hard-to-locate websites. But, in mere seconds, a conspiracy theory can go viral with a tap of a finger, reaching millions.

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok have significantly transformed the way we consume, share, and interact with content. For better or worse, the world is more connected than ever before, and we are more connected to information than ever before: real information, false information, and misinformation. Conspiracy theories thrive in these environments often camouflaged in highly sensationalized material that makes them hard to ignore.

Social media allows others to communicate with a global audience without any expertise or credentials. It doesn’t matter who you are or what qualifications you have. If the post is interesting, it can—and often will—get shared, regardless of its veracity. The notion of “equal voice” is an enticing concept on the side of free speech. However, misinformation also has the same access to the audience plus in many cases, misinformation can spread faster than facts.

Unlike traditional outlets, there are no editorial checks or fact-checking prior to posting that work to contain or filter misinformation. As a result, conspiracy theories can advance unchecked. Many conspiracy theories are emotion-driven, either in terms of fear, anger, or curiosity. All emotions heighten susceptibility, and hence, shareability.

Social media platforms unintentionally create echo chambers—locations where users are constantly presented with only information that reinforces their beliefs.

Algorithmic recommendations and user-based preference feeds focus on individual consumption and history interacting with the platform.

The net effect of selective exposure is that users engage with excessive amounts of content that serves to confirm their own views and/or ideas and shores up dissent.

Echo chambers can also be seen as contributing to polarization by contributing to extreme or conspiratorial viewpoints, which further exacerbate divisions we are experiencing as a society.

The Danger of Echo Chambers

Social media echo chambers pose significant dangers to public discourse and societal cohesion. These chambers reinforce existing beliefs while filtering out opposing viewpoints, creating a distorted perception of reality.

Users within echo chambers are less exposed to diverse perspectives and factual information, which can lead to misinformation and polarization.

TikTok is now a prevalent source of conspiracy theories

The Impact of COVID-19 on Misinformation and Mistrust

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the spread of misinformation on social media, presenting unprecedented challenges to public health communication.

Surge in Misinformation

During the first stages of the pandemic, there was uncertainty regarding the origins of the virus, routes of transmission, and the best treatment, which resulted in large amounts of conflicting information online.

Seeking Alternative Media

When faced with conflicting messages from the mainstream media and government-recommended sources of information, many people sought other sources of information, such as social media, blogs, and forums.

Spread of Unverified Information

As a result, unverified theories and misinformation about COVID-19 became widespread on sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, often more than efforts to refute or correct misinformation.

Ethical Dilemmas

The widespread misinformation associated with the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted some ethical dilemmas concerning free speech and the role of digital platforms and others in limiting false and harmful content.

The Role of Algorithms and Virality

Every platform uses algorithms to show users content they will most likely review. The more a user interacts with a certain type of content—clicking, sharing, commenting—the more of that kind of content they will see. This can create an ‘echo chamber’ of ideas that reinforce the user’s beliefs, whether those beliefs are true or not.

Conspiracy theories are often built for virality. They make outrageous claims, use dramatic language, and include sensational images or videos. All of these factors elicit emotional responses and increase user engagement. The algorithm registers the attention, and boosting engagement pushes the spread even further, creating a negative feedback loop that amplifies misinformation.

The Role of Influencers in Amplifying Conspiracy Theories

Influencers play a significant role in shaping public opinion and discourse on social media, including the spread of conspiracy theories.

Amplification Power

Influencers have influence over significant numbers of people, where they will amplify their ideals or ideas to an audience, including conspiracy theories.

Credibility and Trustworthiness

Their level of perceived authenticity and credibility can also provide a level of legitimacy to misinformation, thereby validating conspiracy theories to their audiences.

Guidelines on Spread

When influencer(s) discuss and/or promote conspiracy theories, they may achieve very high levels of engagement with their posts, which leads to further amplifying these narratives and accelerating the momentum of conspiracies on social media networks.

Combating the Spread of Conspiracy Theories

It is the responsibility of corporations and communities alike to minimize the spread of conspiracies.

Encourage Critical Thinking and Media Literacy

Education is an important part of fighting against conspiracy theories. By teaching users to verify information before sharing, we can minimize the chance of spreading misinformation without intent.

Improve Content Moderation

Content moderation must be improved by platform providers. Strong and clearly defined content moderation will weaken the reach of harmful content, including conspiracy theories.

Enhanced Algorithm Transparency

It is especially important for platform providers to be transparent with how their algorithms operate. Some companies can be transparent about how content is recommended, or at least better associated with reducing the chance for unintentional amplification of conspiracies, and prioritize reviewing credible sources.

Support Fact-Checking Initiatives

Partnering with reliable fact-checkers can help validate facts and identify false claims, supporting users with accurate knowledge.

Build Community Resilience

It is key to develop online spaces to support open conversation and respectful debate. Users should be able to report misinformation to help build digital trust.

Collaboration Between All Stakeholders

Sharing developments and knowledge across sectors can help in developing comprehensive and effective approaches to address misinformation.

Real-World Example: QAnon and TikTok

One concrete example is QAnon. It began as a niche theory on anonymous message boards that found a large audience on platforms like Facebook and TikTok. TikTok was especially interesting, as it became a surprising content container.

In addition to conspiracy narratives, TikTok’s short video format and engaging videos helped to implement the conspiracy content in creative and eye-catching ways. Younger users in particular were exposed to these theories on TikTok’s “For You” page, which displayed content tailored to the individual or group user, without actually looking for it.

Given TikTok’s design for virality, these videos proliferated quickly. Even if they were removed later. By the time they were removed, millions of people may have already seen or shared that content.

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