Deconstructing Conspiracy Theories

At the peak of the pandemic, conspiracy theories about COVID-19 abounded on social media. Many of these were rooted in disinformation and right-wing extremist ideas that put democracy at risk. Studies have shown that conspiracy beliefs weaken intentions for normative participation (e.g., petitions, demonstrations) and increase intentions for both non-normative participation (e.g., unauthorized strikes) and violent participation (e.g., confrontations with police). The current study asks what interventions can counteract possible detrimental influences of conspiracy theories on democracy. Based on previous literature in psychology and communication studies on misinformation and disinformation beliefs, behavioral change, and political participation, we proposed two factors: (1) political self-efficacy and (2) knowledge about the mechanisms of conspiracy theories. We tested these in an online intervention during Germany’s first COVID-19 lockdown in May 2020. Hypotheses and analysis plans were pre-registered. We found, when controlling for covariates, that people who learned about the mechanisms and content of conspiracy theories engaged in less non-normative political participation. This study provides practitioners in the field of media literacy education and extremist prevention with dos and don’ts for interventions against conspiracy theories.