The campaigns of the 2024 election are substantially reliant on which candidate can appear more in touch with the average American, as is usually the case. Yet despite their efforts to appeal to everyday people, many voters distrust Vice President Harris and former President Trump and vocalize an overall disillusionment with the government. This is not a new phenomenon, but much of the suspicion voters have today is rooted in conspiracy theories, which have become more mainstream in the last 15 years.
Most people understand the term “conspiracy theory” to mean a belief that information and reality are being distorted by a particular group. The powerful sector behind the manipulation is almost always the U.S. government, although lower-stakes theories may implicate corporations or a vague group of “elites”. While certain ideas date back decades, the explosion of social media has broadened the audiences of fringe believers; everyone from grandparents on Facebook to teenagers on TikTok is being exposed to concepts that would never cross their minds in an offline world.
It is undeniable that many people who perpetuate conspiracy theories online have deplorable beliefs, but a significant amount of their audience doesn’t realize this due to desensitization. Social media posts constantly provide false equivalencies by presenting frivolous ideas alongside dangerous ones. Arguably the cornerstone of Generation Z’s familiarity with this topic is Shane Dawson’s series of YouTube videos dedicated to conspiracy theories. One of the 150 videos discusses intriguing auditory illusions in a Rihanna song as well as serious inquiries into the shape of the Earth and has over 40 million views. TikTok hosts a bevy of similar content, which has led to fierce arguments that Helen Keller did not, in fact, exist and managed to briefly revive Pizzagate a few years back. When teenagers consume this content among memes and trending songs, why shouldn’t they view conspiracy theories as light entertainment?
This normalization of lies and disinformation runs infinitely deep and infinitely more menacing, as much of it targets minority groups. Misleading or false claims about critical race theory being taught in elementary schools and drag queens being incessantly accused of exposing children to sexual content have peppered social media for years now. These are not issues that would typically affect policy, but the culture war that has spawned from contemporary social progress makes them inherently political. I discussed this phenomenon with Joan Marcus, a professor at Ithaca College who teaches a seminar on this topic, in which she emphasized how these theories capitalize on people’s economic and cultural insecurities. She views the scapegoating of minorities as “a simple answer to a complex problem”; a flimsy way to explain legitimate faults in economic and political systems. When people become disillusioned with society, they are more willing to consider these explanations and beliefs.
The current political climate openly acknowledges and occasionally embraces outrageous ideas, such as the false claims about President Obama’s birthplace that were endorsed by Trump, his successor. During the Presidential debate in September, Trump claimed that Haitian immigrants were eating pets in Ohio and doctors in West Virginia were performing “execution(s) after birth” on infants. Trump has also refused to acknowledge his proven defeat in the 2020 election and has maintained that legal proceedings against him are being orchestrated by Democrats as political sabotage. Despite these fictitious statements, Trump is just barely trailing Harris in election polls; this election will be incredibly close.
Ludicrous claims and theories never used to be seriously addressed by politicians, but they are now a staple of present-day Washington. Americans’ morbid curiosity about dark secrets hidden from the public eye and their cynicism towards problematic systems have been coupled to create a culture that seemingly places its trust in nothing. The quests to uncover the truth about JFK’s assassination and dismantle nonexistent cabals are symptoms of the same fatal disease: Americans have lost faith in their government. Voters’ attraction towards candidates who challenge the norm is emblematic of this general trend.
Professor Marcus perhaps put it best when she boiled this whole issue down to the anti-vaccination movement. She posited that if there were a scientific consensus of 99% on a particular issue, many would feel more inclined to listen to the 1% minority. “Here’s the one rebel who’s saying something different,” she said. “We imagine ourselves rebels who are more intelligent than all the sheep who are believing the 99%.” This nation was founded because rebels dared to question authority; though many conspiracy theorists view themselves in the same manner, their beliefs are inimical to the well-being of the country.
Brian Murray is a first-year writing for film, TV, and emerging media major who believes in the importance of discussing the impact of conspiracy theories on politics. They can be reached at [email protected]