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12-08-2025
- Politics
- Buzz Feed
Surprising Age Group Most Vulnerable To Conspiracies
When it comes to falling down a rabbit hole with conspiracy theories ― QAnon, the 'Plandemic' conspiracy theory ― it's young people, not older demographics, who are more prone to buy into such beliefs. Age is the most significant predictor of conspiracy beliefs among all other factors, according to a study that was recently published in the journal Political Psychology. And it's people under 35 who are consistently more likely to endorse conspiratorial ideas than any other age group. 'From age 35 on, susceptibility to conspiracy theories decreases relatively steadily across older age groups,' said Jean-Nicolas Bordeleau, a research Fellow at the Jeff Bleich Centre for Democracy and Disruptive Technologies, at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia. Political conspiracy theories are pushing more and more family relationships to the breaking point. It's not uncommon to hear about siblings who are estranged over extremist political views or people who 'lost' their family members to QAnon, a conspiracy theory that posits that a satanic cabal of elites and pedophiles is working behind the scenes to orchestrate global events and enslave children. Conspiracy theories increasingly affect our elections, too; QAnon believers came out heavily for President Trump in recent elections; to them, Trump is a white-knight figure destined to bring down the aforementioned cabal. (That's what's made his current handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files such a divisive issue for many.) And voter fraud conspiracy theories drove thousands to violently storm the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, an act of domestic terrorism that threatened the nation's peaceful transfer of power. Given the growing impact of conspiracy theories in our political and personal lives, Bordeleau and Daniel Stockemer, a political studies professor at the University of Ottawa in Canada, thought it was high time to find out what factors most influence people buying in. 'We were really curious to understand why some people adhere to some really unbelievable narratives like the flat Earth theory and QAnon,' Bordeleau told HuffPost. 'Our results don't imply that all young people are attracted to all conspiracy theories, but what we can demonstrate is that younger people are more likely to believe various conspiracy theories than older individuals. If you assumed it might be Boomers who most frequently fall into conspiracy theory traps ― there are countless depressing stories in online forums of grown children detailing how their Fox News-watching parents fell into a QAnon rabbit hole after 'doing research' ― you're not alone. Bordeleau figured that would be the case, too. Younger citizens being more conspiratorial as a whole 'definitely goes against the typical stereotype of the older uncle at the Christmas table exposing the latest conspiracy theories,' Bordeleau said. 'Initially, we were quite surprised to see that younger people were most likely to believe in conspiracies.' To find all this out, the researchers conducted a meta analysis ― a kind of 'study of studies' ― which synthesized the results of 191 peer-reviewed articles published between 2014 and 2024. This huge dataset, which included over 374,000 participants, suggested a 'robust' association between young age and belief in conspiracies, Bordeleau said. 'To confirm that, we ran our own original multinational survey of more than 6,000 people across six diverse countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, the U.S. and South Africa,' he explained. Regardless of the country, the results were the same: Age was the most potent predictor of conspiratorial belief systems, more than a person's gender, level of education or income. So why are younger generations more intrigued by conspiracy theories? Bordeleau and Stockemer think there are three interconnected reasons. 'First, the fact that younger people have a deep sense of political disaffection and alienation,' Bordeleau said. 'Second, there's a tendency for younger people to adopt an activist style of political participation and be exposed to more radical environments, where conspiracy theories thrive.' (QAnon originated on the dark web first, with various ideas circulating on 4chan and 8chan as early as 2017.) Lastly, there's the self-confidence factor, or lack thereof. Self-esteem fluctuates throughout our lives, but studies show that adolescence tends to be a period of heightened lower self-esteem, particularly for young girls. 'Low self-esteem can partly explain why younger people are attracted to conspiracy theories,' Bordeleau said. 'It becomes a way to cope with feelings of powerlessness.' Bordeleau said he'd love to further research the socialization component of conspiracy beliefs: how young people are exposed to these narratives, for instance, and whether or not social pressures play a part. On a wider social level, he hopes that more time and resources are put into looking for ways to help young people become more media literate. 'It might be through education reform or targeted interventions or policy changes, but we are committed to leveraging our research to help,' he said. HuffPost.
05-08-2025
- Politics
Young people more prone to believe in conspiracies, research shows
Hillary Clinton had Jeffrey Epstein killed. Barack Obama was not born in the United States. The pharmaceutical industry was responsible for the spread of COVID-19. These are all conspiracies with no basis in fact, says University of Ottawa professor Daniel Stockemer — but his research shows that theories like them are gaining traction among young people. In fact, people younger than 35 are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories than other age groups, according to a recent study by Stockemer and co-author Jean-Nicolas Bordeleau that surveyed more than 380,000 people internationally. The research was recently published in the journal Political Psychology. Conspiracy theories are now for everyone, Stockemer told CBC Radio's All In A Day , noting that between 20 and 25 per cent of the population believes in one. But the young are slightly more likely to believe in them. For example, their research suggests a slight year-over-year drop in conspiracies to the point where an 80-year-old is about 10 per cent less likely to believe one than an 18-year-old. If the problem isn't addressed, Stockemer said he expects the democratic backsliding he's seen all over the world to continue. If we don't have a young population that stands up for the values of democracy ... who else will? Why do young adults believe conspiracies? There are many reasons why young people are particularly susceptible, Stockemer said — including the fact the political world has become more divided and chaotic. Right now, we're in a world of polarization, he said. There is no compromise, no middle ground. Compounding that effect, Stockemer said, is that young people are being alienated from politics as mainstream politicians largely ignore their concerns — including during the last federal election. The leaders didn't even come to the [University of Ottawa] to have a talk or anything, he said. And then we wonder why young people have a higher tendency to go the populist or conspiracies route. Then there's technological leaps like the internet, smart phones and social media, Stockemer said, which allow conspiracy and misinformation to spread, especially among young people. The internet also potentially exposes them to every unfortunate incident that happens in the world, said Carmen Celestini, who teaches at the University of Waterloo and studies disinformation, extremists and conspiracy theorists. That fear and that perpetual sense of disaster can lead people to believe in conspiracy theories, said Celestini, noting she wasn't surprised even a little bit by Stockemer and Bordeleau's findings. Influencers who tote extremist views and conspiracies also give their viewers someone or something to blame, she added. Enlarge image (new window) Conspiracies like the one suggesting former U.S president Barack Obama was not born in the country have been gaining traction among people under 35, according to the research recently published in the journal Political Psychology. Photo: Reuters / Mike Segar No 'quick fix' Widespread conspiracies and the problems inherent to the internet will require a global response, said Celestini, one that will involve talking about the fears and emotions that led people to these conclusions. It really is [about] having that transparent talk with your child about what it is that they're feeling, why they might believe some of these ideas and where the emotions behind it come from, she said. Stockemer said there's no quick fix, but improving civic education and better regulating misinformation online would help. To bring [young people] back, we need to also include them within the democratic politics much more than now, he said. And there could be immense consequences, he added, if we continue to neglect the susceptibility of young people to conspiracy theories. Over the past 10 years, the number of democracies has declined [and] long-standing democracies like the United States [and] India are in serious danger of falling, he said. If we continue the path we are continuing, I don't know how long some established democracies will survive. … And I think that's one of the far-reaching lessons from my research. LISTEN | Young people more likely to believe conspiracy theories, University of Ottawa research shows (new window)
