Dr. Jesse Veenstra ('08), a finance professor, grew up in the orbit of multi-level marketing (MLM) companies like Tupperware and Herbalife. “I remember family friends asking my parents to participate in different multi-level marketing organizations,” he says. “I’ve been recruited…[Continue Reading...]
Believing conspiracy narratives is frequently assumed to be a major cause of vaccine hesitancy, i.e., the tendency to forgo vaccination despite its availability. In this scoping review, we synthesise and critically evaluate studies that assess i) the occurrence of vaccine-related…[Continue Reading...]
In News Decoder’s Top Tips, we share advice for young people from experts in journalism, media literacy and education. In this week’s Top Tip, News Decoder Educational News Director Marcy Burstiner discusses the danger of spreading conspiracy theories and offers…[Continue Reading...]
It all started at a party back in January. A friend asked me casually over cheese and wine, “What’s the deal with Kate?” They were, of course, referring to Princess Catherine’s abdominal surgery. I told the truth: “I only know…[Continue Reading...]
How often do you come in contact with a conspiracy theory? Maybe on occasion, when you flip through TV channels and land on an episode of “Ancient Aliens.” Or perhaps when a friend from high school shares a questionable meme…[Continue Reading...]
In the wake of hurricanes Helene and Milton, an outlandish conspiracy theory about the Federal Emergency Management Agency that has percolated for decades started to reappear online. Now, the government agency is making one of its strongest pushes against the…[Continue Reading...]
It's scary to think about, but you might fall for a cult. Just ask "One Tree Hill" actress Bethany Joy Lenz. Lenz spent 10 years in a religious cult she calls the "Big House Family" – something she recounts in her…[Continue Reading...]
Witches. For centuries they've been the object of folklore, fiction and even persecution. While in more modern times, the idea of witchcraft tends to evoke thoughts of black hats, bubbling cauldrons and movies like “Hocus Pocus,” there's still an aura…[Continue Reading...]
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a revealing examination of income disclosure statements, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) staff has unveiled significant concerns regarding the depiction of earnings potentials offered by multi-level marketing companies (MLMs). The comprehensive report, based on a review…[Continue Reading...]
Given the profound societal impact of conspiracy theories, probing the psychological factors associated with their spread is paramount. Most research lacks large-scale behavioral outcomes, leaving factors related to actual online support for conspiracy theories uncertain. We bridge this gap by…[Continue Reading...]
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