Conspiracy theories have been linked to support for war.

Conspiracy theories have been linked to support for war.

Sample: 3 956 participants.

Participants were asked about their attitudes toward current military conflicts, such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Israel-Hamas conflict. They were also asked to evaluate a conflict between two fictional countries.

Shown: belief in conspiracy theories (for example, that one side conspired against the other) increases intergroup hostility and influences public opinion on war. Participants who earlier agreed that Ukraine and Western countries conspired against Russia were more likely to support the military conflict in later surveys. Support for war and belief in conspiracy theories about the warring parties reinforce each other over time. Main limitation - all participants were from countries not directly involved in the modern conflicts.

No bite for like.

Link to an article.