Assessing the relationship between language use and conspiracy beliefs

• In Event: EXTR5 Radicalisation and conspiracy beliefs

Abstract

A growing body of research studies conspiracy theories through text analysis of social media posts. While this approach can offer valuable insights into the content and propagation of conspiracy theories, little is known about the characteristics of individuals behind the online posts. A promising way to learn more about the language use of individuals with conspiracy beliefs, is to conduct surveys assessing the latter while simultaneously asking participants to write about their (possible) conspiracy beliefs. As a consequence, we can relate linguistic measures (e.g., of toxicity, concreteness, and complexity) to ground truth psychological measures. This study makes use of unique survey data from a U.S. nationally representative sample of 2,500 participants, measuring conspiracy theory beliefs, violent extremist attitudes, intentions, and behaviors as well as associated risk and protective factors. The survey was conducted in early 2024, in a particular challenging time for political polarization due to the U.S. presidential elections. The current study is the first to explicitly assess the relationship between language use and ground truth psychological measures associated with conspiracy beliefs.

Authors

• Isabelle van der Vegt, Utrecht University

• Bettina Rottweiler, UCL

• Paul Gill, UCL