Beliefs in US-Related Conspiracy Theories in Ten Arab Countries

• In Event: How States Spread and Citizens Respond to Misinformation under Authoritarianism

Abstract

Belief in conspiracy theories is generally attributed to individual-level factors, but some argue that contextual and institutional factors at the national level, such as authoritarianism, can be important in determining citizens' receptiveness to misinformation. We provide new data on beliefs in US-related conspiracy theories from 10 Arab countries that allows us to better speak to national-level theories. These data include a battery of questions addressing beliefs in conspiracy theories tying the US to the rise if the Islamic State (ISIS) as well as a conjoint experiment exploring beliefs in multiple conspiracy theories while varying other factors such as medium (e.g. social or traditional media) and source (e.g. local or international). We find that, contrary to common belief, those in more authoritarian contexts are not more susceptible to belief in US-Related conspiracy theories. Rather, a national history of experience with US-related conflicts appears to be the determining factor.

Authors

• Amaney Jamal, Princeton University

• David Alexander Romney, Brigham Young University

• Dustin Halliday Tingley, Harvard University