A duality of belief in conspiracy theories amplification: how active communicative actions work differently by trust in the Trump and Biden administrations

Abstract

The digital setting empowers users to actively engage in communicative actions. The problem is that this active communication can increase misjudgment in determining the facts around social issues. When this communication is integrated with partisan biases, the effects can be particularly detrimental. Our study tested whether active communication actions regarding social issues and different trust levels toward presidential administrations (Trump vs. Biden) would increase belief in conspiracy theories.

Keywords

• active communicative actions
• belief in conspiracy theories
• situational theory of problem solving
• trust