Conspiracy beliefs: the impact of social media, critical thinking, political beliefs, and paranoid ideation

Abstract

Inherent dangers exist in both the consumption and sharing of information online, contributing to the spread of misinformation, social discord, and distrust in credible news sources. As society moves increasingly towards digital engagement, online information plays a critical role in shaping public opinion. This study aims to investigate factors that may contribute to the perpetuation of conspiratorial beliefs, including social media use, paranoid ideation, political views, and critical thinking disposition. Self-reported data were collected via online platforms and psychology classes at a Midwestern community college. The average age of the 150 participants was 25.27 (SD = 10.67). Sixty-five percent of our participants identified as women, and 60.00% as White. It was hypothesized that social media platforms are differentially related to conspiratorial beliefs and that paranoid ideation, critical thinking, and political beliefs moderate the relationship between social media use and conspiracy endorsement. Facebook and Twitter/X use were both positively correlated with general conspiratorial beliefs. Critical thinking moderated the relationship between Twitter/X and general conspiracy beliefs, as well as between Reddit and general conspiracy beliefs. Meanwhile, paranoia moderated both the relationship between YouTube and general conspiracy beliefs and between Reddit and Personal Well-being conspiracies. The results highlight the possibility that different individuals use different platforms for more focused uses. The significant correlations of Facebook and Twitter/X with general conspiracy beliefs highlight the potential for these platforms to share more general misinformation.