Sociologist Dr. Berat Dağ, assessing the reasons and impacts behind the rapid spread of conspiracy theories in society today, stated, “Conspiracy theories are actually used to cover up real conspiracies.”
Highlighting that conspiracy theories spread most rapidly and effectively on media and digital platforms, Dr. Berat Dağ said, “Especially in societies with low critical media literacy, there are many instances where polarizing theories published in the media are considered reliable and valid without any confirmation.”
Dr. Berat Dağ from the Sociology Department of Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences evaluated the reasons and effects behind the rapid spread of conspiracy theories in society today.
Conspiracy theories are actually simple fictions
Dr. Berat Dağ stated that conspiracy theories are simple fictions produced for the diagnosis and solution of political, economic, and social problems encountered. He said, “Therefore, these theories do not require a multifaceted, in-depth, and holistic evaluation of any event or process. In other words, conspiracy theories can generally be seen as a collection of claims that cannot be verified or falsified. From this perspective, societies with declining critical consciousness are expected to cling to such reductionist, superficial, and fragmented ready-made answers.”
Used to cover up real conspiracies
“Conspiracy theories are actually used to cover up real conspiracies,” Dr. Berat Dağ continued:
“In this sense, it is about the construction of individuals who become part of a mass by being swayed to extremes through conspiracy theories. As a result, it becomes very difficult for individuals and societies, who come into an excessively passive or active position, to wage an original and continuous struggle for justice. For instance, an individual might fall into despair by believing that five families rule the world, leading them to find even the simplest fight for rights meaningless. This means preparing a suitable ground for structures and forms of interaction that continuously produce inequality, oppression, and othering to reproduce themselves.”
Insecure and lonely societies are more open to conspiracy theories
Dr. Berat Dağ stated that it can be argued that individuals and societies who are unconscious, distrustful, lonely, and feel helpless are more inclined towards conspiracy theories. He explained, “Essentially, in societies where no one trusts anyone, individuals left alone are deprived of the information and support needed to solve the problems they face. This state of deprivation causes individuals and societies to view answers that will momentarily relieve them as absolute. It is clear that these answers, which are functional in the short term, will do nothing more than deepen the source of problems in the long term.”
Conspiracy theories prevent societies from seeing their real problems
Sociologist Dr. Berat Dağ noted that conspiracy theories hinder decisions aimed at the good, right, and beautiful at individual and societal levels. He said, “Examples of famine, poverty, and genocide still persist in the world. Despite this, masses choose to attack different ethnicities, religious lifestyles, or sexual preferences instead of seeking solutions to the roots of these problems. For example, when a social crisis deepens, individuals and communities can directly blame immigrants, religious people, or homosexuals without any research into imperialist-capitalist inequalities. This means that such crises deepen further. Therefore, we can say that conspiracy theories consciously misguide individuals, communities, and societies for the interests of privileged classes and identities who remain in the minority.”
Media and digital platforms are the fastest spreading areas for conspiracy theories
Dr. Berat Dağ pointed out that conspiracy theories spread most rapidly and effectively on media and digital platforms. He stated, “These platforms actually possess a technological nature that allows extensive participant networks to form rapid interactions freely. However, these positive features also contain the possibility of turning into their opposite. Especially in societies with low critical media literacy, there are many instances where polarizing theories appearing in the media are considered reliable and valid without any confirmation. For this reason, it is reasonable to consider media and digital platforms as both a means to spread and prevent conspiracy theories.”
How can “conspiracy theory literacy” be developed in society?
Dr. Berat Dağ stated that building a holistic fight against conspiracy theories is crucial. He said, “Concretely, it is meaningful for institutions such as family, religion, education, media, economy, and politics to undergo transformations in a coordinated manner to raise individuals' awareness against conspiracy theories. At this point, every individual needs to acquire the habit of deeply questioning baseless claims put forth from childhood. It can be argued that as calm, temperate, and critical perspectives increase in a society, the impact of conspiracy theories will decrease.”
The disconnect between scientific knowledge and society strengthens conspiracy theories
Dr. Berat Dağ pointed out that there are many reasons why scientific information, which can neutralize conspiracy theories, does not gain sufficient prevalence in a societal sense. He stated, “Firstly, it is critical to see that scientific structures are also fragmented. Today, there are still scientific institutions that persist in a closed circuit, detached from society, with their grandiose and condescending forms. Furthermore, the lack of coordinated action by other social institutions to take necessary measures against conspiracy theories is also a problem. This is because individuals who cannot acquire the necessary tools against conspiracy theories at every stage of their lives will have a lower rate of robust interaction with scientific knowledge. In short, when an organic link cannot be established between scientific knowledge and society, the influence of conspiracy theories is likely to increase.”
Strengthening critical thinking is the most effective protection against conspiracy theories
Dr. Berat Dağ also stated that organizing all social institutions within the context of independent, multifaceted, balanced, in-depth, and holistic critical thinking can contribute to the prevention of conspiracy theories. He concluded, “Accordingly, it is highly beneficial for each individual to critically shape their family relationships, religious life, education stages, media interactions, economic actions, and political preferences. This way, individuals, communities, and societies will be prevented from seeing conspiracy theories as truth and engaging in destructive actions in the context of these theories.”