Media Use, Social Structure, and Belief in 9/11 Conspiracy Theories

Abstract

A survey of 1,010 randomly selected adults asked about media use and belief in three conspiracy theories about the attacks of September 11, 2001. "Paranoid style" and "cultural sociology" theories are outlined, and empirical support is found for both. Patterns vary somewhat by conspiracy theory, but members of less powerful groups (racial minorities, lower social class, women, younger ages) are more likely to believe at least one of the conspiracies, as are those with low levels of media involvement and consumers of less legitimate media (blogs and grocery store tabloids). Consumers of legitimate media (daily newspapers and network TV news) are less likely to believe at least one of the conspiracies, although these relationships are not signifcant after controlling for social structural variables. Beliefs in all three conspiracies are aligned with mainstream political party divisions, evidence that conspiracy thinking is now a normal part of mainstream political conflict in the United States.In the last twenty years there has been a surge of scholarly interest in rumors and conspiracy theories. Only a few have conducted systematic studies of conspiracy believers or the social factors contributing to belief, but there is no shortage of thoughtful and provocative theorizing. Much of this expanding literature suggests that conspiracy theories provide clarity of vision and clear targets for addressing the confusions, frustrations, and insecurities of living in contemporary societies which are characterized by rapid social change; a multiplicity of voices and interests; multi-level, multi-polar balances of power where those at higher levels maintain control through secrecy and controlling information; declining individual autonomy; increasing risk awareness associated with technological advances and "post-scarcity" conditions; high levels of social and geographic mobility; declining trust in national governments; and post-9 / 11 fears of terrorist/outsider threats.' While these theories are stimulating and insightful, we believe there is a need to bring more systematic evidence to bear on two basic questions: Who believes conspiracy theories, and what sources of information are associated with believing conspiracy theories? Carl Stempel is an associate professor of Sociology and Social Services at California State University, East Bay. Thomas Hargrove is a reporter and researcherlmethodologist for the Scripps Howard News Service. Guido H. Stempel 111 is a distinguished Professor Emeritus in the E. w. Scripps School of ]ournahn at Ohio University. The SCrippS Howard Foundation providedfunding for this study. MEDIA USE, SOCIAL STRUCTURE, A N D BELIEF IN 9/11 CONSPIRACY THEORIES W M C Quarterly "Of. s4, ~~~~2 0 0 7 02007AEJMC 353 at HEC Montreal on June 25, 2015 jmq.sagepub.com Downloaded from

What motivates a conspiracy theory? Birther beliefs, partisanship, liberal-conservative ideology, and anti-Black attitudes

“…In American politics, a variety of such beliefs have gained notoriety for their perceived political relevance, such as that President Kennedy was assassinated by an as-yetundiscovered group of conspirators (cf. McCauley and Jacques, 1979), that the September 11 hijackings were domestically orchestrated (Stempel et al, 2007), that President Obama is Muslim (Hartman and Newmark, 2012), and that the Affordable Care Act included a provision that would allow bureaucrats to make individual decisions regarding which seriously ill people should live or die (Nyhan, 2010). The persistence of such incorrect beliefs even in the face of contradictory information, has long been lamented (Goertzel, 1994;Nyhan and Reifler, 2010).…”

The promise and peril of real-time corrections to political misperceptions

“…Inaccurate information is notoriously common on the web [49,50]. Hundreds of false or unsubstantiated claims on a host of topics, from the link between vaccines and autism to the birthplace of the President, can be found in seconds using a search engine or by perusing relevant blogs.…”

Belief Inconsistency in Conspiracy Theorists

“…Multivariate analyses also included both age and gender as independent variables in order to control statistically for possible extraneous infl uences by these factors (e.g., see Goertzel, 1994 ;Stempel, Hargrove, & Stempel, 2007;Darwin, Neave, & Holmes, 2011 ).…”