Zusammenfassung
Das Internet und seine sozialen Netzwerke – so hat es häufig den Eindruck – haben zu einer Flut von Verschwörungstheorien zu nahezu jedem Ereignis und Lebensbereich geführt. Ob es YouTube-Dokumentationen zu den wahren Hintergründen von 9/11 sind, WhatsApp-Nachrichten, die offizielle Verlautbarungen zu infektiösen Krankheiten zu widerlegen suchen, Messenger-Kanäle, die zum Umsturz der Marionettenregimes aufrufen oder zuweilen bizarr anmutende Behauptungen, wie die, dass die Erde flach oder Politiker:innen in Wirklichkeit Eidechsen in Hauthülle seien. Durch den Wegfall der Filterfunktion traditioneller Medien und der Tatsache, dass Jede und Jeder ihre Ansichten einfach in sozialen Medien verbreiten kann, scheinen Tür und Tor geöffnet für eine ungeahnte Ausbreitung von Verschwörungstheorien, die mehr und mehr Anhänger:innen finden. Aber ist dem wirklich so? Haben die sozialen Netzwerke zu einem überproportionalen Anstieg und zur Verbreitung von Verschwörungstheorien geführt? Wie lässt sich das Verhältnis von digitalen Medien und Verschwörungstheorien im Lichte aktueller Forschung charakterisieren?
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Imhoff, R. (2023). Verschwörungstheorien im digitalen Raum. In: Appel, M., Hutmacher, F., Mengelkamp, C., Stein, JP., Weber, S. (eds) Digital ist besser?! Psychologie der Online- und Mobilkommunikation. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-66608-1_16
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