Loading…

Conspiracy theories in online environments: An interdisciplinary literature review and agenda for future research

Research on conspiracy theories in digital media has grown considerably in recent years. As a result, the field of research has become more multidisciplinary and diverse. To bridge disciplinary boundaries, identify foci of analysis and research gaps, this study provides an interdisciplinary systemat...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:New Media & Society 2023-07, Vol.25 (7), p.1781-1801
Main Authors: Mahl, Daniela, Schäfer, Mike S., Zeng, Jing
Format: Article
Language:English
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Research on conspiracy theories in digital media has grown considerably in recent years. As a result, the field of research has become more multidisciplinary and diverse. To bridge disciplinary boundaries, identify foci of analysis and research gaps, this study provides an interdisciplinary systematic literature review (2007–2020), analyzing current research on conspiracy theorizing online, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Findings show that the majority of studies lack a definition of conspiracy theories and fail to conceptually delineate conspiracy theories from other forms of deceptive content. We also found that while the field employs a variety of methodological approaches, most studies have focused on individual, “mainstream” social media platforms, “Western” countries, English-language communication, and single conspiracy theories. We use the findings of our review to remedy conceptual and empirical shortcomings and to provide suggestions on how to move forward in research on conspiracy theories online.
ISSN:1461-4448
1461-7315
DOI:10.1177/14614448221075759