A cura di @Perodatrent.

Il Guardian riporta che nel 2012 l’università di Cambridge e YouGov iniziarono uno studio, completato quest’anno, per valutare la prevalenza e l’evoluzione della credenza in teorie cospirazioniste.

John Naughton, uno dei ricercatori, descrive così lo scopo dello studio:

”Conspiracy theories are, and as far as we can tell always have been, a pretty important part of life in many societies, and most of the time that has gone beneath the radar of the established media,” said Naughton. “Insofar as people thought of conspiracy theories at all, we thought of them as crazy things that crazy people believed, [and that] didn’t seem to have much impact on democracy.”

That dismissive attitude changed after the Brexit vote and the election of Trump in 2016, he said. “Whatever else you think of Trump, he is a born conspiracy theorist. Trump was a kind of catalyst, in that somehow his election had the effect of mainstreaming conspiracy theories.”

In fact, the prevalence of conspiracy beliefs in human societies suggests they may have a function, said Naughton. “It’s a way of trying to make sense of a complex and confusing world for an ordinary citizen.”

Lo studio dimostrerebbe che buona parte delle persone di molti paesi crede in almeno una delle teorie cospirazioniste, e che queste credenze sono molto più diffuse tra gli elettori di Trump ed i favorevoli all’uscita del Regno Unito dalla UE.

Immagine da Wikimedia.