Jonathan D. Sarna, Brandeis University The man who took a rabbi and three congregants hostage in Colleyville, Texas, on Jan. 15, 2022, believed that Jews control the United States of America. He told his hostages, as one revealed in a … Continue reading How antisemitic conspiracy theories contributed to the recent hostage-taking at the Texas synagogue
Jeanna Matthews, Clarkson University Have you had the experience of looking at some product online and then seeing ads for it all over your social media feed? Far from coincidence, these instances of eerily accurate advertising provide glimpses into the … Continue reading Radicalization pipelines: How targeted advertising on social media drives people to extremes
We just didn’t believe it before the Capitol insurrection Amanda J. Crawford, University of Connecticut Americans had to confront a new reality when an angry mob attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021: Some of their fellow citizens were … Continue reading American support for conspiracy theories and armed rebellion isn’t new
Rod Dacombe, King’s College London A consistent feature of the pandemic has been the presence of a relatively small but vocal number of conspiracy theorists who resist attempts to tackle COVID-19. Their views might seem marginal and extreme but recent … Continue reading Conspiracy theories about the pandemic are spreading offline as well as through social media
Mohammed Abbasi 