Element contents
Cognition and Conspiracy Theories
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 November 2025
Summary
This Element deals with the relationship between cognition, understood as the process of acquiring and developing knowledge, and diverse types of conspiracy theories, or short, 'CTs'. Section 1 lays the groundwork for the analysis by determining four components of narrative argumentative framing in CTs, of which the first three are constitutive for all CTs, with a fourth representing the 'optional' collective action-guiding “scenario” component. Section 2 exemplifies manifestations of these components by discussing contemporary and historical 'hoax' and 'asserting' CTs and 'empowering' CTs. Section 3 takes a cognitive-evolutionist and pragmatic view at the conditions for the 'success' of CT scenarios. In conclusion. Section 4 formulates lessons for countering the effects of socially detrimental CTs by deconstructing them and by obstructing their dissemination.
Information
- Type
- Element
- Information
- Online ISBN: 9781009660662Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication: 04 December 2025
References
AfD. (2020). Corona-Demo findet statt: Sieg der Freiheit!. AfD Kompakt. Mitglieder-Magazin.Google Scholar
AfD. (2022). Corona in Dauerschleife. Lauterbach braucht sein Virus. AfD Kompakt. Mitglieder-Magazin.Google Scholar
Allain, M. L., Bhattarai, A., McNeally, P., & Medina, R. M. (2023). Stopping the Steal: The Ecology of Conspiracy in a Politically Polarized Nation. The Professional Geographer, 76(1). 37–47.Google Scholar
Andone, C. & Lomelí Hernández, J. A. (2022). On Arguments from Ignorance in Policy-Making. In Oswald, S. et al. (eds.). The Pandemic of Argumentation, 105–123. Cham: Springer.Google Scholar
Arendt, H. (1973). The Origins of Totalitarianism. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.Google Scholar
Aunger, R. (ed.). (2000). Darwinizing Culture: The Status of Memetics as a Science. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Aupers, S. (2020). Decoding Mass Media/Decoding Conspiracy Theory. In Butter, M. & Knight, P. (eds.). The Routledge Handbook of Conspiracy Theories, 469–482. London/New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Ayto, J. (2010). Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Baden, C. & Sharon, T. (2020). BLINDED BY THE LIES? Toward an Integrated Definition of Conspiracy Theories. Communication Theory, 31(1). 82–106.Google Scholar
Baier, B. & Re, G. (2020). Sources Believe Coronavirus Outbreak Originated in Wuhan Lab as Part of China’s Efforts to Compete with US. Fox News, 15 April 2020.Google Scholar
Baker, P. & Glasser, S. (2022). The Divider: Trump in the White House 2017–2021. New York: Doubleday.Google Scholar
Banco, E. & Lippman, D. (2021). Top Trump Officials Pushed the Coronavirus “lab leak” Theory. Investigators Had Doubts. Politico, 16 June 2021.Google Scholar
Barkun, M. (2013). A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Barkun, M. (2015). Conspiracy Theories as Stigmatized Knowledge. Diogenes, 62(3–4). 114–120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Begley, S. 2020. Trump Said More Covid19 Testing Creates More Cases. We Did the Math. Statnews, 20 July 2020. www.statnews.com/2020/07/20/trump-said-more-covid19-testing-creates-more-cases-we-did-the-math/.Google Scholar
Bein, A. (1965). Der jüdische Parasit. Vierteljahreshefte für Zeitgeschichte, 13. 121–149.Google Scholar
Benoit, W. L. (1997). Image repair discourse and crisis communication. Public Relations Review, 23(2). 177–186.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berger, P. & Luckmann, T. (1991). The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge. London: Penguin.Google Scholar
Bergmann, E. & Butter, M. (2020). Conspiracy Theory and Populism. In Butter, M. & Knight, P. (eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Conspiracy Theories, 330–343. London/New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Bergmann, E. (2025). The Weaponization of Conspiracy Theories. London/New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Beweisführung der politischen Verfolgung kritischer Menschen, Bevölkerungsteile und der echten Opposition in Deutschland mit der Reichsbürger Lüge, VK.Com 2025. https://vk.com/@whitewarti-beweisfuhrung-der-politischen-verfolgung-kritischer-menschen.Google Scholar
Birchall, C. & Knight, P. (2023). Conspiracy Theories in the Time of Covid-19. London/New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Birchall, C. & Knight, P. (2024). Has Conspiracy Theory Run Out of Steam? In Beckman, F. & de Leo, J. (eds.). Theory Conspiracy, 149–167. London/New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Blackmore, S. (1999). The Meme Machine. Foreword by Richard Dawkins. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Blake, A. (2017). Kellyanne Conway Says Donald Trump’s Team Has “alternative facts.” Which Pretty Much Says It All. The Washington Post, 22 January 2017. www.washingtonpost.com/news/thefix/wp/2017/01/22/kellyanne-conway-says-donald-trumps-team-has-alternate-facts-which-pretty-much-says-it-all/.Google Scholar
Bloom, M. & Moskalenko, S. (2021). Pastels and Pedophiles. Inside the Mind of QAnon. Ithaca, NY: Stanford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bok, S., Martin, D. E., & Lee, M. (2021). Validation of the COVID-19 Disbelief Scale: Conditional Indirect Effects of Religiosity and COVID-19 Fear on Intent to Vaccinate. Acta Psychologica, 219. 103382. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2021.103382.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bondi, M. & Sanna, L. (2022). Exploring the Echo Chamber Concept: A Linguistic Perspective. In Demata, M., Zorzi, V. & Zottola, A. (eds.). Conspiracy Theory Discourses, 143–167. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Google Scholar
Breitbart. (2021a). Top Scientist Claims Anthony Fauci “Untruthful” about Chinese Lab Research. Breitbart, 7 September 2021. www.breitbart.com/asia/2021/09/07/report-top-scientist-claims-anthony-fauci-untruthful-about-chinese-lab-research/.Google Scholar
Breitbart. (2021b). NIH Contradicts Fauci, Admits Funding Gain-of-Function Research at Wuhan Lab. Breitbart, 20 October 2021. www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/10/20/nih-contradicts-fauci-admits-funding-gain-of-function-research-at-wuhan-lab/.Google Scholar
Breitbart. (2023). Paul: We Know That First Days of the Pandemic Fauci “Orchestrated an Elaborate Cover-Up.” Breitbart, 18 June 2023. www.breitbart.com/clips/2023/06/18/paul-we-know-that-first-days-of-the-pandemic-fauci-orchestrated-an-elaborate-cover-up/.Google Scholar
Brodie, R. (1996). Virus of the Mind: The New Science of the Meme. Seattle, WA: Integral Press.Google Scholar
Bronner, S. (2000). A Rumor about the Jews: Reflections on Antisemitism and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. New York: St. Martin’s Press.Google Scholar
Brooks, B. (2020). Like the Flu? Trump’s Coronavirus Messaging Confuses Public, Pandemic Researchers Say. Reuters, 14 March 2020. www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-mixed-messages-idUSKBN2102GY.Google Scholar
Brown, F. (2010). For the Soul of France: Culture Wars in the Age of Dreyfus. New York: A.A. Knopf.Google Scholar
Brugman, B. C. & Burgers, C. (2018). Political Framing across Disciplines: Evidence from 21st century Experiments. Research & Politics, 5(2). 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1177/2053168018783370.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brumfiel, G. (2022). Their Mom Died of COVID. They Say Conspiracy Theories Are What Really Killed Her. National Public Radio, 24 April 2022. www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/04/24/1089786147/covid-conspiracy-theories.Google Scholar
Bruns, A., Harrington, S., & Hurcombe, E. (2020). “Corona? 5G? or both?”: The Dynamics of COVD-19/5G Conspiracy Theories on Facebook. Media International Australia 177(1). 12–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buranyi, S. (2021). Why the “lab-leak” Theory of Covid’s Origins has Gained Prominence again. The Guardian, 29 May 2021.Google Scholar
Butler, S. 2020. Conclusion Shopping. www.suebutler.com.au/new-words/2020/5/3/conclusion-shopping.Google Scholar
Butter, M. & Knight, P. (2020a). General Introduction. In Butter, M. & Knight, P. (eds.). The Routledge Handbook of Conspiracy Theories, 1–8. London/New York: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Butter, M. & Knight, P. (2020b). Conspiracy Theory in Historical, Cultural and Literary Studies. In Butter, M. and Knight, P. (eds.). The Routledge Handbook of Conspiracy Theories, 28–42. London/New York: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Butter, M. & Knight, P. (2023). Covid Conspiracy Theories in Global Perspective. London/New York: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Butter, M., Hatzikidi, K., Jeitler, C., Loperfido, G., & Turza, L. (eds.). (2024). Populism and Conspiracy Theory: Case Studies and Theoretical Perspectives. London/New York: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Byford, J. (2011). Conspiracy Theories: A Critical Introduction. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bytwerk, R. L. (2015). Believing in “Inner Truth”: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion in Nazi Propaganda, 1933–1945. Holocaust and Genocide Studies, 29(2). 212–229.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, T. (2020). The Pandemic Is Turning Some Doctors and Nurses into Social Media Stars. But Some Aren’t Sure It’s a Good Thing. Buzzfeed News, 18 April 2020. www.buzzfeednews.com/article/tanyachen/pandemic-turning-some-doctors-and-nurses-into-stars.Google Scholar
Chlup, R. (2023). Conspiracy Narratives as a Type of Social Myth. International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10767-023-09454-1.Google ScholarPubMed
CNN. (2020). Nation’s Top Coronavirus Expert Dr. Anthony Fauci Forced to Beef up Security as Death Threats Increase. CNN, 2 April 2020.Google Scholar
Coady, D. (2018). An Introduction to the Philosophical Debate about Conspiracy Theories. In Coady, D. (ed.). Conspiracy Theories: The Philosophical Debate, 1–12. London/New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Cohn, N. (1967). Warrant for Genocide: The Myth of the Jewish World Conspiracy and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. New York: Harper & Row.Google Scholar
Cohn, N. (1975). Europe’s Inner Demons: An Enquiry Inspired by the Great Witch-Hunt. London: Chatto.Google Scholar
Cook, J., Lewandowsky, S., & Ecker, U. K. H. (2017). Neutralizing Misinformation through Inoculation: Exposing Misleading Argumentation Techniques Reduces Their Influence. PloS One, 12(5). e0175799. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0175799.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cook, N. & Choi, M. (2020). Trump Rallies His Base to Treat Coronavirus as a “hoax”. Politico, 28 February 2020. www.politico.com/news/2020/02/28/trump-south-carolina-rally-coronavirus-118269.Google Scholar
Costello, T. H., Pennycook, G., & Rand, D. G. (2024). Durably Reducing Conspiracy Beliefs through Dialogues with AI. Science, 385. eadq1814. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adq1814.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Coupland, N. (ed.). (2010). The Handbook of Language and Globalization. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Croft, W. (2000). Explaining Language Change: An Evolutionary Approach. London: Longman.Google Scholar
Croft, W. & Cruse, D. A. (2004). Cognitive Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Danesi, M. (2023). Politics, Lies and Conspiracy Theories: A Cognitive Linguistic Perspective. London/New York: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dawkins, R. (1999). The Extended Phenotype: The Long Reach of the Gene. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Dawkins, R. (2004). Viruses of the Mind. In Menon, Latha (ed.). A Devil’s Chaplain. Selected Essays, 151–172. London: Phoenix.Google Scholar
d’Ancona, M. (2017). Post-Truth: The New War on Truth and How to Fight Back. London: Ebury Press.Google Scholar
de Blécourt, W. (2013). Sabbath Stories Towards a New History of Witches’ Assemblies. In Levack, B. P. (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America, 84–100. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
de Changy, F. (2021). The Disappearing Act: The Impossible Case of MH370. London: HarperCollins.Google Scholar
Demata, M., Zorzi, V., & Zottola, A. (eds.) (2022). Conspiracy Theory Discourses. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Der Spiegel. (2022). Die Putschfantasien der »Reichsbürger«-Truppe. Der Spiegel, 9 December 2022.Google Scholar
Der Spiegel. (2023b). Angeklagter soll mehr als 14 Jahre in Haft. Der Spiegel, 15 November 2023.Google Scholar
Der Tagesspiegel. (2020). Heilpraktikerin aus der Eifel: Das ist die Frau, die zum Sturm auf den Reichstag rief. Der Tagesspiegel, 1 September 2020.Google Scholar
Deschrijver, C. (2021). On the Metapragmatics of “conspiracy theory”: Scepticism and Epistemological Debates in Online Conspiracy Comments. Journal of Pragmatics, 182. 310–321.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deutsche Welle. (2008). Legal Ruling. Deutsche Welle, 01//11/2008. www.dw.com/en/court-overturns-nazi-verdict-on-reichstag-arsonist/a-3052896.Google Scholar
Deutsche Welle. (2020). Corona-Ermächtigungsgesetz? Warum der Vergleich mit 1933 täuscht. 18 November 2020.Google Scholar
Deutsche Welle. (2022). “Reichsbürger”: Ist ein Umsturz denkbar? Deutsche Welle, 8 December 2022.Google Scholar
Die Welt. (2020b). Besetzte Reichstagstreppe – Was kurz davor tatsächlich geschah. Die Welt, 31 August 2020.Google Scholar
Die Welt. (2022). Reichsbürger»-Ideologie und Verschwörungsmythen. Die Welt, 7 December 2022.Google Scholar
Die Welt. (2023). Was wollen «Reichsbürger»? Und wie gefährlich sind sie?. Die Welt, 22 March 2023.Google Scholar
Douglas, K. M., Uscinski, J. E., Sutton, R. S., Chichocka, A., Nefes, T., Ang, S. A., & Deravi, F. (2019). Understanding Conspiracy Theories. Advances in Political Psychology, 40(Suppl. 1). 3–35. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12568.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunbar, D. & Reagan, B. (eds.). (2011). Debunking 9/11 Myths: Why Conspiracy Theories Can’t Stand up to the Facts: An In-depth Investigation by Popular Mechanics. New York: Hearst Communications.Google Scholar
Dundes, A. (1991). The Blood Libel Legend: A Casebook in Anti-Semitic Folklore. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press.Google Scholar
Dyrendal, A., Kennair, L. E. O., & Bendixen, M. (2021). Predictors of Belief in Conspiracy Theory: The Role of Individual Differences in Schizotypal Traits, Paranormal Beliefs, Social Dominance Orientation, Right Wing Authoritarianism and Conspiracy Mentality. Personality and Individual Differences, 173(2021). 110645. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.110645.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elmer, P. (2013a). Science and Witchcraft. In Levack, B. P. (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America, 548–560. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Elmer, P. (2013b). Medicine and Witchcraft. In Levack, B. P. (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America, 561–574. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Emmery, R. (2022). “Een samenzwering van kwaadaardige reptielen”: ophef in Nederland over uitspraken van politicus en complotdenker Thierry Baudet, vrt nws, 18 October 2022. www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2022/10/17/baudet-reptielen/.Google Scholar
Entman, R. M. (1993). Framing: Toward Clarification of a Fractured Paradigm. Journal of Communication, 43(4). 51–58. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.1993.tb01304.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Evanega, S., Lynas, M., Adams, J., & Smolenjak, K. (2020). Coronavirus Misinformation: Quantifying Sources and Themes in the COVID-19 “infodemic”. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University. https://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Evanega-et-al-Coronavirus-misinformation-submitted072320-1.pdf.Google Scholar
Evans, R. J. (2020). The Hitler Conspiracies: The Third Reich and the Paranoid Imagination. London: Penguin.Google Scholar
Evans-Pritchard, E. E. (1950). Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic among the Azande. Oxford: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
Fauconnier, G. & Turner, M. (2002). The Way We Think: Conceptual Blending and the Mind’s Hidden Complexities. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Fichtelberg, A. (2006). Conspiracy and International Criminal Justice. Criminal Law Forum 17(2). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10609-006-9013-6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fillmore, Charles J. (1985). Frames and the Semantics of Understanding. Quaderni di Semantica, 6(2). 222–253.Google Scholar
Forberg, P. L. (2021). From the Fringe to The Fore: An Algorithmic Ethnography of the Far-Right Conspiracy Theory Group QAnon. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography. https://doi.org/10.1177/08912416211040560.Google Scholar
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. (2024a). Nie geplant, den Bundestag zu stürmen. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 4 April 2024.Google Scholar
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. (2024b). Angeklagter Reichsbürger bestätigt Erkundung im Bundestag. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 13 August 2024.Google Scholar
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. (2024c). Haftstrafe nach rechten Umsturzplänen. 14 August 2024.Google Scholar
Gagné, M. J. (2022). Thinking Critically about the Kennedy Assassination: Debunking the Myths and Conspiracy Theories. London/New York: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gallagher, J. (2024). Genetic Ghosts Suggest Covid’s Market Origins. BBC, 10/09/2014. www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy8095xjg4po.Google Scholar
Garcés-Conejos Blitvich, P. & Lorenzo-Dus, N. (2022). “Go ahead and ‘debunk’ Truth by Calling It a Conspiracy Theory.” The Discursive Construction of Conspiracy Theoryness in Online Affinity Spaces. In Demata, M., Zorzi, V. & Zottola, A. (eds.). Conspiracy Theory Discourses, 71–98. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Google Scholar
Garwood, C. (2007). Flat Earth: The History of an Infamous Idea. New York: St. Martin’s Press.Google Scholar
Girard, P. (2020). Conspiracy Theories in Europe during the Twentieth Century. In Butter, M. & Knight, P. (eds.). The Routledge Handbook of Conspiracy Theories, 569–581. London/New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Gladchuk, J. J. (2006). Hollywood and Anticommunism: HUAC and the Evolution of the Red Menace, 1935–1950. London/New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Goebbels, J. (1993). Die Tagebücher von Joseph Goebbels. Ed. Fröhlich, E.. Munich: K. G. Saur.Google Scholar
Golec de Zavala, A., Bierwiaczonek, K., & Ciesielski, P. (2022). An Interpretation of Meta-analytical Evidence for the Link between Collective Narcissism and Conspiracy Theories. Current Opinion in Psychology, 47. 101360. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101360.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Guttenplan, D. D. (2001). The Holocaust on Trial: History, Justice and the David Irving Libel Case. London: Granta.Google Scholar
Habermas, J. (1972). Vorbereitende Bemerkungen zu einer Theorie der kommunikativen Kompetenz. In Holzer, H. & Steinbacher, K. (eds.). Sprache und Gesellschaft, 208–236. Hamburg: Hoffmann & Campe.Google Scholar
Hagemeister, M. (2022). The Perennial Conspiracy Theory: Reflections on the History of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. London/New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Hall Jamieson, K. (2021). How Conspiracists Exploited COVID-19 Science. Nature Human Behaviour 5 (1 November 2021). 1464–1465.Google Scholar
Hall Jamieson, K., Levendusky, M., & Pasek, J. (2023). “Stop the Steal”: The Rhetoric of Electoral Delegitimacy. In Hall Jamieson, K., Levendusky, M., Pasek, J., Holbert, R. L., Renninger, A., Ophir, Y., Walter, D., Hardy, B., Kenski, K., Winneg, K. & Romer, D. (eds.). Democracy Amid Crises: Polarization, Pandemic, Protests, and Persuasion, 281–300. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herf, J. (2006). The Jewish Enemy: Nazi Propaganda during World War II and the Holocaust. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hess, B.-J. (2000). Seuchengesetzgebung in den Deutschen Staaten und im Kaiserreich vom ausgehenden 18. Jahrhundert bis zum Reichsseuchengesetz 1900. Heidelberg: PhD University of Heidelberg.Google Scholar
Hitler, A. [1925/1927] (2016). Mein Kampf – Eine Kritische Edition. Eds. Hartmann, C., Vordermayer, T., Plöckinger, O. & Töppel, R.. Munich-Berlin: Institut für Zeitgeschichte.Google Scholar
Hitler, A. [1939] (1965). Rede vor dem Reichstag, 30. Januar 1939. In Domarus, M. (ed.). Hitler. Reden und Proklamationen 1932–1945. Kommentiert von einem deutschen Zeitgenossen, vol. II/I, 1047–1061. Munich: Süddeutscher Verlag.Google Scholar
Hoffman, B. (2023). Understanding Hamas’s Genocidal Ideology. The Atlantic, 10 October 2023. www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2023/10/hamas-covenant-israel-attack-war-genocide/675602/.Google Scholar
Hofhuis, S. (2022). Qualitative Darwinism: An Evolutionary History of Witch-hunting. PhD. Utrecht: Utrecht University.Google Scholar
Hofhuis, S. & Boudry, M. (2019). “Viral” Hunts? A Cultural Darwinian Analysis of Witch Persecutions. Cultural Science Journal, 11(1). 13–29. https://doi.org/10.5334/csci.116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hofstadter, R. (1964). The Paranoid Style in American Politics. Harper’s Magazine, November 1964. 77–86.Google Scholar
Hoft, J. (2021). Smoking Gun: Fauci Lied, Millions Died – Fauci Was Informed of Hydroxychloroquine Success in early 2020 but Lied to Public Instead Despite the Science #FauciEmails. Gateway Pundit (3 June 2021). https://archive.is/kgwEx#selection-612.0–612.1.Google Scholar
Holland, J. & Jarvis, L. (2024). COVID-19 and the Limits of Critical Security Theory: Securitization, Cosmopolitanism, and Pandemic Politics. Journal of Global Security Studies, 9(4). ogae031. https://doi.org/10.1093/jogss/ogae031.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holoyda, B. J. (2022). The QAnon Conspiracy Theory and the Assessment of Its Believers. The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 50(1). 124–135.Google ScholarPubMed
Hotez, P. J. (2021a). COVID Vaccines: Time to Confront Anti-vax Aggression. Nature, 29/04/2021. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-01084-x.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hotez, P. J. (2021b). Anti-science Kills: From Soviet Embrace of Pseudoscience to Accelerated Attacks on US Biomedicine. PLoS Biology, 19(1). e3001068. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001068.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hotez, P. J. (2023). The Deadly Rise of Anti-Science: A Scientist’s Warning. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Hudgens, L. H. (2020). A Middle School Teacher’s Creative Way of Framing the Pandemic for Children. The Washington Post, 20 April 2020.Google Scholar
Hyman, P. E. (2005). New Perspectives on the Dreyfus Affair. Historical Reflections/Réflexions Historiques, 31(3). 335–349.Google Scholar
Icke, D. (1999). The Biggest Secret: The Book That Will Change the World. Ilford: Bridge of Love Publications.Google Scholar
Imhoff, R. & Lamberty, P. (2020). A Bioweapon or a Hoax? The Link between Distinct Conspiracy Beliefs about the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak and Pandemic Behavior. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 11(8). 1110–1118.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Imhoff, R., Bertlich, T., & Frenken, M. (2022). Tearing Apart the “evil” Twins: A General Conspiracy Mentality Is Not the Same as Specific Conspiracy Beliefs. Current Opinion in Psychology 47.101349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101349.Google Scholar
Inwood, O. & Zappavigna, M. (2022). The ID2020 Conspiracy Theory in YouTube Video Comments during COVID-19: Bonding around Religious, Political, and Technological Discourses. In Demata, M., Zorzi, V. & Zottola, A. (eds.). Conspiracy Theory Discourses, 241–266. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Google Scholar
Israeli, R. (2017). Blood Libel and Its Derivatives: The Scourge of Anti-Semitism. London/New York: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jarvis, L. (2022). Counting Coronavirus: Mathematical Language in the UK Response to Covid-19. In Musolff, A., Breeze, R., Kondo, K. & Vilar-Lluch, S. (eds.). Pandemic and Crisis Discourse: Communicating Covid-19 and Public Health Strategy, 79–93. London: Bloomsbury.Google Scholar
Jennings, W., Stoker, G., Bunting, H., Valgarðsson, V. O., Gaskell, J., Devine, D., McKay, L., & Mills, M. C. (2021). Lack of Trust, Conspiracy Beliefs, and Social Media Use Predict COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy. Vaccines, 9. 593. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9060593.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jolley, D., Mari, S., & Douglas, K. M. (2020). Consequences of Conspiracy Theories. In Butter, M. & Knight, P., Routledge Handbook of Conspiracy Theories, 231–241. London/New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Kakisina, P. A., Indhiarti, T. R., & Al Fajri, M. S. (2022). Discursive Strategies of Manipulation in COVID-19 Political Discourse: The Case of Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro. SAGE Open, January−March 2022: 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440221079884.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kale, S. (2021). The Life and Tragic Death of John Eyers – A Fitness Fanatic Who Refused the Vaccine. The Guardian, 30 November 2021.Google Scholar
Kampf, Z. (2009). Public Non-apologies: The Discourse of Minimizing Responsibility. Journal of Pragmatics, 41(11). 2257–2270.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keeley, B. L. (2018). Of Conspiracy Theories. In Coady, D. (ed.). Conspiracy Theories: The Philosophical Debate, 45–60. London/New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Keith, M. (2022). QAnon Influencer Who Spread Conspiracy Theories and Misinformation about COVID-19 Dies after Contracting the Virus. Business Insider, 8 January 2022.Google Scholar
Kennedy, R. F. Jr. (2021). The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health. New York: Skyhorse Publishing.Google Scholar
Kennedy, R. F. Jr. (2023). The Wuhan Cover-Up and the Terrifying Bioweapons Arms Race. New York: Skyhorse Publishing.Google Scholar
Kessler, G. (2021). Fact-checking the Paul-Fauci Flap over Wuhan Lab Funding. The Washington Post. 18 May 2021.Google Scholar
King, R. H. (2017). The Law and the Holocaust. Patterns of Prejudice, 51(5). 439–452.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kitta, A. (2012). Vaccinations and Public Concern in History: Legend, Rumor, and Risk Perception. London/New York: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knight, P. (2007). The Kennedy Assassination. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.Google Scholar
Koley, T. K. & Dhole, M. (2021). The COVID-19 Pandemic: The Deadly Coronavirus Outbreak. London/New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Korthals Altes, L. (2008). Irony. In Herman, D., Jahn, M. & Ryan, M.-L. (eds.). Routledge Encyclopedia of Narrative Theory, 261–263. London/New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Kozlov, M. (2023). US COVID Origins Hearing Produces Heat But No Light on COVID-origins Debate. Nature, 20 July 2023.Google Scholar
Kozlov, M. (2024). US Hearing Produces Puts Scientific Journals in the Hot Seat. Nature, 16 April 2024.Google Scholar
Krammer, F. (2020). SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines in Development. Nature, 586(7830). 516–527. https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fs41586-020-2798-3.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Krekó, P. (2020). Countering Conspiracy Theories and Misinformation. In Butter, M. & Knight, P. (eds.). The Routledge Handbook of Conspiracy Theories, 242–255. London/New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Krumeich, G. (1989). Einkreisung. Zur Entstehung und Bedeutung eines politischen Schlagwortes. Sprache und Literatur in Wissenschaft und Unterricht, 63. 99–104.Google Scholar
Krumeich, G. (2019). Die unbewältigte Niederlage: Das Trauma des Ersten Weltkriegs und die Weimarer Republik. Freiburg: Herder.Google Scholar
Kupper, J. & Dittrich, M. (2023). The Reichsbürger Coup: How the German COVID-19 Denier Scene and Anti-Lockdown Movement Became a Breeding Ground for Terrorism. GNET, 18 January 2023. https://gnet-research.org/2023/01/18/the-reichsburger-coup-how-the-german-covid-19-denier-scene-and-anti-lockdown-movement-became-a-breeding-ground-for-terrorism/.Google Scholar
Lakoff, G. (1987). Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things: What Categories Reveal about the Mind. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lakoff, G. (1993). The Contemporary Theory of Metaphor. In Ortony, A. (ed.). Metaphor and Thought, 202–251. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Lakoff, G. & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors We Live By. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Lakoff, G. & Wehling, E. (2016). Your Brain’s Politics. How the Science of Mind Explains the Political Divide. Exeter: Imprint Academic.Google Scholar
Landes, R. & Katz, S. T. (eds.) (2011). The Paranoid Apocalypse. A Hundred-Year Retrospective on The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. New York: New York University Press.Google Scholar
Langer, A. (2021). The Eternal George Soros: The Rise of Antisemitic and Islamophobic Conspiracy Theory. In Önnerfors, A. & Krouwel, A. (eds.). Europe: Continent of Conspiracies: Conspiracy Theories in and about Europe, 152–184. London/New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Lantian, A., Wood, M., & Gjoneska, B. (2020). Personality Traits, Cognitive Styles, and Worldviews associated with Beliefs in Conspiracy Theories. In Butter, M. & Knight, P. (eds.). The Routledge Handbook of Conspiracy Theories, 155–167. London/New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Ledford, H. (2021a). How Could a COVID Vaccine Cause Blood Clots? Scientists Race to Investigate. Nature, 9 April 2021. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-00940-0.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ledford, H. (2021b). Should Children Get COVID Vaccines? What the Science Says. Nature, 20 July 2021. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-01898-9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, C. (2021). #HateIsAVirus: Talking about COVID-19 “Hate”. In Jones, R. (ed.). Viral Discourse, 61–68. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Lee, C. (2022). COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories and Affective Discourse. In Demata, M., Zorzi, V. & Zottola, A. (eds.). Conspiracy Theory Discourses, 216–237. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Google Scholar
Lee, E. W. J., Bao, H., Wang, Y., & Lim, Y. T. (2023). From Pandemic to Plandemic: Examining the Amplification and Attenuation of COVID-19 Misinformation on Social Media. Social Science and Medicine, 328.115979. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.115979.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lehmann, H. & Ulbricht, O. (1992). Motive und Argumente von Gegnern der Hexenverfolgung von Weyer bis Spee. In Lehmann, H. & Ulbricht, O. (eds.). Vom Unfug des Hexen-Processes: Gegner der Hexenverfolgung von Johann Weyer bis Friedrich Spee, 1–14. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.Google Scholar
Levack, B. (ed.) (2013a). The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levack, Brian P. (2013b). The Decline and End of Witchcraft Prosecutions. In The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America, 429–446. Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levy, N. (2024). Believing in Stories: Delusions, Superstitions, Conspiracy Theories, and Other Fairy Tales. In Sullivan-Bissett, E. (ed.). Belief, Imagination, and Delusion, 129–146. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Lewandowsky, S., Oberauer, K., & Gignac, G. E. (2013). NASA Faked the Moon Landing – Therefore, (climate) Science Is a Hoax: An Anatomy of the Motivated Rejection of Science. Psychological Science, 24(5). 622–633.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lewínski, M. & Abreu, P. (2022). Arguing about “COVID”: Metalinguistic Arguments on What Counts as a “COVID-19 Death”. In Oswald, S., Lewiński, M., Greco, S. & Villata, S. (eds.). The Pandemic of Argumentation, 17–41. Cham: Springer.Google Scholar
Li, Y. D., Chi, W. Y., Su, J. H., Ferrall, L., Hung, C. F., & Wu, T. C. (2020). Coronavirus Vaccine Development: From SARS and MERS to COVID-19. Journal of Biomedical Science. 27(1). 104. https://doi.org/10.1186%2Fs12929-020-00695-2.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ling, J. (2022). False Claims of U.S. Biowarfare Labs in Ukraine Grip QAnon. Foreign Policy blog, 2 March 2022. https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/03/02/ukraine-biolabs-conspiracy-theory-qanon/.Google Scholar
Loh, M. (2022). How Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine, Vampire Obsession, and “secret bio-weapons” Have Played into China’s Narrative about COVID-19’s Origin. Business Insider, 11 March 2022.Google Scholar
Lusher, A. (2016). Turkey Coup: Conspiracy Theorists Claim Power Grab Attempt Was Faked by Erdogan. The Independent, 17 July 2016.Google Scholar
Maci, S., Demata, M., McGlashan, M., & Seargeant, P. (eds.). (2024). The Routledge Handbook of Discourse and Disinformation. London/New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Mahl, D., Schäfer, M. S., & Zeng, J. (2022). Conspiracy Theories in Online Environments: An Interdisciplinary Literature Review and Agenda for Future Research. New Media & Society, 24. 1781–1801.Google Scholar
Mallapaty, S. (2023). COVID Origins Study Links Racoon Dogs to Wuhan Market: What Scientists Think. Nature, 21 March 2023. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-00827-2.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marinthe, G., Brown, G., Delouvée, S., & Jolley, D. (2020). Looking Out for Myself: Exploring the Relationship between Conspiracy Mentality, Perceived Personal Risk, and COVID-19 Prevention Measures. British Journal of Health Psychology, 25. 957–980. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjhp.12449.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marshal, M. (2023). Long COVID: Answers Emerge on How Many People Get Better. Nature, 27 June 2023. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-02121-7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mason, J. (2022). “If you can’t see the pattern here, there’s something wrong”: A Cognitive Account of Conspiracy Narratives, Schemas, and the Construction of the “expert”. In Demata, M., Zorzi, V., & Zottola, A. (eds.). Conspiracy Theory Discourses, 169–191. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Google Scholar
Maxmen, A. & Mallapaty, S. (2021). The COVID Lab-leak Hypothesis: What Scientists Do and Don’t Know. Nature, 594. 313–315 (8 June 2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-01529-3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mettraux, G. (ed). 2008. Perspectives on the Nuremberg Trial. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, M. E. (2021). The Gunman Who Terrorized a D.C. Pizzeria Is out of Prison. The QAnon Conspiracy Theories He Helped Unleash Are Out of Control. The Washington Post, 16 February 2021.Google Scholar
Modern Healthcare. (2021). Nurses Fight Conspiracy Theories along with Coronavirus. Modern Healthcare, 13 March 2021. www.modernhealthcare.com/providers/nurses-fight-conspiracy-theories-along-coronavirus.Google Scholar
Muelas-Gil, M. (2022). Covid Warriors: An Analysis of the Use of Metaphors in Children’s Books to Help Them Understand Covid-19. In Musolff, A., Breeze, R., Kondo, K. & Vilar-Lluch, S. (eds.). Pandemic and Crisis Discourse. Communicating Covid-19 and Public Health Strategy, 115–133. London: Bloomsbury.Google Scholar
Musolff, A. (2010). Metaphor, Nation and the Holocaust: The Concept of the Body Politic. London/New York: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Musolff, A. (2016). Political Metaphor Analysis: Discourse and Scenarios. London: Bloomsbury.Google Scholar
Musolff, A. (2022). Fake-conspiracy: Trump’s Anti-Chinese “COVID-19-as-war” Scenario. In Demata, M., Zorzi, V. & Zottola, A. (eds.). Conspiracy Theory Discourses, 121–139. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Google Scholar
Musolff, A. (2024). War Metaphors and Conspiracy Theories. In Romano, M. (ed.) Metaphor in Social-political Contexts: Critical, Socio-Cognitive Approaches, 159–176. Berlin/Boston: W. de Gruyter.Google Scholar
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (ed.). (2023). Attacks on Scientists and Health Professionals During the Pandemic. Proceedings of a Symposium – in Brief. The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/26936.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
National Geographic. (2021). Fauci: Expect the Unexpected: Ten Lessons on Truth, Service, and the Way Forward. Washington, DC: National Geographic.Google Scholar
National Institutes of Health (NIH). 2024. NIH Director’s Blog. https://directorsblog.nih.gov/tag/covid-19/.Google Scholar
Nelson, R. (2013). Sandy Hook Hero Harassed by Burgeoning Truther-movement. Time, 16 January 2013. https://newsfeed.time.com/2013/01/16/sandy-hook-hero-harassed-by-burgeoning-truther-movement/.Google Scholar
Newsweek. (2021). Pastor Says Fauci Should Be Waterboarded Until He Admits to Working with China to Create COVID. Newsweek, 4 December 2021.Google Scholar
Newsweek. (2023). Fauci Says He’s Always Been “Honest” as COVID Origins Questions Raised. Newsweek, 8 March 2023.Google Scholar
NIAID (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases). (2023). Dr. Anthony Fauci, M.D. www.niaid.nih.gov/about/anthony-s-fauci-md-bio (accessed 12 May 2024).Google Scholar
Nichols, T. (2017). The Death of Expertise: The Campaign against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Nogrady, B. (2021). Scientists under Attack. Nature, 598. 250–253. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-02741-x.Google Scholar
Nogrady, B. (2024). Harassment of Scientists Is Surging. Nature, 629 (23 May 2024). 748–750. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-01468-9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Norris, C. (1992). Uncritical Theory: Postmodernism, Intellectuals and the Gulf War. London: Lawrence & Wishart.Google Scholar
NPR/IPSOS. (2020). More than 1 in 3 Americans believe a “Deep State” Is Working to Undermine Trump: NPR/Ipsos Poll Finds Widespread Concerns about the Spread of False Information, Despite Some Believing in COVID-19 and QAnon-related Conspiracies. IPSOS Public Poll Findings and Methodology, 30 December 2020. www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/news/documents/2020-12/topline_npr_misinformation_poll_123020.pdf.Google Scholar
Oberhauser, K. (2020). Freemasons, Illuminati and Jews: Conspiracy theories and the French Revolution. In Butter, M. & Knight, P. (eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Conspiracy Theories, 555–568. London/New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Office of the United States Chief of Counsel for the Prosecution of Axis Criminality. (1946). Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression. Washington, DC: US Government.Google Scholar
Ohlheiser, A. W. (2020). Facebook and YouTube Are Rushing to Delete “Plandemic,” a Conspiracy-laden Video. MIT Technology Review, 07 May 2020. www.technologyreview.com/2020/05/07/1001469/facebook-youtube-plandemic-covid-misinformation/.Google Scholar
Olmsted, E. (2023). Elon Musk Invites Alex Jones to Explain That “Whole Sandy Hook Thing”. The New Republic, 11 December 2023. https://newrepublic.com/post/177455/alex-jones-says-just-playing-devils-advocate-whole-sandy-hook-thing.Google Scholar
Önnerfors, A. (2021). Der Grosse Austausch. Conspiratorial Frames of Terrorist Violence in Germany. In Önnerfors, A. & Krouwel (eds.). Europe: Continent of Conspiracies: Conspiracy Theories in and about Europe, 62–70. London/New York: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Otten, T. (2022). Infowars’ Alex Jones Files for Bankruptcy After Sandy Hook Verdict. The New Republic, 2 December 2022. https://newrepublic.com/post/169275/infowars-alex-jones-files-bankruptcy-sandy-hook-verdict.Google Scholar
Pantenburg, J., Reichardt, S., & Sepp, B. (2021). Corona-Proteste und das (Gegen-) Wissen sozialer Bewegungen. Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte, 15 January 2021. www.bpb.de/shop/zeitschriften/apuz/wissen-2021/325605/corona-proteste-und-das-gegen-wissen-sozialer-bewegungen/.Google Scholar
Pascovich, E. (2018). The Devil’s Advocate in Intelligence: The Israeli Experience. Intelligence and National Security, 33(6). 854–865, https://doi.org/10.1080/02684527.2018.1470062.Google Scholar
Paun, C. (2023). Trump’s CDC Director Says Fauci Shut Down Debate on Covid’s Origin. Politico, 8 March 2023.Google Scholar
Pawelz, J. (2022). Umsturzpläne und Verschwörungsdenken von “Reichsbürgern” und “Selbstverwaltern”. Hamburg: Institut für Friedensforschung und Sicherheitspolitik. https://ifsh.de/news-detail/umsturzplaene-und-verschwoerungsdenken-von-reichsbuergern-und-selbstverwaltern.Google Scholar
Pearce, F. (2010). The Climate Files: The Battle for the Truth about Global Warming. London: Guardian Books.Google Scholar
Pentucci, R. (2022). Extreme Right-Wing Terrorism and COVID-19 – A Two-Year Stocktake. Counter-Terrorist Trends and Analyses, 14 (3). 17–23.Google Scholar
Pertwee, E., Simas, C., & Larson, H. J. (2022). An Epidemic of Uncertainty: Rumors, Conspiracy Theories and Vaccine Hesitancy. Nature Medicine Perspective. 28 March 2022, 456–459. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-022-01728-z.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Petersen, K. (2022). Fact Check: Video Shows Rep. Jim Jordan question Dr. Anthony Fauci. USA Today, 14 November 2022.Google Scholar
Pigden, C. (2018). Popper revisited, or What Is Wrong with Conspiracy Theories? In Coady, D. (ed.). Conspiracy Theories. The Philosophical Debate, 17–43. London/New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Plümper, T., Neumayer, E., & Pfaff, K. G. (2021). The Strategy of Protest against Covid-19 Containment Policies in Germany. Social Science Quarterly, 102. 2236–2250. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.13066.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Powell, J. L. (2011). The Inquisition of Climate Science. New York: Columbia University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Priemel, K. C. (2016). The Betrayal: The Nuremberg Trials and German Divergence. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Putnam, H. (1975). The Meaning of “Meaning”. In Gunderson, K. (ed.). Language, Mind and Knowledge, 131–193. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.Google Scholar
Rabo, A. (2020). Conspiracy Theory as Occult Cosmology in Anthropology. In Butter, M. & Knight, P. (eds.). The Routledge Handbook of Conspiracy Theories, 81–93. London/New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Räiikä, J. & Ritola, J. (2020). Philosophy and Conspiracy Theories. In Butter, M. & Knight, P. (eds.). The Routledge Handbook of Conspiracy Theories, 56–66. London/New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Rajewsky, I. (2020). Theories of Fictionality and their Real Other. In Fludernik, M. & Ryan, M.-L. (eds.). Narrative Factuality. A Handbook, 29–50. Berlin/New York: De Gruyter.Google Scholar
Rathje, J. (2017). “Reichsbürger” – Verschwörungsideologie mit deutscher Spezifik. Wissen schafft Demokratie – Schriftenreihe des Instituts für Demokratie und Zivilgesellschaft (IDZ), 1. 238–249.Google Scholar
Rathje, J. (2021). “Reichsbürger” und Souveränismus. Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte, 35/36. 34–40.Google Scholar
Reichardt, S. (ed.). (2021). Die Misstrauensgemeinschaft der “Querdenker”. Frankfurt am Main: Campus-Verlag.Google Scholar
Renner, K. N. (2020). Facts and Factual Narration in Journalism. In: Fludernik, M. & Ryan, M.-L. (eds.). Narrative Factuality. A Handbook, 465–478. Berlin/Boston: W. de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Rincon, P. (2020). Coronavirus: Is there Any Evidence for Lab Release Theory? BBC-online, 01 May 2020.Google Scholar
Rosenberg, A. (1923). Die Protokolle der Weisen von Zion und die jüdische Weltpolitik. Munich: Deutscher Volks-Verlag.Google Scholar
Rosenthal, J. (2007). “Die Ehre des jüdischen Soldaten”. Die Judenzählung im ersten Weltkrieg und ihre Folgen. Frankfurt/M.: Campus.Google Scholar
Rothschild, M. (2021). The Storm Is Upon Us: How QAnon Became a Movement, Cult and Conspiracy Theory of Everything. Brooklyn: Melville House.Google Scholar
Sachs, N. (2023). This Will Be a Pyrrhic Victory for Hamas. The Atlantic, 7 October 2023. www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2023/10/israel-war-hamas-attacks/675579/.Google Scholar
Saner, E. (2021). “He was adamant he didn’t want it”: The Pro-vax Parents with Vaccine-hesitant Kids. The Guardian, 4 November 2021.Google Scholar
Schönberger, C. & Schönberger, S. (2023). Die Reichsbürger. Ermächtigungsversuche einer gespenstischen Bewegung. Munich: Beck.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schultheiss, K. (2012). The Dreyfus Affair and History, Journal of the Historical Society, 12. 189–203. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5923.2012.00362.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schumaker, D. (2023). Covid Changed Newt Gingrich’s Mind about Health Research Funding. Politico, 20 July 2023.Google Scholar
Shermer, M. & Grobman, A. (2000). Denying History: Who Says the Holocaust Never Happened and Why Do they Say It? Berkeley: University of California Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simonsen, K. B. (2020). Antisemitism and Conspiracism. In: Butter, M. & Knight, P. (eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Conspiracy Theories, 357–370. London/New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Slobodian, Q. (2020). How the “great reset” of Capitalism Became an Antilockdown Conspiracy. The Guardian, 4 December 2020.Google Scholar
Smith, B. (2023). The Covid Con: The Global Totalitarians’ Secret War Against Humanity. Bloomington, IN: Trafford Publications.Google Scholar
Smith, D. (2023). “It’s just gotten crazy”: How the Origins of Covid Became a Toxic US Political Debate. The Guardian, 28 February 2023.Google Scholar
SOED (Shorter Oxford Dictionary on Historical Principles). (2002). Eds. Trumble, W. R. & Stevenson, A.. 2 vols. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Sperber, D. (2000a). An Objection to the Memetic Approach to Culture. In Aunger, R. (ed.). Darwinizing Culture. The Status of Memetics as a Science, 163–173. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Sperber, D. (2000b). Metarepresentations in an Evolutionary Perspective. In Sperber, D. (ed.). Metaprepresentations: A Multidisciplinary Perspective, 117–137. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sperber, D., Clément, F., Heintz, C., Mascaro, O., Mercier, H., Origgi, G., & Wilson, D. (2010). Epistemic Vigilance. Mind & Language, 25(4). 359–393.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stack, M. K. (2023). Dr. Fauci Could Have Said a Lot More. The New York Times, 28 March 2023.Google Scholar
Stano, S. (2020). The Internet and the Spread of Conspiracy Content. In Butter, M. & Knight, P. (eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Conspiracy Theories, 483–496. London/New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Stolberg, S. G. & Mueller, B. (2023). Scientists, Under Fire from Republicans, Defend Fauci and Covid Origins Study. The New York Times, 11 July 2023.Google Scholar
Subotic, J. (2022). Antisemitism in the Global Populist International. British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 24(3). 458–474.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sunstein, C. R. & Vermeule, A. (2009). Conspiracy Theories: Causes and Cures. Journal of Political Philosophy 17(2). 202–227.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
T-Online. (2020a). Versuchter Sturm auf den Reichstag hat ein Nachspiel. T-Online, 31 August 2020.Google Scholar
T-Online. (2020b). Heilpraktikerin und Gelbwesten lösten Reichstagseklat aus. T-Online, 31 August 2020.Google Scholar
Thalmann, K. (2019). The Stigmatization of Conspiracy Theory since the 1950s: “A Plot to Make Us Look Foolish”. London/New York: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
The Guardian. (2020). How Coronavirus Has Brought Together Conspiracy Theorists and the Far Right. The Guardian, 4 September 2020.Google Scholar
The Hill. (2020). Fauci: It’s Mind-boggling that China’s Wet Markets Are Still Operating during Coronavirus Pandemic. 3 April 2020. https://thehill.com/changing-america/well-being/prevention-cures/491025-fauci-mind-boggling-that-chinas-wet-markets/.Google Scholar
The Hill. (2021). Trial Ends for Day as Senate Moves to Vote. The Hill, 2 December 2021, https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/538594-live-coverage-trump-lawyers-present-defense-focused-on-first-amendment/.Google Scholar
The New York Times. (2020). Far-Right Germans Try to Storm Reichstag as Virus Protests Escalate. The New York Times, 31 August 2020.Google Scholar
The New York Times. (2023). Scientists, Under Fire from Republicans, Defend Fauci and Covid Origins Study. The New York Times, 11 July 2023.Google Scholar
The Washington Post. (2020a). From “It’s going to disappear” to “WE WILL WIN THIS WAR”. The Washington Post, 31 March 2020.Google Scholar
The Washington Post. (2020b). Fauci Says Fox News Host Jesse Watters Should be Fired for “ambush” and “kill shot” Comments. The Washington Post, 14 April 2020.Google Scholar
The Washington Post. (2021). White House Denies Trump Is Considering Firing Fauci Despite His Retweet of a Hashtag Calling for His Ouster. The Washington Post, 21 December 2021.Google Scholar
Thießen, M. (2013). Vom immunisierten Volkskörper zum “präventiven Selbst”. Vierteljahreshefte für Zeitgeschichte 61(1). 35–64. https://doi.org/10.1524/vfzg.2013.0002.Google Scholar
Thorwart, K. (2020). Corona-Demos in Berlin: Von Reichsflagge bis AfD – Eine Fahnenkunde. Frankfurter Rundschau, 6 September 2020.Google Scholar
Thorwart, K. (2022). Prinz Reuß von den “Reichsbürgern” bedient antisemitische Verschwörungserzählungen. Frankfurter Rundschau, 12 December 2022.Google Scholar
US Attorney’s Office. (2022). Man Who Made Threats Against Dr. Anthony Fauci and Other Federal Officials Sentenced to Over Three Years in Federal Prison. U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Maryland, 4 August 2022. www.justice.gov/usao-md/pr/man-who-made-threats-against-dr-anthony-fauci-and-other-federal-officials-sentenced-over#:~:text=Greenbelt%2C%20Maryland%20%E2%80%93%20U.S.%20District%20Judge,sending%20emails%20threatening%20harm%20to.Google Scholar
USA Today. (2022). Fact Check: Video Shows Rep. Jim Jordan question Dr. Anthony Fauci. USA Today, 14 November 2022.Google Scholar
Uscinski, J. (2021). Conspiracy Theories and the People Who Believe Them. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Van Dijcke, D. & Wright, A. L. (2021). Profiling Insurrection: Characterizing Collective Action Using Mobile Device Data. Working Paper, Friedmann Institute, University of Chicago. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
van Eemeren, F. H. & Grootendorst, R. (1992). Argumentation, Communication, and Fallacies: A Pragma-dialectical Perspective. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
van Eemeren, F. H. & Houtlosser, P. (2002). Strategic Maneuvering with the Burden of Proof. In van Eemeren, F. H. (ed.). Advances in Pragma-Dialectics, 13–28. Amsterdam/Newport: Sic Sat/Vale Press.Google Scholar
van Eemeren, F. H., Houtlosser, P., & Snoeck Henkemans, F. (2007). Argumentative Indicators. A Pragma-Dialectical Study. Dordrecht: Springer.Google Scholar
van Proijen, J.-W. & Douglas, K. (2017). Conspiracy Theories as Part of History: The Role of Societal Crisis Situations. Memory Studies 10(3). 323–333. https://doi.org/10.1177/1750698017701615.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
van Prooijen, J.-W., Klein, O., & Milošević Đorđević, J. (2020). Social-cognitive Processes Underlying Belief in Conspiracy Theories. In Butter, M. & Knight, P. (eds.). The Routledge Handbook of Conspiracy Theories, 168–180. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
van Prooijen, J.-W. & Imhoff, R. (2022). The Psychological Study of Conspiracy Theories: Strengths and Limitations. Current Opinion in Psychology 47.101465. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101465.Google Scholar
van Prooijen, J.-W., Ligthart, J., Rosema, S., & Xu, Y. (2022). The Entertainment Value of Conspiracy Theories. British Journal of Psychology, 113. 25–48. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12522.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wagner, R. & Flannery-Dailey, F. (2005). Wake UP! Worlds of Illusion in Gnosticism, Buddhism and The Matrix Project. In Grau, C. (ed.). Philosophers Explore The Matrix. 258–288. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Waldman, P. (2021). The Real Reason the Right Hates Anthony Fauci. The Washington Post, 21 December 2021.Google Scholar
Walton, D. (2008). Informal Logic: A Pragmatic Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Wang, P. & Catalano, T. (2022). Social Media, Right-wing Populism, and Covid-19: A Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis of Reactions to the “Chinese virus” Discourse. In Musolff, A., Breeze, R., Kondo, K. & Vilar-Lluch, S. (eds.). Pandemic and Crisis Discourse. Communicating Covid-19 and Public Health Strategy, 321–337. London: Bloomsbury.Google Scholar
Webman, E. (2011). Adoption of the Protocols in the Arab Discourse on the Arab-Israeli Conflict, Zionism and the Jews. In Webman, E. (ed.) The Global Impact of the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion”: A Century-old Myth, 175–195. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Weiss, D. (2023). Covid-19 Vaccination Policies in an Autocratic Context. How Autocrats Cope with the Corona Challenge: Belarus vs. Russia. In Thielemann, N. & Weiss, D. (eds.). Remedies against the Pandemic: How Politicians Communicate their Crisis Management, 136–168. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Google Scholar
Wendling, M. (2021). QAnon: What Is It and Where Did It Come from? BBC, 6 January 2021. www.bbc.com/news/53498434.Google Scholar
WHO (World Health Organization). (2020a). WHO Director-General’s Statement on IHR Emergency Committee on Novel Coronavirus, 22 January 2020. www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-statement-on-ihr-emergency-committee-on-novel-coronavirus.Google Scholar
WHO (World Health Organization). (2020b). Statement on the Second Meeting of the Emergency Committee Regarding the Outbreak of Novel Coronavirus (2019-NCoV). 30 January 2020. www.who.int/news-room/detail/30-01-2020-statement-on-the-second-meeting-of-the-international-health-regulations-(2005)-emergency-committee-regarding-the-outbreak-of-novel-coronavirus-(2019-ncov).Google Scholar
WHO (World Health Organization). (2024). Number of COVID-19 Deaths Reported to WHO (Cumulative Total). https://data.who.int/dashboards/covid19/deaths.Google Scholar
Whyte, G. (2008). The Dreyfus Affair: A Chronological History. Basingstoke/New York: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, D. (2000). Metarepresentation in Linguistic Communication. In Sperber, D. (ed.). Metaprepresentations: A Multidisciplinary Perspective, 411–448. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Wippermann, W. (2007). Agenten des Bösen. Die großen Verschwörungstheorien und was dahinter steckt. Berlin: Herder.Google Scholar
Wistrich, R. (2010). A Lethal Obsession. Anti-Semitism from Antiquity to the Global Jihad. New York: Random House.Google Scholar
Wittmann, R. (ed.) (2021). Eichmann Trial Reconsidered. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wodak, R. (2021). Crisis Communication and Crisis Management during COVID-19. Global Discourse. https://doi.org/10.1332/204378921X16100431230102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wong, J. C. (2020). QAnon Explained: The Antisemitic Conspiracy Theory Gaining Traction around the World. The Guardian, 25 August 2020. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/25/qanon-conspiracy-theory-explained-trump-what-is.Google Scholar
Wood, M. J. & Douglas, K. M. (2013). “What about building 7?” A Social Psychological Study of Online Discussion of 9/11 Conspiracy Theories. Frontiers in Psychology, 4. 409.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yoe, C. (2019). Principles of Risk Analysis. Decision Making Under Uncertainty. London/New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Zipperstein, S. J. (2020). The Conspiracy Theory to Rule Them All. What Explains the Strange, Long Life of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion? The Atlantic, 25 August 2020. www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/08/conspiracy-theory-rule-them-all/615550/.Google Scholar
Zorzi, V. (2022). Collective Identities in the Online Self-representation of Conspiracy Theorists. The Cases of Climate Change Denial, “Deep State” and “Big Pharma”. In Demata, M., Zorzi, V. & Zottola, A. (eds.). Conspiracy Theory Discourses, 365–391. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Google Scholar
Zwierlein, C. & de Graaf, B. (2013). Security and Conspiracy in Modern History. Historical Social Research 38(1). 7–45.Google Scholar
Accessibility standard: WCAG 2.0 A
Why this information is here
This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.Accessibility Information
The PDF of this Element
conforms to version 2.0 of the
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
(WCAG), ensuring core accessibility principles are addressed and meets the basic
(A)
level of WCAG compliance, addressing essential accessibility barriers.
Content Navigation
Table of contents navigation
Allows you to navigate directly to chapters, sections, or non‐text items through a linked table of contents, reducing the need for extensive scrolling.
Allows you to navigate directly to chapters, sections, or non‐text items through a linked table of contents, reducing the need for extensive scrolling.
Reading Order & Textual Equivalents
Single logical reading order
You will encounter all content (including footnotes, captions, etc.) in a clear, sequential flow, making it easier to follow with assistive tools like screen readers.
You will encounter all content (including footnotes, captions, etc.) in a clear, sequential flow, making it easier to follow with assistive tools like screen readers.
Structural and Technical Features
ARIA roles provided
You gain clarity from ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) roles and attributes, as they help assistive technologies interpret how each part of the content functions.
You gain clarity from ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) roles and attributes, as they help assistive technologies interpret how each part of the content functions.