The final speaker in this AoIR 2024 conference session is Alma Kalisky, whose focus is on ‘flat earther’ conspiracist communities. Overall, conspiracist beliefs can have significant negative consequences at the personal, social, and societal level, but also provide a ground for community formation and social connection; at the individual and communal level, we must better understand what attracts people to these conspiracy communities.
Conspiracy believers often come from low socioeconomic backgrounds, have low interpersonal and political trust, and are often perceived as paranoid and dangerous; the emotional belonging that they experience is much less understood: conspiracy groups are communities for …
