The Emergence of Conspiracy Narratives on Twitter
When frightening events occur, people flock to social media to learn new information and share their thoughts. These thoughts, on occasion, contain conspiracy theories. Examining how these early conspiracy theories develop may provide clues for why people are drawn to conspiracy theories. These studies examine how conspiracy theories developed during the January 6th Insurrection and the 2016 Dallas Sniper shootings. I find that in both cases, people prioritized establishing who was to blame for the conspiracy rather than why or how the event occurred. However, this preference shifted over the course of the event. If we can learn what people prioritize when creating conspiracy theories, we will have a better understanding of why people believe them, and how to prevent them from spreading.