Conspiracy Theories and Disinformation

Conspiracy theories have been around forever, and people have always believed in them. However, due to the fast-paced and democratized nature of posting and sharing, there are questions as to the internet’s influence on the spread of, and belief in, conspiracy theories. Why do people believe in conspiracy theories? Does the internet make conspiracy theories more powerful? If so, in what ways? In addition, we’ll examine the effect of the internet on information, specifically whether or not the internet has been good or bad for the truth. Has easy access to unlimited amounts of information resulted in better informed citizens? We’ll explore all of these questions in the lessons in this section.

Supporting Social Studies series episode: 3

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