Why Do People Join Conspiracy Groups? Social Factors Matter More Than You Think

Ever wondered why some people decide to join communities that believe in conspiracy theories? You might think it's all about individual beliefs, but new research says otherwise. Scientists looked at 56 conspiracy communities on Reddit and found that social factors play a big role. They compared two groups: people who later joined these communities (future conspiracists) and those who didn't (non-conspiracists). By analyzing 6 million Reddit comments and posts, they discovered that interacting with members of these communities and feeling marginalized outside of them were the biggest reasons people joined.This means that who you talk to and how you feel in other groups can influence whether you join a conspiracy community. These findings are important because they show how social processes and echo chambers work in spreading conspiracy theories, which can have big impacts on society and democratic institutions.