Abstract
Despite the prevalence of conspiracy theories throughout history, a concerted research agenda into conspiracy theories in the social sciences did not begin until 2007. Events that followed—namely the Brexit referendum, the first Trump presidency, and the COVID-19 pandemic—brought the field into full bloom and made conspiracy theories and related topics (e.g., “fake news”) a salient issue in mainstream news coverage. The study of conspiracy theories consistently increased in size as scholars noticed the use of conspiratorial rhetoric by leaders in numerous countries, including Brazil, Hungary, and Russia. Despite the still expanding size of the field, numerous questions remain unanswered. For example, what are the effects of conspiracy theories? How does the communication of conspiracy theories affect beliefs and behaviors? What are the psychological mechanisms driving both exposure and belief adoption? Have new technologies affected the prevalence of conspiracy theory beliefs, and what should be expected with the emergence of new technologies (e.g., deep fakes and artificial intelligence)? The authors review the vast literature to highlight the current challenges to our understanding of conspiracy theory communication.