“Conspiracy theories about globalist cabals, climate hoaxes and election fraud may seem ubiquitous on social media. But a report published on Monday by the Media Ecosystem Observatory has found that they come from a tiny minority of users.
According to the report, published Monday, just 100 users are responsible for almost 70 per cent of all online conspiracy claims in Canada.”
“It’s about the permission structure of how we treat each other and how we treat our democratic institutions, which I think conspiracy theories are really undermining”
“The report from the Media Ecosystem Observatory, a collaboration between McGill University and the University of Toronto, did not name the accounts responsible for spreading conspiracy theories. But an analyst at the organization gave some clues.
“A lot of them are part of a network. They often know each other and engage with each other’s content,” said Mathieu Lavigne.”
“The most commonly held conspiracy belief was in “gender indoctrination,” (the belief that schools are indoctrinating kids with radical gender ideology) and was held by 21 per cent of respondents”
“In small and mid-sized communities, the folks who seriously believe these conspiracy theories are also being very loud about it”
“There is a well-established “perception gap” between what we think others believe and what they actually believe. A recent poll by ReClimate found that 42 per cent of Canadians think about addressing climate change at least weekly, and yet they believe only 26 per cent of their neighbours do the same. Similarly, research has found as many as 89 per cent of people want more action on climate change — yet those 89 per cent tend to believe they’re in the minority.”
“The Media Ecosystem Observatory report found that influencers often promote multiple different conspiracy theories, creating an interconnected web of beliefs”