How a conspiracy theory spreads

Process map by Brian. 24 steps, 2 layers. Tags: culture, internet, psychology, misinformation, controversy.

1. A real event: Something big and confusing happens
2. You: The official explanation feels slow or incomplete
3. A storyteller: Someone offers a simple story with a villain
4. An online community: The story spreads in a close community
5. Recommendation systems: Similar content gets recommended
6. You: You see it from several "different" sources
7. You: Do you check where they got it?
8. Fact-checkers: Trace the claim to its first source and compare it to evidence
9. You: Does the evidence change your mind?
10. You: You update your view
11. An online community: Doubters are called naive and believers bond tighter
12. A storyteller: Every new fact gets absorbed as more proof, until attention moves on
13. You: Repetition makes it feel true

Read this process as Markdown

$Culture $Internet $Psychology $Misinformation $Controversy All process maps