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Conspiracy in the United States

IWA

How Does Societal and Cultural Conformity Contribute to the Development of Conspiracy
Within the United States?

Word Count: 2043

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Introduction

In the United States, more than 21% of surveyed U.S adults ‘somewhat’ or ‘strongly’ believe

that the Illuminati secretly controls the world. Another 29% believe that a “deep state” exists and

is in works with the former U.S president and his supporters (Statista 2019). Those who accept

these ideas often fall between a line of factual reality and illusioned experiences. In recent years,

the evolution of groups such as QAnon, an elaborate conspiracy group with ties to former

President Donald Trump that supports undertones of antisemitism and xenophobia, have

dominated the world stage with their bold and excitable nature. (ADL 2021) These groups are

most notoriously recognized as conspiracy theories, defined as “A secret plot by two or more

powerful actors…typically attempt to usurp political power…violate riots…or alter bedrock

institutions.” (Douglas 2019). Moreover, “Those who subscribe to conspiracy theories may

create serious risks, including risks of violence and the existence of such theories raises

significant challenges for policy and law.” (Douglas 2019) As defined by Karen M. Douglas, a

professor in Social Psychology at the University of Kent, in her 2019 report titled Understanding

Conspiracy Theories, Conspiracy theories are, in nature, products and causes of violence nature

in their followers. This becomes evident in events such as the 2021 Jan 6th Insurrection in which

QAnon supporters alongside President Trump supporters gathered to protest the ceremonial

process of affirming the presidential election results. The protest itself was founded on

conspiracy, as both groups argued that the 2020 presidential election was founded on extreme

bias and fraud. Ultimately, the protest escalated, and many protestors succumbed to violence as

the U.S Capitol building became overrun with QAnon and Trump Supporters alike, ultimately

causing over $1.5 million worth in damage (Department of Justice 2021) As noted, events such

as the Jan 6th insurrection reveal the violence correlated with conspiracy, however, the question
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arises as to how a conspiracy theorist can devolve to violence or more specifically, how does a

conspiracy theorist become a conspiracy theorist, to begin with?

To analyze these observations, it may become known that the ability to conform and the

action of conformity play a vital role in the creation of conspiracy theories across the United

States. As defined by Simply Psychology, “Conformity is a type of social influence involving a

change in belief or behavior to fit in with a group.” (Mcleod 2016) However, more specifically,

the struggle between social conformity and personal individuality must be analyzed to determine

the linked behaviors between believing and not believing an idea such as a conspiracy theory.

Given as one of the source materials, Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville is a prime

example of a source that describes the differences between Egotism (In place of Social

Conformity) and Individualism. Although dated, Democracy in America provides a pure

perspective of foundational culture in the Americas that would ultimately evolve into the ideas of

today from the perspective of French philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville. In mentioning Egotism,

Tocqueville states, “Egotism is a passionate and exaggerated love of self…(which) prefers

himself to everything in the world,” whereas individualism is described as, “Individualism is a

mature and calm feeling, which disposes each member of the community to serve himself from

the mass.” (Tocqueville) Tocqueville continues by describing Individualism as the essence of

United States democracy and its essential difference from its European counterparts. Moreover,

Tocqueville states, “If each citizen did not learn, in proportion as he individually becomes

consequently more incapable of preserving his freedom single-handed, to combine with his

fellow citizens to defend it, it is clear that tyranny would unavoidably increase together with

equality.” (Tocqueville) In short, Tocqueville recognizes the relationship between tyranny and

individualism to be inverse. In retrospect to the actions of the Jan 6th insurrection, the results
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seem to be true. The collective loss of individualism and the gathering of misinformed like-

minded individuals resulted in tyranny to a great degree. Altogether, the question of “How

societal and cultural conformity contributes to the development of conspiracy within the United

States?” must be raised. To analyze the given point, it may be critical to understanding the topic

from a psychological and political/governmental perspective.

Psychological: Epistemic Drive

It is worth noting the complexity and multitude of facets and paths one can take to reach

a point in which relating and subscribing to beliefs are classified as conspiracy. However,

through discretion, the analysis of the factor of epistemic motives plays a vital role in the

creation and development of conspiracy theories. epistemic motive is defined as the desire to

develop and maintain a rich and thorough understanding of a situation (in which) utilizing one’s

beliefs towards knowledge and the process of building knowledge. (Amit 2013) It is, essentially,

the motive to know and learn everything that pertains to the topic of choice, the motive that seeks

to fulfill one’s curiosity to the most extreme degree. At first glance, epistemic motive can be

compared to extreme passion, however, when mistreated, extreme passion can take a moral high

ground or low ground. Epistemic motives, for example, fail to consider misinformation and its

effects on the human mind. Ultimately, the misuse of epistemic motive can lead to extreme

conformity, in this case, in favor of the conspiracy group. As stated in Understanding

Conspiracy Theories by Karen M. Douglas, “The projection of one’s own personal beliefs onto

others is associated with conspiracy belief—that is, the belief that ‘they conspire’ is in part the

result of the belief that ‘I would conspire’,” (Douglas 2019) Thus, at the foundation of the

epistemic drive is the suggested idea that ‘they conspire’ so ‘I conspire.’ Epistemic motives are

completed through the epistemic drive, the process of fulfilling the epistemic motive. The
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process of the epistemic drive follows the logical process of knowledge product to social action

to the social environment and ultimately to the evolution of an epistemic drive. To give an

example, one may find a source on social media that intrigues he/she. However, this source is

misinformed and lacks any objective truth, yet the recipient of the knowledge is still intrigued,

nonetheless. He/she is so intrigued that they must complete some sort of social action, such as

sharing what they find with relatives or friends or attending some sort of rally in support of this

idea. He/she then reaches the social environment in which they believe that ‘they conspire’ so ‘I

must conspire’ and the faith of the individual within the conspiracy grows to a degree where

epistemic motives are in complete effect (Bineth 2021) This sequence of events defines one way

in which epistemic drive, in which conformity is the basis, can drive conspiracy theories to grow

at alarming rates.

Psychology: Ritualistic Synchrony

Ritualistic Synchrony is defined as conformity by way of culture and rituals. Ritualistic

synchrony functions by attacking the absence of identity and purpose within one’s belief

systems, therefore persuading individuals to believe an idea as the individual simply yearns for

any idea to find relatable (Michele 2020). Michele et al study of the cultural evolutionary trade-

off of ritualistic synchrony help to expose the power of conformity to hinder creativity and

individualism. The study conducted by Michele et al consisted of 42 groups of 3/4 individuals as

they walked around a college campus either in step with the experimenter or at their place. Both

groups would then be asked to write a collaborative story and measures of creativity were then

measured (Michele 2020) The findings of the study revealed that the experimental group, in

which synchrony was performed, noticed a sharp significant decrease in creativity. Michele

stated, “(the) darker side of synchrony include(es) higher groupthink and destructive obedience
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and lower creativity.” (Michele 2020) Moreover, Michele also stated, “Experiences (with)

synchrony tend to feel more trusting towards and united with their group members, feel more

similar, and report more liking towards group members.” (Michele 2020) These collective results

paint a brighter picture of the role conformity holds within the development of ideas and mass

gatherings when mixed with faulty rituals and culture. These findings also further demonstrate

the violent nature of “dark” conformity and conspiracy groups.

Political: Misinformation Actions Around the World

A report done by Daniel Funke, a fact check reporter who covers online misinformation

and is affiliated with USA TODAY, explores the actions taken by governments across the world

to hinder the spread of misinformation (Funke 2018). These actions may take the form of law,

bills, investigations, task forces, reports, court rulings, threats, internet shutdowns, failed

legislation, or efforts in achieving media literacy. In the creation of these actions, it is worth

noting the balance between the ability to hinder misinformation and the ability to guarantee

freedom of speech. The spectrum on which these actions fall must align with standards that

appeal to the public. As mentioned in Funke’s report, “ Spanning from Brazil to South Korea,

these efforts raise questions about infringing free speech guarantees and are frequently victims of

uncertainty,” (Funke 2018) The scope, as limited by the United States, helps to recognize actions

done within the United States to hinder the spread of misinformation. The most notable

distinction found within the Unites States includes the development of the Honest Ads Act.

Although yet to pass through the Senate and into law, the bill plans to subject online political ads

to guidelines, allow voters to know who is trying to influence their vote, and safeguard politics

from foreign interference. However, the bill would not restrict online political advertising, chill

first amendment rights, or target specific audiences. (Ottenfled 2018) Ottenfled states, “(The
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Honest Ads Act) is the best first step to combat the problem of hidden forging disinformation

campaigns targeted at the United States by implementing a disclosure system for paid, online

political advertising.” (Ottenfled 2018) A bill such as the Honest Ads Act is set to eliminate

misinformation on a new transforming scale in the United States. However, the bill still requires

support from major tech companies such as Google and Facebook to support the bill for the bill

to receive any traction within the senate. Additionally, when complete support is garnered from

these corporations, there still lies the question as to the extent of power that can be held by these

corporations in protecting the critical issue of national security (Ottenfled 2018).

Solution: Pre-Bunking/Positive Conformity

In efforts to sustain misinformation and conspiracy to levels of sustainability, methods

such as Pre-bunking and positive conformity may be introduced. Pre-bunking is defined as the

process of debunking lies, tactics, or sources before they strike and spread across large

populations (First Draft 2021 ) “’ Prebunking’ is more effective. Like a misinformation vaccine,

this technique warns people that they might encounter misinformation before they buy into it…

(it helps) to nudge people to consider accuracy discourages them from sharing fake news.”

(Cichocka 2020) Prebunking is essentially the motive to fact-check sources and facts from

articles, known figures, and other sources of information. Prebunking is exhaustive as one tries

to become perfect in their ability to regurgitate factual and credible information but helps

establish a healthy and positive environment in which misinformation is not promoted.

Prebunking can be based on facts, logic, or sources and all are critical to ensuring

misinformation is hindered. An example of positive conformity lies within the leadership of New

Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden in which Jacinda’s comprehensive, committed, and

Prebunked plan during the Covid-19 Pandemic helped to hinder speculation and the spread of
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misinformation. (Wilson 2020) “Prime Minister Jacinda Arden stressed solidarity and

transparent decision-making and offered people a sense of purpose.” (Cichocka 2020)

Acknowledgment and replication of success from figures such as Prime Minister Jacinda Arden

describe one of many steps that the U.S government may take towards progressing towards a

society that values factual and credible information, over misinformation that breeds conspiracy

and ‘dark’ conformity.

Conclusion

Conspiracy has accumulated to a great scale within the United States and as a result,

violence has grown to be of concern for national security. In recent news, the acceptance of

legislatures such as the Critical Race Theory Bill and the “Don’t Say Gay” Bill has shown a step

in the complete opposite direction of a system that fosters genuine and accurate historiographies

(Cramer 2022). Misinformation is, arguably, at the highest peak of existence in this generation

and its growth and development must be stopped before tyranny unavoidably increases

altogether with equality.

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Work Cited

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Mcleod, Saul. “What Is Conformity?” What Is Conformity? | Simply Psychology, 1 Jan. 2016,

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not-do/.

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