The dangers of spreading conspiracy theories: expert comments on the case of Alex Jones

The American right-wing radio host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has recently been ordered to pay US$965m to the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting in which 20 children and six adults were killed. Using his popular Infowars platform, Jones argued that the shooting was a hoax—a staged government conspiracy to take guns from American citizens. He argued that the family members of the victims were “crisis actors” who were pretending to be disaster victims. As the result of a defamation lawsuit by the victims’ families, Jones has been ordered to pay the significant sum in damages for alleged years of harassment and death threats suffered by the families.

This case highlights an important issue: spreading conspiracy theories can have drastic consequences. Professor Karen Douglas, from Kent’s School of Psychology, comments:

‘Alex Jones shared his Sandy Hook conspiracy theory to a large followership on his website, which has 10 million monthly visits (making its reach greater than some mainstream news sites). With such a platform, conspiracy theories can spread far and wide. As a result of the false claims made by Jones, the victims’ families described receiving a decade’s worth of online hate, threats, and some feared so much for their safety that they moved house.

‘Over the course of history, conspiracy theories have had other serious consequences. They have resulted in witch-hunts, prejudice, wars, and acts of genocide. During the COVID-19 pandemic, people who believed that the virus was a hoax were less likely to engage in social distancing, or to get a vaccine. Conspiracy theories about politics can lead to violence and terrorism, like the storming of the Capitol building in Washington DC on January 6th 2021.

‘Considering these costs, researchers in recent years have started to scientifically study the consequences that conspiracy theories have for individuals, groups, political systems and societies. Researchers have worked on identifying these consequences, how they come about, and who they affect. Since January 2022, our research team has been investigating the consequences of spreading conspiracy theories, as well as the consequences of belief in conspiracy theories for interpersonal relationships. The project will also investigate the consequences of conspiracy theories in the domains of politics, the environmental crisis and for people’s health decisions.’