Why we are all attracted to conspiracy theories

Belief in conspiracy theories is far more widespread than the stereotypes that dominate pop culture.

Recently, QAnon, Covid-19 and 5G theories have gained traction and criticism while less controversial conspiracies like the faked moon landing have persisted for decades.

We all share hardwired evolutionary traits that make us vulnerable to them, from the way we assign truth to new information to our tendency to find patterns in unrelated phenomena.

But if we’re all potentially susceptible to conspiracy theories, how can we manage these cognitive shortcuts?