Which President Believes In Conspiracies The Most?

With two months until Election Day, Donald Trump is promoting at least nine baseless conspiracy theories about 2024, including protests, the coronavirus, and deepfakes. There is no single big conspiracy theory, but individual ones proliferate on all sides and are becoming deeply baked into election politics. False conspiracies are not new, but their reach is spreading accelerated by social media, encouraged by former President Trump, and weaponized. Conspiracy theories and false claims about Kamala Harris have spread online since she was appointed as the Democratic Party’s vice-presidential nominee. The Jan. 6 riot is perhaps the most notable example of how conspiracy theories can lead to violence, as thousands of people stormed the Capitol and fought with police motivated by Trump’s claims.

Conspiration theories in United States politics are beliefs that a major political situation is the result of secretive collusion by powerful people striving for power. For over a century, presidents have created advisory groups (committees, commissions, boards, blue ribbon panels). The obsession with finding and casting out “un-Americans” has been a constant in American conspiracy theories.

Obama conspiracy theories fall into two broad categories: the “birther” theory concerned with Barack Obama’s eligibility for the presidency, and the “birther” theory concerning Barack Obama’s eligibility for the presidency. Trump is not just embracing QAnon supporters, but also promoting at least nine baseless conspiracy theories. A new Pew Research Center survey finds that Americans’ deep partisan divide, dueling information ecosystems, and divergent responses to conspiracy theories contribute to the spread of these theories.