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Conspiracy theories aren’t new. For centuries, they’ve been used to target groups cast as outsiders, from anti-Semitic myths in Europe to misogynistic and xenophobic narratives that frame social change as a threat. These stories have been used to divide societies and consolidate power.

Today, those same dynamics are playing out in a digital world where misinformation spreads faster, reaches wider audiences and shapes public discourse in ways that undermine trust and threaten democratic institutions.

�Ӱ�ԭ�� University history professor Jennifer Evans is studying how conspiracy theories evolve and why they resonate. Leading the Populist Publics project with �Ӱ�ԭ�� communications professor Sandra Robinson, Evans is tracing conspiracy narratives across history to understand when they emerge, who they target and how they adapt to new media.

Her goal is to help people develop the critical skills needed to recognize and resist conspiratorial thinking.

A Historian’s View on Modern Conspiracy

We can’t understand conspiracy theories without looking at how information circulates online, according to Evans.

“Our belief that we understand how it works because we’re users is harmful. The mechanisms aren’t transparent and it takes sophisticated tools to interpret what we see.”

People feel like they have a window into what others think online, but they’re seeing a curated perspective shaped by algorithms, influencers and bad actors.

Evans’ research shows that conspiracy theories tend to surface at moments of upheaval — economic instability, pandemics, political disruption — when people are trying to make sense of rapid change.

“Conspiracy theories are best understood as having both irrational and rational elements,” she explains.

Those explanations fill gaps left by institutions struggling to communicate clearly or quickly. During COVID-19, for example, shifting guidance, confusing messaging and gaps in public communication created fertile ground for misinformation.

Fionnuala Braun — a �Ӱ�ԭ�� master’s student working with Evans who studies trust and misinformation in the public health sphere — says conspiracies often begin with uncertainty, not ideology.

“When they feel they’re not being told the full story, they’ll turn to unofficial and unreliable sources.”

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