Amid increased acts of violence against telecommunication engineers and property, this pre‐registered study (N = 601 Britons) investigated the association between beliefs in 5G COVID‐19 conspiracy theories and the justification and willingness to use violence. Findings revealed that belief in 5G COVID‐19 conspiracy theories was positively correlated with state anger, which in turn, was associated with a greater justification of real‐life and hypothetical violence in response to an alleged link between 5G mobile technology and COVID‐19, alongside a greater intent to engage in similar behaviours in the future. Moreover, these associations were strongest for those highest in paranoia. Furthermore, we show that these patterns are not specific to 5G conspiratorial beliefs: General conspiracy mentality was positively associated with justification and willingness for general violence, an effect mediated by heightened state anger, especially for those most paranoid in the case of justification of violence. Such research provides novel evidence on why and when conspiracy beliefs may justify the use of violence.

中文翻译：

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塔身燃烧：检查5G COVID-19阴谋信仰和暴力支持的作用。

在针对电信工程师和财产的暴力行为增加的情况下，这项预先注册的研究（N = 601英国人）调查了对5G COVID-19串谋理论的信念与使用暴力的理由和意愿之间的联系。调查结果表明，对5G COVID-19阴谋论的信念与国家愤怒成正相关，而国家愤怒又与对5G移动技术与COVID-19之间的所谓联系的现实生活和假想的暴力行为有更大的正当联系，以及将来有更多类似行为的意图。此外，对于偏执狂最高的人，这些关联最强。此外，我们证明了这些模式并非特定于5G阴谋论信念：普遍的共谋心理与普遍暴力的正当性和意愿正相关，这是由国家愤怒加剧引起的，特别是对于那些在暴力辩解中最偏执的人。这样的研究为阴谋信仰为何以及何时可以证明使用暴力辩护提供了新颖的证据。