Research on conspiracy theories tends to frame conspiracy believers as isolated individuals falling prey to irrational beliefs caused by a variety of pathological traits and cognitive shortcomings. But evidence is accumulating that conspiracy theory believers are also linked together in social movements capable of effectively coordinated collective action. We propose that conspiracy theory beliefs evolve over time, as part of a process of increasing disengagement from mainstream groups, and concomitant engagement in a community of like-minded individuals, capable of coordinated collective action. This approach allows portraying extreme conspiracism as attractive not despite its apparent irrationality, but precisely because of it. As such, conspiracy theories could not only be conceived as “beliefs” but also as “social signals” advertising a subversive “counter-elite” posture.

对阴谋论的研究倾向于将阴谋论者定性为孤立的个体，因各种病理特征和认知缺陷而成为非理性信念的牺牲品。但越来越多的证据表明，阴谋论的信徒们也在能够有效协调集体行动的社会运动中联系在一起。我们提出，阴谋论信念随着时间的推移而演变，作为越来越脱离主流群体的过程的一部分，并伴随着参与到一个志同道合的个人社区中，能够协调集体行动。这种方法允许将极端阴谋描绘成有吸引力，尽管它明显不合理，但正是因为其中。因此，阴谋论不仅可以被视为“信仰”，还可以被视为宣传颠覆性“反精英”姿态的“社会信号”。