On Geektimes various conspiracy theories popular among the Russian population were repeatedly discussed. In particular, they discussed the theory of flat Earth , the theory of non-existent HIV , the rejection of vaccines and the popularity of homeopathy (conspiracy of pharmacists), the theory of the dangers of GMOs has been repeatedly discussed ( 1579 comments , 1118 comments , 832 comments ), like other types of obscurantism. We published the results of a study of people who believe in conspiracy theories .

The main question remained unanswered - why is conspiracy thinking so popular? Why do people tend to explain various phenomena of the surrounding reality by some kind of conspiracy?

The company Medialogia, together with Vedomosti, conducted a unique study , examining 36 conspiracy concepts and changing their popularity in social networks and Russian media.

It turns out that conspiracy thinking is becoming more popular in Russia every year. Conspiracy concepts were tracked on the basis of 43,000 TV channels, radio stations, print and online media between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2017 - and during this time their references to source sources increased 6–9 times.

In addition, we now know the most popular conspiracy theories in the country. One of them leads by a wide margin from the rest.

The first place in popularity among the population was taken by the theory, which was practically not discussed on the pages of Geektimes. This is a "falsification of history."

Conspiracy of historians against Russia

The undisputed leader of the rating is one of the so-called "internal" conspiracy theories tied to the Russian agenda. There are several conspiracy stories that are combined by supposedly deliberate falsification and distortion of history. According to Vedomosti, the conspiracy theory was explicitly formulated by the Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky, who in his 2012 book, Peculiarities of National PR, recounted the “conspiracy of historians” who “steal history from us” and has since explained many times that he has a simple approach to history: compliance with the national interests of the state. Who does not agree - those "scum goner."

Experts point out that this conspiracy theory came out on the 1st place not by the frequency of mentioning in social networks, but because of the ultra-high frequency of references from the top officials of the country and the circle of their confidants and confidants with accusations of “bad” historians and / or hostile political forces in general. These statements are then relayed by all media, which gives a huge frequency in the analysis.

Big media waves caused statements by Vladimir Putin, Vladimir Medinsky, Valentina Matvienko, Nikita Mikhalkov, Olga Vasilyeva, Maria Zakharova. The second group by the number of reports is the accusations of specific historians, publicists or public people that they intentionally “distort” something, especially in the history of the Great Patriotic War (the accusations are addressed mainly to Mark Solonin and Viktor Suvorov). The third and smallest group is the answer of historians themselves in defense of historical science and, as Free Historical Society formulated on its website, "against the politicization of history, attempts to establish censorship and control over certain themes and periods."

The rest of conspiracy theories in the top 10

The rest of the theories come with a large margin from the "conspiracy of historians" and "falsification of history."

1. Falsification of the history of Russia (conspiracy theories popularity rating of 15,730 points).
2. The existence of a secret world government (4249).
3. HIV / AIDS is invented (relatively fresh theory, one of the leaders in terms of popularity growth in 2011–2017: the frequency increased 36 times).
4. GMO foods are dangerous (but hide it).
5. The planet is ruled by aliens / reptilians (but they hide it).
6. Lunar conspiracy (Americans were not on the moon).
7. Vaccinations are extremely dangerous (but they hide it).
8. The blue lobby destroys Russia's spiritual bonds.
9. The earth is flat (the second is a relatively new theory, the increase in the mentionability of 44.6 times).
10. The Masonic conspiracy is a whole bunch of conspiracy theories related to the idea of ​​a secret society that governs the world (it allegedly carries out coup d'etat, revolutions, the killing of powerful people, etc.).

Why are conspiracy theories so popular? The study itself "Medialogy" does not answer this question. But journalist Vladimir Ruvinsky from the Vedomosti newspaper believes that conspiracy theories have become the legitimate model for explaining to the society everything incomprehensible and hostile.

The fact that not only poorly educated people are subject to conspiracy is also surprising. In some conspiracy theories, the opposite is true. According to a poll by VTsIOM from 2014, 45% of Russians believe that humanity is governed by a world government — primarily from Western politicians and oligarchs. At the same time, 51% of respondents with higher education thought so, and 53% among the wealthy.

It seems that the conspiracy thinking is a psychological feature, not related to the level of education. The steady increase in the popularity of many theories in the media, especially in 2017, can be explained by the growing level of distrust in society as a whole, said philologist and historian Dmitry Panchenko from St. Petersburg State University.

Vedomosti notes that the Levada Center’s institutional trust index, released in October 2017, records an increase in confidence only in the siloviki - the army and special services: “This is influenced by economic uncertainty and the deterioration of the economic situation. It is symptomatic that a conspiracy-oriented society is more inclined to trust those in whose picture of the world conspiracies are the working professional model for explaining what is happening. ”

Sociologist Alexei Levinson from Levada believes that belief in conspiracy theories is in some way a sublimation of one's own impotence: “If you are completely dependent on everything and everything, such as modern pensioners, then conspiracy ideas arise. If there is a feeling that you are the master of your life and what is happening around you, then you don’t need to reinvent external forces that you do not have. ”

Best comment ( Azya ): I remember the afterword of Obruchev from “Plutonium”:

“The author has already received quite a few letters from readers of Plutonium, in which they quite seriously ask why new expeditions are not equipped to explore this underworld, why the hole among the Arctic’s ice leading to the bowels of the Earth has not been found again and studied. They are also interested in the further fate of the initiator of the expedition Trukhanov and its participants. ”