Google Enables Conspiracy Theories

When evidence for a conspiracy theory falls short, an opportune moment to study cognitive dissonance arises as followers easily find ‘proof’ for an alternative explanation. The Frontal Cortex blog recalls Leon Festinger’s pioneering work on cognitive dissonance, which is further enabled, the author argues, by the massive amounts of questionable information online: “I sometimes worry that the internet is making things worse. … After all, thanks to Google we can find ‘evidence’ in support of practically any belief. If you can imagine the conspiracy theory, there is a website out there ardently promoting it, and a clan of fellow believers who share your peculiar obsession with fluoridated drinking water and the New World Order.”