Understanding conspiracy thinking: the heterogeneity of ideal typical forms of conspiracy theories

While “conspiracy thinking” has become a political and media topic and research has proliferated over the past decade to better understand this phenomenon, there is no consensus as to the typical profile of a conspiracy thinker. Acknowledging the limitations of quantitative surveys, this article proposes to approach conspiracy beliefs through a comprehensive approach and to establish a typology based on the experiences of those involved. It is based on 33 interviews with 23 individuals, a corpus of personal digital data and the observation of several Telegram channels structured around a conspiracy narrative. Viewed through the prism of experience, the typical profile of a conspiracy theorist is heterogeneous, in terms of socio-demographic characteristics and forms and levels of adherence. It helps us understand the diversity of ways of being – or not being – a conspiracy theorist.