A Perfect Storm: Covid-19 Conspiracy Theories in the United States

Many conspiracy theories that spread around the world during the Covid-19 pandemic first emerged in the United States or on US-based Social Media. This chapter focuses on the specific conditions – political, medical, and technological – that gave rise to the outpouring of conspiracist talk in the United States during the pandemic. It begins by discussing the political and media contexts which created the conditions for a “perfect storm” of conspiracism and other forms of mis- and disinformation. It then summarizes the different conspiracy narratives that emerged, highlighting the distinctive features that characterized the creation, circulation, and consumption of conspiracy theories in the United States during the pandemic. In particular, it
focuses on the way that the conspiracy theories enabled the formation of new political
allegiances, creating “coalitions of distrust.”