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Politics
Keith Raymond Harris, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Philosophy, Ruhr University Bochum

Conspiracy theories are dangerous even if very few people believe them

United States Donald Trump Capitol
Lies don't have to spread far to cause problems. numismarty/iStock/Getty Images Plus

There is an open question among pundits and researchers: Do more Americans believe in conspiracy theories now than ever before?

But as a scholar of conspiracy theories and their believers, I am concerned that focusing on how many Americans believe conspiracy theories can distract from their dangers.

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