How belief in conspiracy theories affects interpersonal relationships: Feat. Lauren Mastroni

This week we have a special guest, Lauren Mastroni the leading author of the thesis, “I one-hundred thousand percent blame it on QAnon”: The impact of QAnon belief on interpersonal relationships from the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. We discuss how belief in the “big tent” conspiracy QAnon changed the political landscape, and paved the way for the Epstein Files scandal taking over the news this week, how the QAnon community affected their own relationships, and finally what the current situation may mean for the tight-knit Trump administration going forward. Read along with us:Background reading: 1. QAnon shows the staying power of Epstein theories. Trump should know they won’t go away (Donie O’Sullivan, CNN), 2. Risky strategy for Trump as he escalates Epstein row with loyal supporters (Anthony Zurcher, BBC), 3. What to Know About the Epstein Files, a Perfect Recipe for Conspiracy Theories (Devlin Barrett, The New York Times) I one-hundred thousand percent blame it on QAnon”: The impact of QAnon belief on interpersonal relationships (Lauren Mastroni and  Robyn Mooney, The Journal of Social and Personal Relationships)