Author:

Abstract:

Conspiracy theories have become widespread in contemporary societies. The Internet has facilitated their production, dissemination, and consumption. In particular, social media sites like YouTube are seen as a breeding ground for conspiratorial ideas. Enabled by these platforms, users construct and share narratives oppositional to power and hegemonic control. Nevertheless, despite growing alarmism, we know little about the culture of conspiracy on such social media platforms. Chapter 1 introduces the subject of conspiracy theories in culture, politics, and society, maps out the field of research around these subjects, and sketches a foundational theoretical critique of the normative and often techno-determinist perspectives that currently dominate the field. Instead, it calls for understanding conspiracy theories online from a cultural-sociological perspective. It raises the question: how does conspiracy culture manifest on YouTube? It proposes a three-fold focus on the production of conspiratorial content on YouTube, the sociality in conspiracy culture, and the construction of identity through their biographies and through exclusion (out-group). Chapter 2, "Picturing Opaque Power: How Conspiracy Theorists Construct Oppositional Videos on YouTube," addresses the production of conspiracy theories on YouTube. Modern-day conspiracy culture embodies compelling mediated images and narratives composed of various audiovisual materials. Building on Stuart Hall's encoding/decoding model and Henry Jenkins' notion of "participatory culture," this chapter analyzes these audiovisual conspiracy theories as "oppositional readings" of hegemonic truths. More concretely, it analyzes how conspiracy theorists reconstruct various audiovisual (mass-media) materials into streamlined narratives on YouTube videos to picture opaque power. Based on an in-depth qualitative analysis of 24 conspiracy theory videos, strategically selected from a larger sample of 200, we present three major categories of audiovisual narrative construction in conspiracy videos on YouTube: (1) Simulating: using fiction, religious, and cultural images and narratives to render images of events otherwise invisible; (2) Deciphering: decoding hidden messages by "closely reading" images and looking for hidden symbolism; (3) Exhibiting: exposing information, research, and images that are "hidden in plain sight" but point to conspiracy. This chapter contributes to the growing body of literature on conspiracy theories by showing how they are not just texts but should better be seen as media practices involving the recontextualizing of (mass) media material into new audiovisual conspiracy theory narratives. This shapes not just their content and form but also their place in public discourse. Chapter 3, "Debating (in) Echo Chambers: How Culture Shapes Communications in Conspiracy Theory Networks on YouTube," draws on an in-depth mixed-methods analysis to argue that not only technological infrastructures but cultural values, norms, and modes of communication in online environments shape how people oppose accepted authoritative "facts." Engaging with literature on echo chambers and how technological systems mediate public discourse, the study offers a new perspective. Although we assume people only 'echo' each other in algorithmically selected media spaces, there are differences in how they engage with conspiratorial content. The chapter empirically shows that the explanation for these differences lies in the distinct subcultural differences on- and offline. In other words, it argues for the contextual role of social backgrounds and 'subcultural capital' in forming echo chambers. Chapter 4, "Broadcast Yourself…Together: How People Become Conspiracy Theory Producers on YouTube," explores how and why people begin engaging with, and eventually producing, conspiracy theory videos on YouTube. Drawing on sociological, political, and media theories, this chapter argues that conspiratorial online practices arise from social and cultural contexts mediated by social media platforms and communities of practice. To answer this question, the study draws on 22 in-depth interviews and ethnographic fieldwork to explore the producers' backgrounds. Participants' biographies indicate three significant 'moments': translating pre-existing worldviews, becoming part of a community of practice, and increasing concern for self-promotion and self-branding. The chapter contributes to the literature on conspiracy theories, demonstrating how YouTube produces subcultural celebrities, blurring the boundaries between 'normal' and 'deviant.' Chapter 5, "Reactionary Exiles: How Conspiracy Theorists Deal with Socio-Technological Exclusion," examines how de-platformed 'conspiracy theorists' themselves experience and deal with socio-technological exclusion. Due to growing public concerns regarding the consequences of disinformation and conspiracy theories, major tech companies have introduced policies to curtail them on their platforms. Drawing on seminal theories in the symbolic interactionist tradition, we conceptualize conspiracy theories as stigmatized 'knowledge' and empirically study the ways that conspiracy theory producers manage their stigma after de-platforming. Particularly, we draw on an analysis of 22 in-depth, qualitative interviews and ethnographic observations with (former) conspiracy YouTubers, and a digital ethnography. Our findings demonstrate that YouTubers respond to de-platforming by emphasizing the 'silver linings' of their exclusion and by accommodating, bypassing, and reclaiming their 'stigma'. De-platforming contributes to their legitimacy in the face of their audiences and enables them to carve out space to cultivate a new, stronger form of conspiracy capital and status. This chapter contributes to the literature on conspiracy theories from a cultural sociological perspective and advances our understanding of how 'moral entrepreneurship' may backfire, strengthening people's beliefs and standing within their subculture. The concluding chapter, "Broadcasting Together," synthesizes the empirical chapters of this dissertation. It answers the question of how conspiracy culture manifests on YouTube by highlighting the findings of the dimensions of production, sociality, and identity studied in this work. By framing conspiracy culture as a space of cultural worldmaking, it emphasizes how they create, share, and negotiate truths within constrained digital environments. Ultimately, the chapter illustrates that while platforms empower conspiracy theorists to broadcast their narratives, they simultaneously restrict them, creating a paradox of constrained empowerment where collective playfulness and identity construction persist despite limitations.