How Conspiracy Theories Became More Personal, More Cruel And More Mainstream After The Sandy Hook Shootings

<p class=”is-style-sans-serif”><em>This article is part of&nbsp;<a href=”https://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe”>TPM Cafe</a>, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. It first appeared at&nbsp;<a href=”https://theconversation.com/how-conspiracy-theories-in-the-us-became-more-personal-more-cruel-and-more-mainstream-after-the-sandy-hook-shootings-172015″>The Conversation</a>.</em></p> <p>Conspiracy theories are powerful forces in the U.S. They have damaged public health amid a global pandemic, shaken faith in the democratic process and <a href=”https://abcnews.go.com/US/qanon-emerges-recurring-theme-criminal-cases-tied-us/story?id=75347445″>helped spark</a> a violent assault on the U.S. Capitol in January 2021.</p> <p>These conspiracy theories are part of a dangerous misinformation crisis that has been building for years in the U.S.</p> <p>American politics has long had a <a href=”https://harpers.org/archive/1964/11/the-paranoid-style-in-american-politics/”>paranoid streak</a>, and belief in conspiracy…

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