Summary:
- Minority of those surveyed are symbolic thinkers
- Symbolic thinkers ignore truth, endorse misinfo to show strength
- Specifically, to some symbolic thinkers
- COVID prevention = weakness/threat, COVID misinfo = fighting back/showing strength
- Fiat = weakness, Bitcoin = strength
- Bitcoin = strength symbolic thinkers more often also endorse other conspiracy theories
My reactions:
- Concept of "symbolic show of strength" seems usefu, but why does symbolism attach to specific topics in specific groups in the first place, and what causes that to change over time?
- What makes people be "symbolic thinkers," and is it ever possible to dislodge symbolic interpretations?
- They focus on pure misinfo endorsement, but there are lots of ways to do "symbolic show strength" without endorsing lying, maybe more common:
- For my enemies, the law, for my friends, everything
- Make mountains out of molehills
- Exaggeration+sanewashing
- Skeptical on whether the idea that symbolic thinking is mainly an authoritarian/right-wing pattern generalizes beyond COVID prevention and bitcoin
Note: Title of this post is for the journal article.
Posted by AllAmericanBreakfast