Why Conspiracy Theories Are Born: QAnon and Social Media

2024/04/26

The major catalyst for deciding to translate this book was the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

It was an unbelievable incident where armed Trump supporters, convinced that the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent, attacked the heart of American politics. One of the translators (Masayuki Karasudani) researches the relationship between politics and the media. Because of this, I felt a strong sense of urgency to clarify how the preposterous "stolen election" conspiracy theory was born and how it spread.

After the incident, a chance encounter gave me the opportunity to speak with a young Japanese man who supported QAnon's claims. He was a "normal" young man in his 30s living in Tokyo with a clean-cut appearance. Meeting him shattered the vague image I had previously held of "Trump supporters" and "conspiracy theorists." Through this meeting, I developed an even stronger interest in conspiracy theory research.

While shocked by the Capitol attack, I initially had no prior knowledge of the conspiracy theory issue and relied first on information from social media. Compared to typical social science challenges, the situation regarding conspiracy theories is far more fluid. Furthermore, social media was the primary battlefield where the QAnon movement originating in the U.S. spilled over into Japan and began to exert a certain level of influence. In this process of information gathering, the information shared by watchers and journalists monitoring conspiracy theories and cult groups on Twitter (now X) was extremely beneficial. I learned about the existence of this book because it was a major topic of conversation within the conspiracy theory circles on Twitter.

Partway through, Amiko Nobori, an international political scientist and graduate of the Keio University Graduate School of Law, joined as a co-translator. One major factor shaking the liberal international order led by the U.S. since World War II is the rise of nationalism and populism in developed countries, including the U.S. In that sense, from the perspective of international politics, the conspiracy theories behind the weakening of American democracy are a theme that cannot be ignored. This is a book I want not only those interested in media studies to read, but also those interested in international politics.

Why Conspiracy Theories Are Born: QAnon and Social Media

Masayuki Karasudani (Co-translator), Amiko Nobori (Co-translator)

Keio University Press

378 pages, 2,970 yen (tax included)

*Affiliations and titles are those at the time of publication.