Trust the Game: Gamification and the Rise of Online Conspiracy Theories

dc.contributor.authorAppleby, Margaret Fannonen
dc.contributor.committeechairLevinson, Chaden
dc.contributor.committeememberDull, Matthew Martinen
dc.contributor.committeememberDixit, Priyaen
dc.contributor.committeememberHolz, Adrienneen
dc.contributor.departmentPublic Administration/Public Affairsen
dc.date.accessioned2025-01-16T09:00:16Zen
dc.date.available2025-01-16T09:00:16Zen
dc.date.issued2025-01-15en
dc.description.abstractThis dissertation examines how the once-obscure QAnon conspiracy theory made the jump from the far-reaches of the internet to our mainstream political discourse. I contend that gamification, or the application of game-like elements to non-game phenomena, has increased the persuasive power of conspiracy theories such as QAnon and allowed for their mainstreaming into everyday political culture. In short, I want to understand how persuasive gamification makes information in today's politically charged digital media ecosystems. The three empirical chapters of this dissertation provide evidence for the argument. In chapter three, I present a survey-experiment, using the conspiracy theory that hip-hop star Tupac was not actually murdered, but that he rather faked his death to escape the pressures of stardom. Here I find statistically significant evidence that gamification increased the persuasiveness of conspiracy theories. In chapter four, I present a second similarly structured survey-experiment using the conspiracy theory that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. Here, I found mixed evidence on the ability of gamification to increase the persuasiveness of conspiracy theories, but I argue that further investigation is warranted. In chapter five, I provide some of the contextual color for the QAnon conspiracy theory to help better understand its key players and sketch how the game itself functions. The dissertation concludes with an examination of some of the consequences of believing in these kinds of conspiracy theories, including the storming of the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021, and prospects for future political radicalization.en
dc.description.abstractgeneralHow did a once obscure conspiracy theory that claimed a major Democratic party presidential candidate harvested the blood of the opposing party's children become part of mainstream American political discourse? While conspiracy theories are by no means a new phenomenon, their mainstreaming into our everyday politics is. This dissertation examines how the QAnon conspiracy theory has used gamification, or the application of game-like elements to non-game phenomena, to increase the persuasive power of the conspiracy theory. In short, I want to understand how persuasive gamification makes information in today's politically charged digital media ecosystems. In the same way that playing the McDonald's monopoly game incentivizes you to purchase more hamburgers and fries, the puzzle-like structure of the QAnon conspiracy theory draws believers into the theory and makes it hard to escape. Using two separate studies of two different conspiracy theories, I find mixed but promising evidence that gamification can increase the persuasiveness of modern online conspiracy theories such as QAnon. The dissertation concludes with an examination of some of the consequences of believing in these kinds of conspiracy theories, including the storming of the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021, and prospects for future political radicalization.en
dc.description.degreeDoctor of Philosophyen
dc.format.mediumETDen
dc.identifier.othervt_gsexam:41679en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10919/124213en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 Internationalen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en
dc.subjectConspiracy theoriesen
dc.subjectpolarizationen
dc.subjectextremismen
dc.titleTrust the Game: Gamification and the Rise of Online Conspiracy Theoriesen
dc.typeDissertationen
thesis.degree.disciplinePlanning, Governance, and Globalizationen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.leveldoctoralen
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophyen

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