Residency Interest Group

Call for Contributors:

Conspiracy Theories & the Information Society

Editors:

Robert Spinelli (rspinelli@ncis.org); Matthew N. Hannah (matthew.hannah@wisc.edu)

Abstract: 

Information is not value neutral. It has become a frontline in the battle over truth and reality, which is ravaging our societies. In a time when information is an essential component structuring online life, we also see the rise and viral spread of conspiracy theories. To understand the contours of this spread, this collection will bring together scholars from different disciplinary perspectives to offer a thorough analysis of the impact that conspiracy theories and mis/disinformation have within the information society. We are living in a society completely structured by our access to and application of information, in an age of unprecedented information overload, and the importance of being able to properly sift through incomplete data, misinformation and disinformation is overwhelming. 

Robert Hassan describes the information society as a space in which "digital information is, at its root, ideological" (p. 1). His approach to the information society is to understand it "through an interpretive framework of political economy that makes connections to the relevant social, political, economic and technological structures and institutions" (viii). In the same spirit, we seek contributions that map the extreme and conspiracist contours of the information society, applying a variety of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies to engage the pervasive challenges offered by conspiracy culture within a society completely reliant on digital information. To address these major social issues, it is necessary to develop a multifaceted, multidisciplinary approach  to understand and combat  them. Although librarians, scholars, and educators address various forms of literacy in their curricula, it is vital to examine the issues inherent in conspiracy culture through a multiplicity of lenses to analyze the massive social and political issues facing us in a time of information abundance. 

This collection is interested in  a wide range of approaches from both inside and outside academia: information practitioners; information, communication, and media scholars; historians and political scientists; computer, data, and information scientists; government agencies and policy writers; NGO and public institutions; disaster preparedness groups; and other communities invested in better understanding conspiracism within the information society. Several styles of writing and research will be accepted by contributors: theoretical humanistic writing is adept at laying out and analyzing broad themes of the topic; data-driven research resulting from surveys and case studies provides a granular look at how conspiracy theories are affecting both individuals and communities; pedagogical solutions illuminate  a path toward working with people affected by conspiratorial thinking. Our contributors, with their multiple roles as purveyors, instructors, and thinkers of and about information, will be uniquely suited to the task of working with stories and data and turning these narratives into solution-based strategies to understand, analyze, and  fight conspiracism. It is not the task of this book to debunk conspiracy theories; rather, this book will seek to examine, explore, comprehend and point a way forward that will help to undermine the damaging effects of information disorders.

Suggested topics may include examining conspiracy/misinformation in/roles for/relationships to, etc.: 

• Information overload & culture 

• Psychology of conspiracy theories 

• Mis/disinformation as political tool

• Conspiracism and consensus politics

• Visual analysis of conspiracist aesthetics on social media

• Data analysis of mis/disinformation content on social media

• Demographic study of users engaging with conspiracy content

• Conspiratorial public spheres and/or the culture war 

• Stifling or mitigating the flow of mis/disinformation

• Cultural influences of conspiracy theories online 

• Ethnolographic exploration of how engagement crosses into real life

• Sociological analyses of the impact of conspiracism

• Analyses of the attention economy, platform capitalism, or recommendation algorithms driving conspiracist content

• Information warfare or other online militancy 

• Gender and sexuality studies and the "manosphere" or "trad" communities

• Emerging online conspiracy theories, extremist movements, or other information challenges

• "Do your own research" communities or movements

• Philosophy of the "red pill" or "redpilling"

• Artificial intelligence and its discontents

Details

Proposals between 250 and 500 words, CVs and brief author bios (50-80 words), should be submitted to Robert Spinelli (rspinelli@ncis.org) & Matthew N. Hannah (matthew.hannah@wisc.edu) by January  15, 2026.

The editors will then review all submitted proposals and notify applicants by January 30, 2026. Chapters should be approximately between 7,000-8,000 words, and first drafts of completed manuscripts will be due June 6, 2026. The expected publication date will be in 2027.