Belief in conspiracy theories is a top predictor of antisemitism, research finds
A new study suggests that authoritarian tendencies and a conspiracist outlook are significant predictors for antisemitism
A new study investigated what qualities are most likely to predict whether someone harbors antisemitic beliefs. Photo by iStock by Getty Images
New research has found that political ideology isn’t a primary factor in determining whether someone might harbor antisemitic beliefs. In a recent study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, a research team found that antisemitic attitudes are most strongly associated with a “conspiracist view of the world, a desire to overturn the social order, and a preference for authoritarian forms of government.”
The researchers, led by Kings’ College social scientist Dr. Daniel Allington, suggest that a desire to upend the social order is the strongest predictor for “Generalized Antisemitism,” an indicator the researchers defined to include some forms of anti-Zionism.
The team surveyed roughly 2,000 participants, and released their survey data alongside the code they used to generate the results.
“It is neither the left nor the right per se that threatens Jews,” the researchers concluded, but rather those with “a conspiracist view of world affairs, as well as those who desire to overthrow the social order, and those attracted to the idea of installing or living under a totalitarian regime.”
Why I became the Forward’s editor-in-chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
, editor-in-chiefSupport our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
