Abstract
This survey (N = 579) investigated news media literacy among those likely to believe in the conspiracy theories of QAnon. Vulnerability to belief in QAnon conspiracies was predicted by a media diet of alternative media such as 4chan and SnapChat. Those vulnerable to QAnon conspiracy theories had lower news media literacy scores than those who appeared to be resistant to QAnon theories, and rated themselves with lower need for cognition and higher cynicism. Vulnerability to QAnon was predicted by a belief in other specific conspiracy theories, low value of news media literacy, less understanding of the news business, belief in a biased media, increased cynicism, and identifying as a Republican.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Sweetser, K. D., & Becktel, K. L. (2025). Battle cry to “Do the research”: Vulnerability to QAnon, Alt Media, and low news media literacy. Journal of Media Literacy Education, 17(2), 19-36. https://doi.org/10.23860/JMLE-2025-17-2-2
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