Conspiracy Theory Communication Framing and Support for Anti-Democratic Behavior

Many politicians use conspiracy theories (CTs) to win electoral support and justify anti-democratic policies. How do individuals evaluate this strategy? We theorize and show that variation in CT communication frames affect individuals’ willingness to endorse anti-democratic policies and politicians. Politicians who explicitly appeal to a CT earn greater support for anti-democratic behavior than those using implicit appeals. However, this effect primarily occurs for novel CTs lacking partisan cues. Over time, as CTs become more politicized, they lose their mobilizational capacity and can reduce support for CT-wielding politicians—even among co-partisans. Three pre-registered survey experiments surrounding the 2023 parliamentary and 2025 presidential elections in Poland, and survey data from 21 countries, provide empirical support for our theory. Ultimately, we show that CTs alone are not always enough to justify attacks on democratic norms and institutions to the public.