The subjs were asked: Would you share these stories online?
The results seemed to defy #logic of modern #politics or #polarization. “There were many…who seemed willing to share any #ConspiracyTheory, regardless of the party…,” Petersen said. These participants didn’t seem like stable partisans of the left or right. They weren’t even negative partisans, who hated 1 side w/o feeling allegiance to the other. Above all, they seemed drawn to stories that undermined #trust in every system of #power.
Petersen felt…he’d tapped a new vein of #nihilism in modern #politics —a desire to rip down the #Elites, whatever it might mean.
…In further research, he & co-researchers asked subjs how much they agreed w/several stmnts, incl’g:
“We cannot fix the problems in our social institutions, we need to tear them down & start over.”
”I need chaos around me—it is too boring if nothing is going on.”
“When I think about our political & social institutions, I cannot help thinking ‘just let them all burn.’”
…researchers came up w/a term to describe the motivation behind…all-purpose #conspiracy mongers. They called it the “need for chaos,”…defined as“a mindset to gain #status” by destroying…established order.…nearly ⅓ of respondents demonstrated need for #chaos…. And for~5% of voters, oldfashioned party allegiances to the DemocraticParty or the RepublicanParty melted away & were replaced by a desire to see the entire #political#elite destroyed—even w/o a plan to build something better in the ashes.
“These [need-for-chaos] individuals are not idealists seeking to tear down the established order so that they can build a better #society for everyone,” the authors wrote in their conclusion. “Rather, they indiscriminately share #hostile#political rumors as a way to unleash #chaos & mobilize individuals against the established order that fails to accord them the respect that they feel they personally deserve.”
"researchers ... called it the “need for chaos,” which they defined as “a mindset to gain status” by destroying the established order. In their study, nearly 1/3 of respondents demonstrated a need for chaos...And for about 5% of voters, party allegiances to the Democratic Party or Republican Party melted away+ were replaced by a desire to see the entire political elite destroyed—even without a plan to build something better..."
Are we sure these aren't paid troll/bots purchased by billionaires?
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