A new experimental study has found that fostering critical thinking can be an effective method to reduce people's tendency to believe in conspiracy theories.

Identifying conspiracy theories

Researchers found that existing methods to reduce belief in conspiracy theories often encourage people to simply dismiss all conspiracies rather than discerning which information is likely to be true from the majority that is not.

Researchers identified a new approach that improves people’s critical thinking and allows participants to distinguish between plausible and implausible conspiracy theories more effectively.

Critical thinking skills and an analytical mindset are the most effective means of challenging conspiracy beliefs.