Conspiracy Theories Aren’t Only for the Powerless

June 12, 2026 - 20:12

After the devastating earthquakes that struck Türkiye in 2023, a baseless conspiracy theory began circulating widely. It claimed the tremors were not a natural disaster but the result of a secret foreign weapon, a so-called earthquake machine. New research into who spread this idea most aggressively has produced a surprising finding. It was not the powerless or the politically disenfranchised who pushed the narrative. Instead, the strongest proponents were supporters of the government in power.

The study, published in a social science journal, analyzed thousands of social media posts from the hours and days following the quakes. Researchers tracked the spread of the weaponized weather claim and cross-referenced it with users' political affiliations. They found that backers of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party were significantly more likely to share the conspiracy theory than opposition voters or political independents.

This flips the common assumption that conspiracy theories are a refuge for the marginalized. The researchers argue that in this case, the theory served a different purpose. By blaming an external, invisible enemy, it deflected attention from the government's slow response to the disaster. It also reinforced a nationalist narrative of a nation under siege by foreign powers. The findings suggest that when a group holds power, conspiracy theories can become a tool to protect that power, not just a sign of powerlessness.