Testing the persuasiveness of conspiracy theories: a comparison of narrative and argumentative strategies.

The present study examined the persuasive impact of conspiracy theories (CTs) in relation to two distinct communicative strategies: argumentation and narrative. The final sample consisted of 160 participants, randomly assigned to three groups: a first group (N = 56) watched a video in which a conspiracy theory related to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant explosion was presented in a predominantly argumentative form (mostly argumentative group: MAG); a second group (N = 53) who watched a video in which the same conspiracy theory was presented in a predominantly narrative form (mostly narrative group: MNG); and a third control group (CG) (N = 51) who watched a video on non-conspiracy topics. The experiment was conducted online by the participants.