A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
On Ethically Informing Citizens About Political Conspiracies
Authors: Varelius Jukka
Publisher: ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
Publication year: 2023
Journal: JOURNAL OF MEDIA ETHICS
Journal name in source: JOURNAL OF MEDIA ETHICS
Journal acronym: J MEDIA ETHICS
Volume: 38
Issue: 2
Number of pages: 11
ISSN: 2373-6992
eISSN: 2373-700X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23736992.2023.2193956
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1080/23736992.2023.2193956
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/179197456
Conspiracy theorizing can sometimes have regrettable features that speak for suppressing it. Yet, given that an adequately knowledgeable citizenry is a prerequisite of a healthy democracy, the public should be informed about politically important events, including political conspiracies. In this article, I focus on the relationship between informing citizens about political conspiracies and the kind of conspiracy theorizing that arguably should be suppressed. More precisely, I maintain that informing citizens about political conspiracies threatens to lead to the kind of conspiracy theorizing there is reason to suppress, and I examine how the potential drawback ought to be dealt with. I propose that informing citizens about political conspiracies should both proceed in light of pertinent research on conspiracy theorizing and pay heed to adequate knowledge about the circumstances in which conspiracies are publicized.
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