During his first talk at Hay Festival, political theorist and historian of modern political thought Dr Hugo Drochon explored some of the factors that have led people to believe in conspiracy theories. He linked these factors to the broader political implications these trends may have in a European and global context.
After an informal audience poll about belief in conspiracy theories, Drochon talked through his research survey conducted in Great Britain by the YouGov-Cambridge Programme in March 2016. Forty one per-cent of those surveyed answered positively to the statement “the government is deliberately hiding the truth about how many immigrants really live in this country.”
Examining factors including economic optimism, levels of trust - in journalists and academics, Drochon noted that conspiracy theories can be considered a “symptom of disenchantment with democracy”. He welcomed questions from the audience throughout, and several people commented on potential methodological problems in the survey. Drochon hopes to run a further survey, in part to compare changes in attitude before and after the Brexit referendum, and he is currently writing a book on his research.