Key points

Scam culture intersects with conspiracy thinking and radicalization.

User vulnerabilities are exploited by bad-faith actors in online spaces.

Public mistrust in institutions creates a void filled by digital scam artists.

Regular readers know that I often offer a critical analysis of Big Tech and am wary of the disproportionate role it is playing in how the majority of us are being socialized. This week, in one of my graduate courses, I gave a lecture on the group dynamics that drive cult membership, and a student asked a question regarding the intersection between the psychology behind cults and radicalization processes and extremism. Another student followed up with a question regarding how conspiracy thinking relates to cults. As we started to make connections regarding th

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