True believers, entertainers, and skeptical scholars: claims and frames on conspiracy TikTok

While conspiracy theories are prominent on social media, they also increase audience engagement. It is thus unclear how many creators “believe” the theories they espouse, especially when they are outrageous or counter to mainstream belief. We investigate how conspiratorial social media creators position themselves in relation to the claims in their videos, the evidence they present, and their audiences. We apply qualitative content analysis to ConspiracyTok videos and comments. Creators position themselves vis-à-vis claims as having personal stakes in their veracity; emphasizing enjoyment; or adjudicating through evidence-backed research. Creators appeal to common experiences, promoting community engagement, construing viewers as extraordinary insiders, and encouraging collective research. These actions allow creators to cultivate generative, welcoming environments where even skeptical commenters often approach conspiratorial TikToks using the same epistemological frameworks as creators, a generous epistemology. Most commenters are not skeptical of creators’ claims, instead extending creators’ claims through “yes and” comments and additional research. We provide insight into the popularity of and difficulty in combating conspiracy theories on “fun” youth-oriented platforms like TikTok.