Courtney Blackington and Frances Cayton argue that populist politicians tend to dog-whistle conspiracy theories when speaking to general audiences, but explicitly endorse them when speaking to supporters. Thus, politicians strategically invoke conspiracy theories to avoid blowback, while still managing to rally their core supporter base
Not all conspiracy theories that spread on social media remain popular over time. Courtney Blackington and Frances Cayton argue that conspiracy theories which map onto salient cleavages are more likely to persist and spread online. They find that elites who endorse conspiracy theories do not always attract engagement unless an event occurs that makes those conspiracy theories salient
Frances' research focuses on questions surrounding democratic backsliding, civil society, and political communication.
To do so, she uses a variety of methods including surveys, interviews, archival work, and observational causal inference techniques.
She is currently a Junior Visiting Scholar and Brettschneider Exchange Student at Nuffield College, University of Oxford for the 2024 Hilary and Trinity terms.
Prior to Cornell, she earned her MA in Russian, East European, and Central Asian studies from Harvard University and a BA in History and Political Science with highest honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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