Conspiracy or Public Service? Does Facebook’s Third-Party Fact-Checking Increase Conspiracy Beliefs Among Americans?

Justin Bonest Phillips, Timothy B. Gravelle, Andrea Carson, Mathew D. Marques, School of Law, and Philosophy, University of Waikato, New Zealand, Laurier Institute for the Study of Public Opinion and Policy, Wilfrid Laurier University, Department of Politics, Media and Philosophy, La Trobe University in Melbourne, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University

Social Science Computer Review

Published online on January 29, 2026

Abstract

Social Science Computer Review, Ahead of Print.
Unlike past studies that examine whether fact-checking can counter conspiratorial belief, we reverse the lens to investigate if fact-checking itself prompts conspiracy belief. Our study occurs in the days immediately preceding the 2024 US election. ...