This lengthy Kos diary is well done and covers a lot of important ground. The writer asks the question, why is that conservatives are so much more likely to believe insane conspiracy theories and other disinformation. I won't try to summarize the whole thing but I will say this much.
The highly disproportionate belief in falsehoods by conservatives is a scientific fact, not just an impression. Many experiments have confirmed that conservative political orientation is associated with psychological predispositions which create forms of gullibility. As the diarist writes:
Conservatives register a greater response to negative stimuli because they tend to view the world as a dangerous place and are “hyper-attuned” to the hazards in the world.
This is why fearmongering is used more often as a persuasion technique in right-wing media, and why conspiracies are more likely to take root in conservative thought. Liberals, on the other hand, tend to be more hopeful about mankind and are much more likely to respond to persuasion over the perceived benefits of something presented. This explains why there is such a huge disconnect in legislative policy initiatives from both parties.
The proclivity to perceive enemies and danger everywhere makes people susceptible to false threat claims. There is an entire media disinformation industry that exploits this tendency, starting of course with Fox News. There is a great deal more here, and I urge you to read it. The insanity on the right is absolutely appalling, we need to understand it if we want to combat it.
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