Flat-Smacked - Inside the Mind of a Flat-Earther ~ with ALEX OLSHANSKY @TalkBeliefs
Flat-Smacked - Inside the Mind of a Flat-Earther ~ with ALEX OLSHANSKY  @TalkBeliefs
Uploaded July 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
What would make anyone think the earth is flat? What is at the core of the conspiracy mindset? ALEX OLSHANSKY, M.A., is a Doctoral Candidate in the College of Media and Communication at Texas Tech University. Alex examines how people cognitively process science misinformation and conspiracy theories, with a special interest in Flat Earth conspiracies.

MARK from Talk Belief delves into Alex's amazing research, research which took him and his colleagues to Flat Earth conferences and to dedicated Flat Earthers themselves. But what is the psychology behind it all? What makes a Flat Earther tick?


#flatearth #conspiracy #belief


00:00 START
01:54 Alex's background
09:13 The research
14:04 Talking to Flat-Earthers
23:04 Emotional needs
30:01 The conspiracy mindset
36:03 Dealing with conspiracy theorists



LINKS FOR ALEX OLSHANSKY:

SITE: https://www.depts.ttu.edu/comc/faculty/faculty/aolshansky.php

CV: https://www.depts.ttu.edu/comc/faculty/vita/aolshansky-CV.pdf

TWITTER: @alexolshansky


RESEARCH PAPERS:

Landrum, A. R., Olshansky, A., & Richards, O. (2021). Differential susceptibility to misleading flat earth arguments on YouTube. Media Psychology, 24:1, 136-165, doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2019.1669461

Olshansky, A., Peaslee, R., & Landrum, A. R. (2020). Flat Smacked! Converting to Flat Eartherism. Journal of Media and Religion. doi.org/10.1080/15348423.2020.1774257

Landrum, A. R. & Olshansky, A. (2020). Third-person Perceptions and Calls for Censorship of Flat Earth Videos on YouTube. Media & Communication, 8(2), XX-XX. doi.org/10.17645/mac.v8i2.2853

Landrum, A. R., & Olshansky, A. (2019). The Role of Conspiracy Mentality in Denial of Science and Susceptibility to Viral Deception about Science. Politics and the Life Sciences, 38(2), 193-209. doi.org/10.1017/pls.2019.9


SEE ALSO:

Asheley R. Landrum @LandrumAR)

Othello Richards @othellorichards


Texas Tech University: https://www.ttu.edu/

Texas Tech Twitter: @TexasTech
twitter.com/TexasTech


Texas Tech University Campus Tour | ⁴ᴷ⁶⁰ Drone Shot
By Ardran Carr @ArdranCarr##


Additional footage/animation credit:
FLAT EARTH: To The Edge And Back by Logan Paul bit.ly/3iMQcbe



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Flat-Smacked - Inside the Mind of a Flat-Earther ~ with ALEX OLSHANSKY

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