Arab news networks and conspiracy theories about America: A political gratification study

This study employs the gratification approach to examine the influence of Arab news networks on the belief in conspiracy theories about America in Kuwait. The data revealed that the 378 respondents strongly believed in the conspiracy theories. A factor analysis extracted four gratifications sought from viewing Arab news networks: information, social discussion, free marketplace of information and reinforcement. The regression analysis indicated that gender, the free marketplace of information gratification and viewing the Arabic BBC all negatively predicted the general belief in conspiracy theories about America, while no variable predicted belief in the 9/11 conspiracy theories. None of the variables was a positive predictor of belief in the theories. This study concludes that Arab news networks are not guilty of being a source of conspiracy theories about America, and that they may, on the contrary, be helping Arabs to consider certain aspects in a new light.