Rabbit Hole
Uscinski's first chapter is titled "Down the Rabbit Hole We Go!". The symbol of the rabbit hole is an allusion to Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and is used to represent the fact that the reader is going to be transported to the surreal world of conspiracy theories while reading this book.
Politics
The impact of conspiracy theories on political discourse and opinion is great, according to Uscinski. He argues that conspiracy theories have a greater impact than is often thought and can inform voting and elections results.
"Dark corners of society"
In his opening passage, Uscinski tells us that conspiracy theories are not fringe ideas existent only in the "dark corners of society." This image symbolizes the common view about conspiracy theories, that they are often only believed by extremists.
The Media
The media is a key motif in Usckinski's book and is shown to have a dramatic effect on the prevalence of conspiracy theories. Although conspiracy theories have been around throughout history, the creation of the internet and social media allows them to be spread quickly.
Public figures
Usckinski points to public figures like Donald Trump and Alex Jones, saying that they encourage discussions about conspiracy theories. As such, these men represent figure-heads of conspiracy theories and convince people to believe in them.
