A new Pew Research Center report may appear to give momentum to Donald Trump and other Republicans hoping to use conspiracy theories about the federal government to reach black voters.
But if you delve into the figures, it also becomes clear why that approach will fail.
The report’s headline is a bit more provocative than the data supports: “Most Black Americans Believe Racial Conspiracy Theories About US Institutions.”
But under the “conspiracy theory,” Pew uses a broad definition: essentially a belief that American institutions — whether the media or federal agencies — have been used to deliberately harm Black people. The problem here is that historically, that has often been true: from redlining to the Tuskegee syphilis study to gerrymandered voting districts that reduce the power of black voters.
Pew’s definition lumps it in with false conspiracy theories, such as the claim that Covid-19 was created to “ethnically target” white and black Americans and spare Jewish and Chinese people.
The report’s author, Kiana Cox, told me she used the broad definition of “conspiracy theory” to “highlight the suspicions people have about American institutions based on historical treatment and personal experiences with discrimination.”
Here’s a more detailed explanation from Cox:
A Pew story about the report now includes an editor’s note saying it is “under review” and noting that using the words “racial conspiracy theories” as a shorthand “was not the best choice.”
“Black Americans’ doubts about the fairness of American institutions are accompanied by suspicion,” the editorial says. “How Black Americans think these institutions impact their ability to thrive is worth studying, and that is the purpose of this study.”
It would be easy for someone to look at the title of this report and assume the worst about black people. Or to assume that because Republicans today often espouse right-wing conspiracy theories, black people in general are at risk of being seduced by those specific conspiracy claims. But I think a closer look at the actual Pew data makes it clear that Black people are much more critical when it comes to claims about the weaponization of American institutions than some people might think — especially conservatives who support Trump and who think his rhetoric about the legal system that is being defended against it will attract black voters.
For example, the data shows that 76% of Black people believe that “Black government officials are singled out and discredited in ways that don’t happen to white government officials,” which power explain why Trump’s attacks on black prosecutors for being “racist” against him — whether Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, New York Attorney General Letitia James, or Fulton County District Attorney , Fani Willis – doesn’t seem to resonate with most black voters.
The data also shows that “most Black adults say the US prison (74%), political (67%) and economic (65%) systems, among other things, are designed to hold Black people back.” Pew also found that majorities of Black Democrats and liberal independents (76%) and Black Republicans and conservative independents (63%) feel that American institutions are systematically designed to hold them back.
Here you can see again why a conservative movement obsessed with rolling back civil rights for non-white people can’t seem to attract large numbers of black voters.
On the one hand, I think it shows that under-information voters who are black and distrustful of American institutions may be enamored by bogus talk coming from sources they think they can trust. That’s part of the reason I’ve highlighted the spread of right-wing disinformation through non-traditional, Black-oriented news outlets like tabloids and hip-hop podcasts.
But I read the data as encouraging for liberals. To me, the report says they can reach more Black people — and maintain the community’s trust — as long as Democrats are willing to do what Republicans overwhelmingly aren’t willing to do: recognize that the United States’ systems are rigged against Black people people. and prioritize plans to address these harms.
You can read the full Pew report here.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
