Story perspectives

Older Americans Drive Political Polarization and Conspiracy Theories

12/18/2025

Summary

Story summary

Socialprofiler's new study finds older Americans contribute significantly to political polarization and conspiracy theories on social media.
The analysis encompasses 756 million profiles and shows older users are more engaged with conspiratorial content.
Younger generations, particularly Generation Z, focus on climate change and LGBTQ+ rights.
Millennials and Gen X lean toward traditional partisan politics.
The authors plan further research to understand why older users are drawn to conspiracy theories.

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Story summary

Socialprofiler's new study finds older Americans contribute significantly to political polarization and conspiracy theories on social media.
The analysis encompasses 756 million profiles and shows older users are more engaged with conspiratorial content.
Younger generations, particularly Generation Z, focus on climate change and LGBTQ+ rights.
Millennials and Gen X lean toward traditional partisan politics.
The authors plan further research to understand why older users are drawn to conspiracy theories.