A Bad Idea: Posting Conspiracy Theories When Online Dating
A study explored consequences of posting conspiracy theories when online dating.
Posted January 12, 2026 | Reviewed by Michelle Quirk
It is a common situation: At a family party, an uncle or cousin starts talking about some wild conspiracy theory they picked up on an online chat group. Other family members roll their eyes, thinking, “Not again!” and a heated discussion commences. Psychological research has shown again and again that believing in conspiracy theories that are clearly not backed up by facts can do a lot of damage to relationships with family members and friends. This can go to the point where the person believing in conspiracy theories is simply not invited to future family meetings or parties. What is, however, largely unclear from a scientific point of view is to what extent believing in conspiracy theories can hurt the development of new relationships. For example, when online dating , posting conspiracy theories may drive away most people, but may also attract other people who share a belief in conspiracy theories.
New study on the consequences of posting conspiracy theories on online dating profiles
A new study entitled “Conspiracy Theories and Online Dating : It’s a (Mis)match!”, just published in the scientific journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin , focused on investigating the consequences of positing conspiracy theories on online dating profiles ( Green and co-workers, 2026 ). The research team, led by scientist Ricky Green from the School of Psychology at the University of Kent in the United Kingdom, conducted three different experiments on conspiracy theories and online dating.
In the first experiment (Experiment 1a and 1b), volunteers viewed online dating profiles that included beliefs supporting conspiracy theories or contradicting them, or that did not mention conspiracy theories at all (control group). The volunteers were also asked to rate the holders of the fake dating profiles across a number of psychological variables, including honesty, trustworthiness, sociability, intelligence , kindness, friendliness, respectability, and uniqueness.
In Experiment 2, volunteers viewed online dating profiles that included beliefs supporting conspiracy theories that were more or less plausible or did not mention conspiracy theories at all (control group). The volunteers were also asked to rate the holders of the fake dating profiles across the same psychological dimension as in Experiment 1.
In Experiment 3, the scientists created a mock dating app in which volunteers could indicate their interest in a profile by swiping. They were shown fake profiles that included beliefs in various conspiracy theories or did not mention conspiracy theories at all.
Results: People are more reluctant to date individuals who believe in conspiracy theories
The results of Experiment 1a and 1b showed that people were less interested in dating other people who believed in conspiracy theories in comparison to people who did not believe in conspiracy theories or did not mention conspiracy theories at all. People who believed in conspiracy theories were rated as more unique, but less honest, trustworthy, sociable, intelligent, kind, friendly, and respected. Similar results were also found in Experiment 2 for the people who believed in an implausible conspiracy theory. In Experiment 3, analyses of volunteers' swiping behavior showed that, compared to a profile with no conspiracy theories, most profiles including conspiracy theories were less likely to be rated positively.
The results of the study were clear: Across all three experiments, posting conspiracy theories in an online dating profile had a strong negative effect on dating success. Thus, it is a bad idea to post about conspiracy theories on online dating platforms.
Green, R., Kamitz, L. C., Toribio-Flórez, D., Biddlestone, M., Gasking, F., Sutton, R. M., & Douglas, K. M. (2026). Conspiracy Theories and Online Dating: It’s a (Mis)match! Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672251399448
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Sebastian Ocklenburg, Ph.D., is a professor for research methods in psychology at the Department of Psychology at MSH Medical School in Hamburg, Germany. His research focuses on left-handedness and brain asymmetries.
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