Banking and debunking: applying Freirean Theory to the educational challenges of conspiracy culture

Abstract

Abstract The rise of conspiracy culture and the growing influence of conspiracy theories have attracted the attention of scholars from a range of fields. In recent years, Daniel Jolley, Asbjørn Dyrendal, and others have noted the prevalence of conspiracy theories amongst adolescent schoolchildren in Scandinavia and the UK. This article draws on Paulo Freire’s concept of the ‘banking model’ of education to make the case against a ‘debunking’ approach to anticonspiracist education. It argues that conspiracism should be understood as a feature of our culture and as such it should be interrogated rather than dismissed by educators who are engaged in the process of educating for democracy.