Putting a Price on Conspiracy Theories, Revisited

Conspiracy theories are back in the news, so it’s a good time to revisit my recent Fortune article about putting prices on conspiracy theories. My argument is that irrationality is the same as any consumer good, such as cars or televisions. When the price of something is low, people consume a lot of it. If the price goes up, they consume less. If you want fewer conspiracy theories, then put a price on them in line with the harm they cause. So far, this theory is holding up well.

Two recent news items show why. First is a development regarding “Release the Kraken” lawyer Sidney Powell. She claimed that the 2020 election was stolen, and that Dominion voting machines used in the 2020 election had design input from former Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez, who died in 2013. Her claims were dismissed from several election-related court cases for lack of evidence.

In December, Dominion Voting Systems put a price on Powell’s irrationality when it filed a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit against her. Powell’s behavior immediately changed. This week, her attorneys said in a court filing in the case that “No reasonable person would conclude that the statements were truly statements of fact.”

That is remarkable, and likely means the end of Powell’s legal career, and even if the case is dismissed.

Second, Fox News is now seeing a price increase for its conspiracy-spreading. This week, Dominion sued Fox News for $1.6 billion for defamation. Smartmatic, another voting machine maker, in February sued Fox News, three of its anchors, Powell, and Rudy Giuliani for $2.7 billion. Lou Dobbs, one of the Fox anchors named in that suit, had his show canceled in February, and is no longer making false election claims on air.

These are all normal responses to an increase in price. While media coverage will likely always remain sensationalistic and threat-based for reasons I’ll explore another time, this is one case where a little bit of ECON 101-style price theory can make the news more trustworthy. Or more to the point, make it less harmful.

My original Fortune article is here.