RESEARCH published by Winchester University has revealed people are undeterred from believing claims when they are branded conspiracy theories.

The paper, been published in leading academic journal Political Psychology, came from Winchester lecturer Dr Michael Wood.

He looked at what extent labelling an idea a 'conspiracy theory' and the responses to it, and whether the use of the label is a trick of rhetoric.

Dr Wood, said: “I started from the observation that nobody really likes being called a conspiracy theorist - it's generally seen as derogatory.

“If you're a politician and someone accuses you of abusing your power, you may say something along the lines of 'that's just a conspiracy theory' or 'I don't pay much attention to conspiracy theories' - it can be a way of dismissing allegations and implying there's nothing to substantiate the claims.”

Dr Wood's paper drew some surprising conclusions that challenge the perceived negative effects of conspiracy theory labelling.

Across two experiments with a total of 950 participants, people were no less likely to believe a claim when it was called a conspiracy theory than when the same thing was called an idea or corruption allegation.

Dr Wood, added: “I believe some of the negative connotations of the term might be balanced out by the view that conspiracy theories are interesting and generally worth thinking about.”