Conspiracy Stereotypes In Times Of War: The Impact of Party Identification on Belief in Anti-Ukrainian Conspiracies in Poland

In February 2022, the Russian army launched an attack on Ukraine. is conflict has had a profound impact on Poland due to geographic proximity, historical background, and the large influx of migrants. Initially, the war strengthened Polish-Ukrainian relations, but over time, competition for valuable resources reinforced an ‘us vs. them’ mentality, fostering conspiracy stereotypes. Some political actors have begun to exploit anti-Ukrainian sentiments to gain electoral support. Our study (N = 1,040) examines whether party identification influences belief in conspiracy stereotypes about Ukrainians (the Job eft and Romantic Rivalry narratives). e results confirm that supporters of parties promoting anti-Ukrainian rhetoric are significantly more likely to endorse such stereotypes. Identification with the far-right Confederation party correlates more strongly with support for anti-Ukrainian conspiracies than national identification, populism, right-wing authoritarianism, religiosity, or ideology. Stronger associations are observed only for xenophobia, paranoid ideation, collective narcissism, and belief in unique in-group victimhood.