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| The Eye of
Providence, or the all-seeing eye of God, seen
here on the US$1 bill, has been taken by some to
be evidence of a conspiracy involving the
founders of the United States and the
Illuminati. |
Conspiracy Theory
A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or
situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and
powerful groups, often political in motivation, when
other explanations are more probable. The term has a
negative connotation, implying that the appeal to a
conspiracy is based on prejudice or insufficient
evidence.
Conspiracy theories resist falsification and are
reinforced by circular reasoning: both evidence against
the conspiracy and an absence of evidence for it are
re-interpreted as evidence of its truth, whereby the
conspiracy becomes a matter of faith rather than
something that can be proved or disproved. Research
suggests that conspiracist ideation—belief in conspiracy
theories—may be psychologically harmful or pathological
and that it is correlated with psychological projection,
paranoia and Machiavellianism. Psychologists attribute
finding a conspiracy where there is none to a mental
phenomenon called illusory pattern perception.
Etymology and usage
The Oxford English Dictionary defines conspiracy theory
as "the theory that an event or phenomenon occurs as a
result of a conspiracy between interested parties; spec.
a belief that some covert but influential agency
(typically political in motivation and oppressive in
intent) is responsible for an unexplained event". It
cites a 1909 article in The American Historical Review
as the earliest usage example, although it also appeared
in print as early as April 1870. The word "conspiracy"
derives from the Latin con- ("with, together") and
spirare ("to breathe"). |
|
Difference from conspiracy
A conspiracy theory is not simply a conspiracy, which
refers to any covert plan involving two or more people.
In contrast, the term "conspiracy theory" refers to
hypothesized conspiracies that have specific
characteristics. For example, conspiracist beliefs
invariably oppose the mainstream consensus among those
people who are qualified to evaluate their accuracy,
such as scientists or historians. Conspiracy theorists
see themselves as having privileged access to socially
persecuted knowledge or a stigmatized mode of thought
that separates them from the masses who believe the
official account. Michael Barkun describes a conspiracy
theory as a "template imposed upon the world to give the
appearance of order to events".
Real conspiracies, even very simple ones, are difficult
to conceal and routinely experience unexpected problems.
In contrast, conspiracy theories suggest that
conspiracies are unrealistically successful and that
groups of conspirators, such as bureaucracies, can act
with near-perfect competence and secrecy. The causes of
events or situations are simplified to exclude complex
or interacting factors, as well as the role of chance
and unintended consequences. Nearly all observations are
explained as having been deliberately planned by the
alleged conspirators. |
|
Examples
A conspiracy theory may take any matter as its subject,
but certain subjects attract greater interest than
others. Favored subjects include famous deaths and
assassinations, morally dubious government activities,
suppressed technologies, and "false flag" terrorism.
Among the longest-standing and most widely recognized
conspiracy theories are notions concerning the
assassination of John F. Kennedy, the 1969 Apollo moon
landings, and the 9/11 terrorist attacks, as well as
numerous theories pertaining to alleged plots for world
domination by various groups both real and imaginary. |
|
Popularity
Conspiracy beliefs are widespread around the world. In
rural Africa, common targets of conspiracy theorizing
include societal elites, enemy tribes, and the Western
world, with conspirators often alleged to enact their
plans via sorcery or witchcraft; one common belief
identifies modern technology as itself being a form of
sorcery, created with the goal of harming or controlling
the people. In China, one widely published conspiracy
theory claims that a number of events including the rise
of Hitler, the 1997 Asian financial crisis, and climate
change were planned by the Rothschild family, which may
have led to effects on discussions about China's
currency policy.
Conspiracy theories once limited to fringe audiences
have become commonplace in mass media, contributing to
conspiracism emerging as a cultural phenomenon in the
United States of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
The general predisposition to believe conspiracy
theories cuts across partisan and ideological lines.
Conspiratorial thinking is correlated with
antigovernmental orientations and a low sense of
political efficacy, with conspiracy believers perceiving
a governmental threat to individual rights and
displaying a deep skepticism that who one votes for
really matters.
Conspiracy theories are often commonly believed, some
even being held by the majority of the population. A
broad cross-section of Americans today gives credence to
at least some conspiracy theories. For instance, a study
conducted in 2016 found that 10% of Americans think the
chemtrail conspiracy theory is "completely true" and
20-30% think it is "somewhat true". This puts "the
equivalent of 120 million Americans in the 'chemtrails
are real' camp." Belief in conspiracy theories has
therefore become a topic of interest for sociologists,
psychologists and experts in folklore.
Conspiracy theories are widely present on the Web in the
form of blogs and YouTube videos, as well as on social
media. Whether the Web has increased the prevalence of
conspiracy theories or not is an open research question.
The presence and representation of conspiracy theories
in search engine results has been monitored and studied,
showing significant variation across different topics,
and a general absence of reputable, high-quality links
in the results.
One conspiracy theory that propagated through former US
President Barack Obama's time in office claimed that he
was born in Kenya instead of Hawaii- where he was born.
Former governor of Arkansas and political opponent of
Obama, Mike Huckabee made headlines in 2011 when he,
among other members of Republican leadership, continued
to question Obama's citizenship status. |
|
 Kiddle: Conspiracy Theory
Wikipedia: Conspiracy Theory |
Wikipedia: List of conspiracy theories
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