Wikipedia

Conspiracy theory

explanation that invokes a conspiracy

A conspiracy theory is a story that says that a group of people ("conspirators") have agreed ("conspired") to engage in illegal or malicious actions and hide them from the public.

People in the US commonly associate this image with a conspiracy theory involving the Illiuminati or the Freemasons.
Front page of Edouard Drumont's La Libre Parole (1893) with a caricature of a Jew grabbing the globe, implying their alleged desire to control the world. Caption: "Their Homeland".
The International Jew: The World's Problem published in Henry Ford's newspaper The Dearborn Independent (1920),[1] an offshoot of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion giving rise to the ZOG conspiracy theory.
A propaganda poster made by the Black Hebrew Israelites (BHI) implying that Black and Native Americans are the "real" descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. The BHI allege that the said peoples have been "wrongfully" classified by White imperialists into different ethnic groups across the Western hemisphere.

Overview

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Conspiracy theories are usually spread out of prejudice, with little or no credible evidence. Many conspiracy theories consist of claims that some historical events were created by the "conspirators".[2] Distorted history based on conspiracy theories are sometimes called pseudohistory (pseudo- : from Greek ψευδής, "false"),[2][3] while those promoting pseudohistory are called historical revisionists,[2][4] or simply revisionists.[2][4]

Examples

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As listed above, there are various conspiracy theories, some of which seem to be straightforward, with false causes for unexplained events. We now know all we are ever going to know about the 9/11 attacks and the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Likewise, that the Earth is round – as opposed to flat – has so much evidence that denying it is simply irrational.[2]

Proliferation

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Digital age

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There has been a growth in recent years in conspiracy theories proposed on the internet. Conspiracy theories once limited to fringe audiences have become common in mass media, and particularly on the internet. Conspiracy emerged as a cultural phenomenon in the United States of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.[2][19]

It is worth remembering that conspiracy theorists get paid by websites according to how many viewers they attract. Websites that seem free to the user are paid for by adverts, usually quite harmless, though they may be annoying. The point is that the people who put up the individual articles get paid once the number of viewers is over a certain qualifying number.[source?]

Critique

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David Grimes has calculated that it takes at least three years to expose a conspiracy theory on the internet,[20] depending on the number of people involved.[20] Many conspiracy theories would be exposed in three to four years.[2][20]

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References

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  1. ↑ Sachar, Howard Morley (1993). A History of the Jews in America. Vintage Books. p. 311. ISBN 0679745300.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6
  3. ↑ "The New Testament Greek word: ψευδω". Abarim Publications. December 3, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1
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  16. ↑ "Congresswoman Luna and the JFK Files: How Antisemitic Conspiracy Theorists Hijack History to Spread Hate". Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM). February 19, 2025. Retrieved February 26, 2025.
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  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2
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