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 do illegal or evil things and hide them from the public.

People in the US commonly associate this image with a conspiracy theory involving the Illiuminati or the Freemasons.

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".[1]

Distorted history based on conspiracy theories are sometimes called pseudohistory, while those promoting pseudohistory are called historical revisionists, or simply revisionists.[2]

Examples

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As listed above, there are different kinds of conspiracy theory, some of which appear to be straightforward, with fake 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.[1]

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.[1][12]

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,[13] depending on the number of people involved.[13] Many conspiracies would be exposed in between three and four years.[1][13]

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References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3
    • Clarke, Steve (2006). "Conspiracy Theories and Conspiracy Theorizing". Conspiracy Theories (1 ed.). Routledge. ISBN 9781315259574. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
    • Sunstein, Cass R.; Vermeule, Adrian (January 17, 2008). "Conspiracy Theories" (PDF). U of Chicago Law & Economics, Olin Working Paper (387). Retrieved December 14, 2024. Last revised: 7 Feb 2008
    • van Prooijen, Jan-Willem; Douglas, Karen M (June 29, 2017). "Conspiracy theories as part of history: The role of societal crisis situations". Memory Studies. 10 (3). doi:10.1177/1750698017701615. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
    • Douglas, Karen M.; Uscinski, Joseph E.; Sutton, Robbie M.; Cichocka, Aleksandra; Nefes, Turkay; Ang, Chee Siang; Deravi, Farzin (March 20, 2019). "Understanding Conspiracy Theories". Advances in Political Psychology. 40 (S1): 3–35. doi:10.1111/pops.12568. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
    • Douglas, Karen M.; Sutton, Robbie M. (September 28, 2022). "What Are Conspiracy Theories? A Definitional Approach to Their Correlates, Consequences, and Communication". Annual Review of Psychology. 74: 271–298. doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-032420-031329. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
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  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2
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