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78-515: Spanish historians León Arsenal and Hipólito Sanchiz have traced all references to the Garduña back to the 19th-century book Misterios de la inquisición española y otras sociedades secretas de España by Víctor de Fereal (maybe a pseudonym for Madame de Suberwick ) and Manuel de Cuendías , published in 1850. Arsenal and Sanchiz doubt the Garduña ever existed. As a secret society, the Garduña

156-538: A famine , at a time when three million people in the country were suffering from hunger . Conspiracy theories are a significant obstacle to improvements in public health , encouraging opposition to such public health measures as vaccination and water fluoridation . They have been linked to outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases . Other effects of conspiracy theories include reduced trust in scientific evidence , radicalization and ideological reinforcement of extremist groups, and negative consequences for

234-610: A negative connotation , implying that the appeal of a conspiracy theory is based in prejudice, emotional conviction, or insufficient evidence. A conspiracy theory is distinct from a conspiracy ; it refers to a hypothesized conspiracy with specific characteristics, including but not limited to opposition to the mainstream consensus among those who are qualified to evaluate its accuracy, such as scientists or historians . Conspiracy theories tend to be internally consistent and correlate with each other; they are generally designed to resist falsification either by evidence against them or

312-489: A scientific theory can be disproven by a single perceived deficiency, even though such events are extremely rare. In addition, both disregarding the claims and attempting to address them will be interpreted as proof of a conspiracy. Other conspiracist arguments may not be scientific; for example, in response to the IPCC Second Assessment Report in 1996, much of the opposition centered on promoting

390-413: A "crippled epistemology", in which a person encounters or accepts very few relevant sources of information. A conspiracy theory is more likely to appear justified to people with a limited "informational environment" who only encounter misleading information. These people may be " epistemologically isolated" in self-enclosed networks . From the perspective of people within these networks, disconnected from

468-422: A "shallow" theorist observes an event and asks Cui bono ? ("Who benefits?"), jumping to the conclusion that a posited beneficiary is responsible for covertly influencing events. On the other hand, the "deep" conspiracy theorist begins with a hunch and then seeks out evidence. Rothbard describes this latter activity as a matter of confirming with certain facts one's initial paranoia. Belief in conspiracy theories

546-432: A "theory", but over time, "conspiracy" and "theory" have become decoupled, as modern conspiracism is often without any kind of theory behind it. Jesse Walker (2013) has identified five kinds of conspiracy theories: Michael Barkun has identified three classifications of conspiracy theory: Murray Rothbard argues in favor of a model that contrasts "deep" conspiracy theories to "shallow" ones. According to Rothbard,

624-654: A 1996 paper, J. N. Cappella and K. H. Jamieson claimed that "healthy skepticism may have given way to corrosive cynicism". Cynicism regarding government or politics can logically lead to political withdrawal and effective political helplessness. In 2013 conservative politician and political theorist William J. Bennett warned that the United States could "crumble from within; that we would become cynical and withdraw". A 2004 experiment and paper called The Effects of Strategic News on Political Cynicism, Issue Evaluations, and Policy Support: A Two-Wave Experiment found that

702-399: A black-and-white world in which good is struggling against evil. The general public is cast as the victim of organised persecution, and the motives of the alleged conspirators often verge on pure maniacal evil. At the very least, the conspirators are said to have an almost inhuman disregard for the basic liberty and well-being of the general population. More grandiose conspiracy theories portray

780-637: A connection with pirates throughout the Spanish Empire , including the Americas . Similar traditions are told of three Buddhist monks founding the Chinese Triads . Conspiracy theory A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable. The term generally has

858-514: A consequence, the conspiracy becomes a matter of faith rather than something that can be proven or disproven. Studies have linked belief in conspiracy theories to distrust of authority and political cynicism . Some researchers suggest that conspiracist ideation —belief in conspiracy theories—may be psychologically harmful or pathological. Such belief is correlated with psychological projection , paranoia , and Machiavellianism . Psychologists usually attribute belief in conspiracy theories to

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936-501: A generalized dismissal. Conspiracy theory rhetoric exploits several important cognitive biases , including proportionality bias , attribution bias , and confirmation bias . Their arguments often take the form of asking reasonable questions, but without providing an answer based on strong evidence. Conspiracy theories are most successful when proponents can gather followers from the general public, such as in politics, religion and journalism. These proponents may not necessarily believe

1014-402: A lack of evidence for them. They are reinforced by circular reasoning : both evidence against the conspiracy and absence of evidence for it are misinterpreted as evidence of its truth. Stephan Lewandowsky observes "This interpretation relies on the notion that, the stronger the evidence against a conspiracy, the more the conspirators must want people to believe their version of events." As

1092-480: A number of psychopathological conditions such as paranoia , schizotypy , narcissism , and insecure attachment , or to a form of cognitive bias called " illusory pattern perception ". It has also been linked with the so-called Dark triad personality types, whose common feature is lack of empathy . However, a 2020 review article found that most cognitive scientists view conspiracy theorizing as typically nonpathological, given that unfounded belief in conspiracy

1170-458: A procedural objection to the report's creation. Specifically, it was claimed that part of the procedure reflected a conspiracy to silence dissenters, which served as motivation for opponents of the report and successfully redirected a significant amount of the public discussion away from the science. Historically, conspiracy theories have been closely linked to prejudice , witch hunts , wars , and genocides . They are often strongly believed by

1248-404: A reduction in conspiracy beliefs. Other possible strategies to mitigate the effect of conspiracy theories include education, media literacy, and increasing governmental openness and transparency. Due to the relationship between conspiracy theories and political extremism, the academic literature on deradicalization is also important. One approach describes conspiracy theories as resulting from

1326-642: A rejection of the need to be socially involved. It is pessimistic about the capacity of human beings to make correct ethical choices; in this aspect, naiveté is an antonym . Modern cynicism is sometimes regarded as a product of mass society , especially in those circumstances where the individual believes there is a conflict between society's stated motives and goals and actual motives and goals. Cynicism can appear more active in depression . In Critique of Cynical Reason (1983), Peter Sloterdijk defined modern cynics as "borderline melancholics, who can keep their symptoms of depression under control and yet retain

1404-488: 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 for several decades before. The earliest known usage was by

1482-648: 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

1560-417: 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

1638-422: Is associated with biases in reasoning, such as the conjunction fallacy . Clare Birchall at King's College London describes conspiracy theory as a "form of popular knowledge or interpretation". The use of the word 'knowledge' here suggests ways in which conspiracy theory may be considered in relation to legitimate modes of knowing. The relationship between legitimate and illegitimate knowledge, Birchall claims,

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1716-515: Is closer than common dismissals of conspiracy theory contend. Theories involving multiple conspirators that are proven to be correct, such as the Watergate scandal , are usually referred to as investigative journalism or historical analysis rather than conspiracy theory. Bjerg (2016) writes: "the way we normally use the term conspiracy theory excludes instances where the theory has been generally accepted as true. The Watergate scandal serves as

1794-418: Is common across both historical and contemporary cultures, and may arise from innate human tendencies towards gossip, group cohesion, and religion. One historical review of conspiracy theories concluded that "Evidence suggests that the aversive feelings that people experience when in crisis—fear, uncertainty, and the feeling of being out of control—stimulate a motivation to make sense of the situation, increasing

1872-736: Is commonly called cynicism by those who don't have it". A study published in Neurology journal in 2014 found an association between high levels of late-life "cynical distrust" (interpreted and measured in the study in terms of hostility) and dementia . The survey included 622 people who were tested for dementia for a period of eight years. In that period, 46 people were diagnosed with dementia. "Once researchers adjusted for other factors that could affect dementia risk, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and smoking, people with high levels of cynical distrust were three times more likely to develop dementia than people with low levels of cynicism. Of

1950-459: 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,

2028-474: Is generally based not on evidence, but in the faith of the believer. Noam Chomsky contrasts conspiracy theory to institutional analysis which focuses mostly on the public, long-term behavior of publicly known institutions, as recorded in, for example, scholarly documents or mainstream media reports. Conspiracy theory conversely posits the existence of secretive coalitions of individuals and speculates on their alleged activities. Belief in conspiracy theories

2106-401: Is generally of low quality. For example, conspiracy theories are often dependent on eyewitness testimony , despite its unreliability, while disregarding objective analyses of the evidence. Conspiracy theories are not able to be falsified and are reinforced by fallacious arguments . In particular, the logical fallacy circular reasoning is used by conspiracy theorists: both evidence against

2184-836: Is much more difficult to convince people who already believe in conspiracy theories. Conspiracist belief systems are not based on external evidence, but instead use circular logic where every belief is supported by other conspiracist beliefs. In addition, conspiracy theories have a "self-sealing" nature, in which the types of arguments used to support them make them resistant to questioning from others. Characteristics of successful strategies for reaching conspiracy theorists have been divided into several broad categories: 1) Arguments can be presented by "trusted messengers", such as people who were formerly members of an extremist group. 2) Since conspiracy theorists think of themselves as people who value critical thinking, this can be affirmed and then redirected to encourage being more critical when analyzing

2262-489: 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

2340-527: Is often confused with pessimism or nihilism , perhaps due to their shared association with a lack of faith in humanity. The differences among the three is that cynicism is a distrust by prudence; while due to a sense of defeatism, pessimism is the distrust of potential success. Nihilism on its part is the general distrust cast upon the belief that anything in life (including life itself) has any valuable meaning. Modern cynicism has been defined as an attitude of distrust toward claimed ethical and social values and

2418-469: Is to challenge any action or statement from authorities, using even the most tenuous justifications. Responses are then assessed using a double standard, where failing to provide an immediate response to the satisfaction of the conspiracy theorist will be claimed to prove a conspiracy. Any minor errors in the response are heavily emphasized, while deficiencies in the arguments of other proponents are generally excused. In science, conspiracists may suggest that

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2496-601: Is very attractive for conspiracism , according to the historian Sanchiz. It was supposedly active for over 400 years in Spain and, among other things, it supposedly carried out the dirty work of the Inquisition . In serious Spanish studies about bandolerismo ( outlaws ) and social disorders (very frequent in Andalusia in the 19th century), there is not a single mention of the Garduña. According to historian John Dickie ,

2574-517: 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

2652-553: The Soviet Union , and Turkey . AIDS denialism by the government of South Africa , motivated by conspiracy theories, caused an estimated 330,000 deaths from AIDS. QAnon and denialism about the 2020 United States presidential election results led to the January 6 United States Capitol attack , and belief in conspiracy theories about genetically modified foods led the government of Zambia to reject food aid during

2730-569: The Teach the Controversy campaign to promote intelligent design , which often claims that there is a conspiracy of scientists suppressing their views. If they successfully find a platform to present their views in a debate format, they focus on using rhetorical ad hominems and attacking perceived flaws in the mainstream account, while avoiding any discussion of the shortcomings in their own position. The typical approach of conspiracy theories

2808-689: The University of Tübingen . Butter wrote in 2020 that the CIA document Concerning Criticism of the Warren Report , which proponents of the theory use as evidence of CIA motive and intention, does not contain the phrase "conspiracy theory" in the singular, and only uses the term "conspiracy theories" once, in the sentence: "Conspiracy theories have frequently thrown suspicion on our organisation [ sic ], for example, by falsely alleging that Lee Harvey Oswald worked for us." A conspiracy theory

2886-514: 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

2964-573: The ancient Greek philosophers , the Cynics , who rejected conventional goals of wealth, power, and honor. They practiced shameless nonconformity with social norms in religion , manners, housing, dress, or decency, instead advocating the pursuit of virtue in accordance with a simple and natural way of life. By the 19th century, emphasis on the ascetic ideals and the critique of current civilization based on how it might fall short of an ideal civilization or negativistic aspects of Cynic philosophy led

3042-411: The antisemitic conspiracy theories found among political extremists on both the far right and far left . More generally, belief in conspiracy theories is associated with holding extreme and uncompromising viewpoints, and may help people in maintaining those viewpoints. While conspiracy theories are not always present in extremist groups, and do not always lead to violence when they are, they can make

3120-745: The economy . Conspiracy theories once limited to fringe audiences have become commonplace in mass media , the Internet , and social media , emerging as a cultural phenomenon of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. They are widespread around the world and are often commonly believed, some even held by the majority of the population. Interventions to reduce the occurrence of conspiracy beliefs include maintaining an open society , encouraging people to use analytical thinking , and reducing feelings of uncertainty, anxiety, or powerlessness. The Oxford English Dictionary defines conspiracy theory as "the theory that an event or phenomenon occurs as

3198-584: The 164 people with high levels of cynicism, 14 people developed dementia, compared to nine of the 212 people with low levels of cynicism." Research has also shown that cynicism is related to feelings of disrespect. According to a study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General in 2020, "everyday experiences of disrespect elevated cynical beliefs and vice versa. Moreover, cynical individuals tended to treat others with disrespect, which in turn predicted more disrespectful treatment by others." In

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3276-667: The American author Charles Astor Bristed , in a letter to the editor published in The New York Times on January 11, 1863. He used it to refer to claims that British aristocrats were intentionally weakening the United States during the American Civil War in order to advance their financial interests. England has had quite enough to do in Europe and Asia, without going out of her way to meddle with America. It

3354-467: The English Press and public, which is most readily accounted for on the conspiracy theory . The term is also used as a way to discredit dissenting analyses. Robert Blaskiewicz comments that examples of the term were used as early as the nineteenth century and states that its usage has always been derogatory. According to a study by Andrew McKenzie-McHarg, in contrast, in the nineteenth century

3432-563: The Garduña was a fictional organisation that appeared from nowhere in a very popular French pulp novel published in 1845. The author probably based the story on Miguel de Cervantes ’ short story ‘ Rinconete and Cortadillo ’. An Italian translation in 1847 spread the myth in Italy. A persistant popular myth claims that the Garduña was a precursor to the Neapolitan Camorra , a crime syndicate active to this day in southern Italy, and

3510-482: 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

3588-402: The ability to work, whatever might happen ... indeed, this is the essential point in modern cynicism: the ability of its bearers to work—in spite of anything that might happen." One active aspect of cynicism involves the desire to expose hypocrisy and to point out gaps between ideals and practices . George Bernard Shaw allegedly expressed this succinctly: "The power of accurate observation

3666-414: 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. The epistemic strategy of conspiracy theories has been called "cascade logic": each time new evidence becomes available, a conspiracy theory is able to dismiss it by claiming that even more people must be part of

3744-521: The conspiracy theory is false, attempting to discredit the source, explaining how the logic is invalid or misleading, and providing links to fact-checking websites. It can also be effective to use these strategies in advance, informing people that they could encounter misleading information in the future, and why the information should be rejected (also called inoculation or prebunking). While it has been suggested that discussing conspiracy theories can raise their profile and make them seem more legitimate to

3822-562: The conspiracy theory. 3) Approaches demonstrate empathy, and are based on building understanding together, which is supported by modeling open-mindedness in order to encourage the conspiracy theorists to do likewise. 4) The conspiracy theories are not attacked with ridicule or aggressive deconstruction, and interactions are not treated like an argument to be won; this approach can work with the general public, but among conspiracy theorists it may simply be rejected. Interventions that reduce feelings of uncertainty, anxiety, or powerlessness result in

3900-458: The conspiracy theory; instead, they may just use it in an attempt to gain public approval. Conspiratorial claims can act as a successful rhetorical strategy to convince a portion of the public via appeal to emotion . Conspiracy theories typically justify themselves by focusing on gaps or ambiguities in knowledge, and then arguing that the true explanation for this must be a conspiracy . In contrast, any evidence that directly supports their claims

3978-510: The conspirators as being Evil Incarnate: of having caused all the ills from which we suffer, committing abominable acts of unthinkable cruelty on a routine basis, and striving ultimately to subvert or destroy everything we hold dear. 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

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4056-402: The cover-up. Any information that contradicts the conspiracy theory is suggested to be disinformation by the alleged conspiracy. Similarly, the continued lack of evidence directly supporting conspiracist claims is portrayed as confirming the existence of a conspiracy of silence; the fact that other people have not found or exposed any conspiracy is taken as evidence that those people are part of

4134-448: The effects of workplace rumors, which share some characteristics with conspiracy theories and result in both decreased productivity and increased stress. Subsequent effects on managers include reduced profits, reduced trust from employees, and damage to the company's image. Conspiracy theories can divert attention from important social, political, and scientific issues. In addition, they have been used to discredit scientific evidence to

4212-710: The general public or in a legal context. Conspiratorial strategies also share characteristics with those used by lawyers who are attempting to discredit expert testimony, such as claiming that the experts have ulterior motives in testifying, or attempting to find someone who will provide statements to imply that expert opinion is more divided than it actually is. It is possible that conspiracy theories may also produce some compensatory benefits to society in certain situations. For example, they may help people identify governmental deceptions, particularly in repressive societies, and encourage government transparency . However, real conspiracies are normally revealed by people working within

4290-709: The government of Zambia to reject food aid during a famine , at a time when 3 million people in the country were suffering from hunger . Conspiracy theories are a significant obstacle to improvements in public health . People who believe in health-related conspiracy theories are less likely to follow medical advice , and more likely to use alternative medicine instead. Conspiratorial anti-vaccination beliefs, such as conspiracy theories about pharmaceutical companies , can result in reduced vaccination rates and have been linked to outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases . Health-related conspiracy theories often inspire resistance to water fluoridation , and contributed to

4368-506: The group more extreme, provide an enemy to direct hatred towards, and isolate members from the rest of society. Conspiracy theories are most likely to inspire violence when they call for urgent action, appeal to prejudices, or demonize and scapegoat enemies. Conspiracy theorizing in the workplace can also have economic consequences. For example, it leads to lower job satisfaction and lower commitment, resulting in workers being more likely to leave their jobs. Comparisons have also been made with

4446-480: The impact of the Lancet MMR autism fraud . Conspiracy theories are a fundamental component of a wide range of radicalized and extremist groups, where they may play an important role in reinforcing the ideology and psychology of their members as well as further radicalizing their beliefs. These conspiracy theories often share common themes, even among groups that would otherwise be fundamentally opposed, such as

4524-489: The information available to the rest of society, believing in conspiracy theories may appear to be justified. In these cases, the solution would be to break the group's informational isolation. Public exposure to conspiracy theories can be reduced by interventions that reduce their ability to spread, such as by encouraging people to reflect before sharing a news story. Researchers Carlos Diaz Ruiz and Tomas Nilsson have proposed technical and rhetorical interventions to counter

4602-592: The island of Favignana , near Sicily. From there Osso supposedly founded the Sicilian Mafia , Mastrosso the Camorra, and Carcagnosso the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta . It is a persisting myth told to Calabrian recruits when they prepare to adhere to the local 'Ndrangheta clan. Additionally, the circumstances surrounding the original shipwreck seem to suggest their main occupations as pirates , and alludes to

4680-402: The likelihood of perceiving conspiracies in social situations." Historically, conspiracy theories have been closely linked to prejudice , propaganda , witch hunts , wars , and genocides . They are often strongly believed by the perpetrators of terrorist attacks , and were used as justification by Timothy McVeigh and Anders Breivik , as well as by governments such as Nazi Germany ,

4758-475: 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. Conspiracy beliefs are widespread around the world. In rural Africa, common targets of conspiracy theorizing include societal elites, enemy tribes, and

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4836-498: The modern understanding of cynicism to mean a disposition of disbelief in the sincerity or goodness of human motives and actions. Modern cynicism is a distrust toward professed ethical and social values, especially when there are high expectations concerning society , institutions, and authorities that are unfulfilled. It can manifest itself as a result of frustration, disillusionment, and distrust perceived as owing to organizations, authorities, and other aspects of society. Cynicism

4914-419: The perpetrators of terrorist attacks, and were used as justification by Timothy McVeigh , Anders Breivik and Brenton Tarrant , as well as by governments such as Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union . AIDS denialism by the government of South Africa , motivated by conspiracy theories, caused an estimated 330,000 deaths from AIDS, while belief in conspiracy theories about genetically modified foods led

4992-512: The plot, rather than considering that it may be because no conspiracy exists. This strategy lets conspiracy theories insulate themselves from neutral analyses of the evidence, and makes them resistant to questioning or correction, which is called "epistemic self-insulation". Conspiracy theorists often take advantage of false balance in the media. They may claim to be presenting a legitimate alternative viewpoint that deserves equal time to argue its case; for example, this strategy has been used by

5070-599: The presence and emphasis on polls in the news, " or " positioning the electorate as spectators and candidates as performers." Social cynicism results from high expectations concerning society, institutions and authorities; unfulfilled expectations lead to disillusionment, which releases feelings of disappointment and betrayal . In organizations, cynicism manifests itself as a general or specific attitude, characterized by frustration, hopelessness, disillusionment and distrust in regard to economic or governmental organizations, managers or other aspects of work. Naïve cynicism

5148-532: The public, the discussion can put people on guard instead as long as it is sufficiently persuasive. Other approaches to reduce the appeal of conspiracy theories in general among the public may be based in the emotional and social nature of conspiratorial beliefs. For example, interventions that promote analytical thinking in the general public are likely to be effective. Another approach is to intervene in ways that decrease negative emotions , and specifically to improve feelings of personal hope and empowerment. It

5226-726: 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 actually 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. A conspiracy theory can be local or international, focused on single events or covering multiple incidents and entire countries, regions and periods of history. According to Russell Muirhead and Nancy Rosenblum , historically, traditional conspiracism has entailed

5304-571: The role of chance and unintended consequences. Nearly all observations are explained as having been deliberately planned by the alleged conspirators. In conspiracy theories, the conspirators are usually claimed to be acting with extreme malice. As described by Robert Brotherton: The malevolent intent assumed by most conspiracy theories goes far beyond everyday plots borne out of self-interest, corruption, cruelty, and criminality. The postulated conspirators are not merely people with selfish agendas or differing values. Rather, conspiracy theories postulate

5382-438: The spread of conspiracy theories on social media. Cynicism (contemporary) Cynicism is an attitude characterized by a general distrust of the motives of others. A cynic may have a general lack of faith or hope in people motivated by ambition, desire, greed , gratification, materialism , goals, and opinions that a cynic perceives as vain, unobtainable, or ultimately meaningless. The term originally derives from

5460-436: The standard reference." By contrast, the term "Watergate conspiracy theory" is used to refer to a variety of hypotheses in which those convicted in the conspiracy were in fact the victims of a deeper conspiracy. There are also attempts to analyze the theory of conspiracy theories (conspiracy theory theory) to ensure that the term "conspiracy theory" is used to refer to narratives that have been debunked by experts, rather than as

5538-412: The system, such as whistleblowers and journalists , and most of the effort spent by conspiracy theorists is inherently misdirected. The most dangerous conspiracy theories are likely to be those that incite violence, scapegoat disadvantaged groups, or spread misinformation about important societal issues. Strategies to address conspiracy theories have been divided into two categories based on whether

5616-856: The target audience is the conspiracy theorists or the general public. These strategies have been described as reducing either the supply or the demand for conspiracy theories. Both approaches can be used at the same time, although there may be issues of limited resources, or if arguments are used which may appeal to one audience at the expense of the other. People who feel empowered are more resistant to conspiracy theories. Methods to promote empowerment include encouraging people to use analytical thinking , priming people to think of situations where they are in control, and ensuring that decisions by society and government are seen to follow procedural fairness (the use of fair decision-making procedures). Methods of refutation which have shown effectiveness in various circumstances include: providing facts that demonstrate

5694-462: The term conspiracy theory simply "suggests a plausible postulate of a conspiracy" and "did not, at this stage, carry any connotations, either negative or positive", though sometimes a postulate so-labeled was criticized. The author and activist George Monbiot argued that the terms "conspiracy theory" and "conspiracy theorist" are misleading, as conspiracies truly exist and theories are "rational explanations subject to disproof". Instead, he proposed

5772-484: The term entered everyday language in the United States after 1964, the year in which the Warren Commission published its findings on the assassination of John F. Kennedy , with The New York Times running five stories that year using the term. Whether the CIA was responsible for popularising the term "conspiracy theory" was analyzed by Michael Butter, a Professor of American Literary and Cultural History at

5850-601: The terms "conspiracy fiction" and "conspiracy fantasist". The term "conspiracy theory" is itself the subject of a conspiracy theory, which posits that the term was popularized by the CIA in order to discredit conspiratorial believers, particularly critics of the Warren Commission , by making them a target of ridicule. In his 2013 book Conspiracy Theory in America , the political scientist Lance deHaven-Smith wrote that

5928-614: The way the news media presents the news can cause political cynicism. The experiment also demonstrated "a negative relation between efficacy and cynicism suggesting that efficacious citizens were less likely to be cynical about politics". It was found that straight dry, "issues-based" news did not cause political cynicism, but that "Strategic News" and "game news" did. The latter two types of news presentation emphasize: ...the horse race, strategy, and tactics of politics,"..."news coverage of candidate motivations and personalities, focus on disagreement between parties, candidates or voters, and

6006-403: Was a physical and moral impossibility that she could be carrying on a gigantic conspiracy against us. But our masses, having only a rough general knowledge of foreign affairs, and not unnaturally somewhat exaggerating the space which we occupy in the world's eye, do not appreciate the complications which rendered such a conspiracy impossible. They only look at the sudden right-about-face movement of

6084-408: Was transplanted when Spain controlled Naples and much of its criminal element was transported (or deported) there. A Calabrian folk song suggests a much larger legacy. It tells the story of three Garduña "brothers" or three Spanish knights, Osso , Mastrosso and Carcagnosso , who fled Spain in the 17th century after washing with blood the honour of their seduced sister. They were shipwrecked on

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