Uncovering Mysteries
How and Why Conspiracy Theories Flourish
We choose what to believe based on faulty information
“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” — Socrates
Will the world come to an end on November 27, 2025? Not likely — I randomly chose the date. Did an Air Force F-35 crash in South Carolina but remain lost? Are trans people trying to groom children? Are feminists Nazis? I’ll give you my opinions in the conclusion.
Not having satisfying explanations for disturbing events is uncomfortable, especially if we don’t have a frame of reference. Lacking reasonable answers, people may be inclined to fill in gaps with what might have happened. In extreme cases, they dispute the entire event.
The coronavirus pandemic, 9/11, and the possible impact of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) particle accelerator attracted speculation and conspiracy theories because we hadn’t faced them before in our lifetime.
I recall reading warnings of Black Hole creation and blowing up the Earth when scientists worked on the Hadron Collider in 2008. Fear of disturbing the “God Particle” made some religious folks very nervous.
Uncovering facts takes thoughtful consideration and reliable resources. Ultimately, it takes time.
Definition of conspiracy
Genuine conspiracies are plots where people conspire to create and manage a scenario to manipulate others.
People who believe alternative theories often don’t try to understand situations outside their comfort zones. Their own belief systems and fear or discomfort are reflected in their beliefs.
For a conspiracy to take hold, several things must happen —
- an upsetting event
- feelings of confusion, anger, and/or concern
- lack of immediate acceptable explanation
- a distrust of official accounts
- curiosity and attention
- suspicion of motives and causes
- alternative theories by trusted sources
- spread of misinformation and conjecture
- others who promote disbelief
- reconciliation of an unanswered question
How conspiracy theories are born
Social media and technology allow rapid dissemination of information. The Internet has brought convenience and the ability to forge online relationships while creating social isolation and loneliness.
Sharing ideas often occurs without personal interactions. When we don’t hear another’s tone of voice or see facial expressions, we assume flights of fancy are unchallenged. In the digital Vaporverse, we can always find a bot or someone on the fringe who will validate us.
Cognitive dissonance and discomfort over scenarios not fitting our worldview propel us to seek answers to disturbing events when we aren’t comfortable with the first explanation we’re provided with.
History of Conspiracy Theories
Without an understanding of politics, history, or physics it’s easy to react to the 9/11 disaster thinking It looked like bombs. The attack indirectly led to the Patriot Act and 500,000 people killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Our reactions to an event may not be proportionate or rational. In hindsight, results may appear to validate skeptic’s suspicions.
Examples of the US Government targeting minorities include the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands, and the exploitation of African Americans and the uneducated poor by requiring them to fight in the front lines during the Vietnam War in disproportionate numbers. It’s understandable, therefore, that some Americans distrust those in power who may have ulterior motives inspired by greed.
We need to be cognizant, however, of our own biases. The most recent example I cited was almost 50 years ago. As with people, we hope our institutions make better decisions over time.
While a few conspiracy theories turn out to be true, it usually takes considerable time, interrogation, and effort to unearth nefarious conduct. Examples of actual conspiracies include —
- Apple has been accused of planned obsolescence of iPhones, iMacs, and iPads. Apple’s support for obsolete devices is problematic..
- NBA referee Tim Donaghy, who in 2007 was convicted of manipulating game scores in order to profit from gambling.
- The ”Martha Mitchell effect” refers to gaslighting. The wife of President Nixon’s Attorney General John Mitchell wanted to expose the 1972 Watergate scandal. She was abducted and described as delusional.
It didn’t take long for these conspiracies to come to light since multiple people were involved. Other examples which did take much longer include the tobacco, oil, and pesticide dangers that were hidden from consumers.
More often than not, conspiracy theories are embraced as the first and easiest answers to complex situations.
Conspiracy theorists often cite “connecting the dots” among numerous people, places, and events. In reality, the more people involved in a conspiracy, the sooner it’s likely to be detected. Keeping secrets among a large group is difficult. We often attribute grand schemes to events we don’t understand when incompetency and communication failures are to blame.
The principle of Occam’s Razor — the least complex theory is often the most rational— is right more often than not.
Reasons for Accepting Conspiracy Theories
Even though we’re not being hunted by lions, tigers, and bears, we still have a sense of needing to know so we can control our environment. Many of us are dedicated to life-long learning and get frustrated when we can’t get access to the most recent research available. Friends who are very religious, or married to being atheist, are much more comfortable than agnostics who admit to simply not knowing.
When we witness something strange, we act as interrogators. What, when, how, and why are questions in search of answers. Finding a suspect and motive allows us to stop looking. But, we need to know if a troubling event might happen again and how to protect ourselves.
In some circumstances, we may not trust what we’ve seen, read, or heard. This doesn’t seem real and it’s never happened to me before, we think. If it’s real, then we need to do something to protect ourselves. If we can dismiss something troubling as a concocted lie, we can return to our normal programming without a second thought.
Fear and insecurity are powerful motivators when trying to make sense of a disturbing event. The explanation most closely supporting our sense of reality, coupled with finding a group of supporters willing to promote a false premise makes it easy to stop looking for answers.
Recent conspiracy theories
YouTube, Facebook, Twitter (X), and other social media platforms are rife with outlandish conspiracy theories from dinosaurs being fake to plush toy surveillance.
Alex Jones’ five most disturbing and ridiculous conspiracy theories include the US Air Force using ‘weather weapons’ to cause flooding in Texas, water chemicals turning frogs gay, Robert Mueller as a demonic pedophile, the Sandy Hook shooting staged using crisis actors, and Hillary Clinton’s take-out pizza and child sex slaves. Jones has been ordered to pay hefty settlements to the families of Sandy Hook victims.
Not long ago, a friend sent me a message to watch a YouTube video. I used an alternate email address for research but did not disable history and tracking. A news program discussed my friend’s Black niece who was killed by a self-proclaimed white nationalist. Another story followed, and I fell asleep as the videos kept streaming. When I awoke, there were racist videos involving complex conspiracy theories playing.
The YouTube algorithm defaults to playing slightly more sensational videos each time, whatever the subject. Social media algorithms are designed to keep users engaged for as long as possible.
After watching an interview with a psychologist interviewing Republican Presidential Candidate Chris Christie, I left the room. When I returned a couple of hours later, alt-right psychologist Jordan Peterson was describing problems with the LGBTQ community. I let it run while I left again. Upon return, Matt Walsh — winner of the 2022 transphobic award— was fighting with someone who identified as gender non-conforming.
This illustrates how the feed can lead to extremist views while spreading conspiracy theories, regardless of race, political beliefs, or orientation.
Controlling the narrative
Controlling the narrative of conspiracy theories provides an advantage in both the actual event and our response to it. There’s often a rush to judgment as we hope to comfortably process information with minimal disruption to our own lives.
We cling to the notions
- It can’t happen again,
- It wasn’t as bad as it seemed,
- Others will take care of it,
- It cannot happen to me, or
- It never really happened.
Despite over a million Americans being lost to Covid related illness, there are those who insist on all or a variation of the above sentiments.
Debunking Conspiracies
News aggregators like The Associated Press (AP), Reuters, and Agence France-Presse (AFP) are known for careful dissemination of facts. They’re often the initial source for other news organizations.
BBC News (British Broadcasting Corporation), the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal are normally good sources of news, but their opinion pieces may skew one way or another.
Historically, large cities had two major newspapers that aligned with either Republican or Democrat political parties. I could pick up both editions and get the same facts in a news story, but the context and focus would support one party’s views over the other’s.
More news sources often result in more extremist views as outlets compete for attention.
Separating fact from fiction requires reliable information and time. Wikipedia, Pew, Axiom, and first-hand accounts by reputable news sources and researchers can help.
For more information on spotting a fake conspiracy theory, the Guardian offers Fake or Fact — How to Recognise a Conspiracy Theory. Excerpts from author Michael Shermer’s Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational synopsis provides ten rules that serve as a Conspiracy Detection Kit.
Fact-checking sites like FactCheck.afp.com, Annenberg Political FactCheck, and Snopes.com help debunk false claims.
Conclusion
We need to accept we may not know the truth about things we don’t have first-hand knowledge of, and be okay with our uncertainty.
Curiosity, skepticism over sensational news items, and trusted sources can help identify potential misinformation and conspiracy theories. Try to remain open to new ideas and become better informed. Recognize facts and directions may be scarce immediately following an unexpected event or change in attitudes. Exercise patience while seeking information from reputable sources. Remain calm and engage in civil discussions.
Did an Air Force F-35 crash land in South Carolina but remain lost? According to news sources and 911 recordings, a pilot ejected from an F-35 in bad weather and parachuted 2,000 feet into a Charleston area backyard on Sunday, September 17, 2023. Because the stealth fighter’s sensitive data system is designed to erase if the pilot ejects, the aircraft was missing for several days.
Are trans people trying to groom children? No. I know several transgender people well and have likely encountered others. All are good people who are as complex and unique as you or me. They want to be treated fairly and not denigrated. They hold no malevelant hidden agendas.
Are feminists Nazis? Back in the 1990s, my male friend was trying to learn more about feminism. “Patricia, are you a feminist?” he asked. I laughed. “I’m a Patricia-ist. I research, think, and come to my own conclusions in each situation. I work as hard and produce as much as my male counterparts, so I’d better be paid and respected at least as much. Everything else depends on what I learn and experience. I don’t adopt causes blindly or lean any way but back in horror or over in laughter.”
I’ve yet to meet a feminist who espouses Nazi allegiance, or a transgender person intent on influencing small children's gender identity. Exposure to these ideas is more likely to be found on social media spread by those who wish to divide or further define people in rigid categories.
Acquiring knowledge isn’t quick and easy. “Growing pains” are common in all areas of life, and are necessary and inevitable. A rush to judgment and accepting easy explanations requiring no action may be convenient, but is rarely rewarded or accurate.
As the 2024 election season approaches, remember to examine sources of information and underlying potential motives. Foreign countries have an interest due to their own priorities and interests. Social media platforms like Twitter (X) and Facebook are common targets for those who wish to sow confusion and discontent. As of 9/20/23, they plan to accept political ads from sometimes masked sources.
A warm thank you to editor extraordinaire Andrew Rodwin, who has a remarkable amount of patience and great advice.
Thanks for reading.
