![]() ![]() Consider the Iran-Contra affair in the 1980s, when senior US officials conspired to sell weapons to Iran – then under an arms embargo – and channel the proceeds to rebels trying to oust Nicaragua’s socialist government.Ĭonspiracy theories also reflect how we intuitively understand the world and events in it. Why do so many people believe? One reason, say psychologists, is that it is perfectly reasonable, because conspiracies sometimes happen. More conservatives than liberals believe the Obama “birther” theory – promulgated by Donald Trump – but many liberals believe 9/11 was a government plot to drum up support for invading Iraq. They are literally left, right and centre. The theories are also endorsed across the ideological spectrum. Educated people are also susceptible if a conspiracy theory fits with their pre-existing world view. Belief is more widespread among the less-educated, but is by no means confined to them. Belief in conspiracy theories is very widespread, the product of normal human psychology, and extremely influential and dangerous.Ībout half of Americans believe in one or more of the common ones. It is easy to dismiss conspiracy theories as unhinged beliefs held by a small number of paranoid idiots, but that seriously underestimates them. ![]() Many of these “theories” – the word is used in its colloquial sense rather than the strict scientific one, they should really be called “conspiracy hypotheses” – concern matters of science or medicine. The list is almost endless: the Apollo moon landings were faked, 9/11 was an inside job, climate change is a hoax, JFK was assassinated by the CIA, the earth is flat, the pharmaceutical industry is suppressing a cure for cancer, vaccines cause autism, Princess Diana was murdered by the royal family, Barak Obama was born in Kenya and is secretly a Muslim, the world is ruled by lizards. Think of any major world event and there is almost certainly at least one conspiracy theory to explain it. Welcome to the paranoid, topsy-turvy world of the conspiracy theory. There is no evidence that either of these claims are true, but to some people that very lack of evidence is itself clear evidence of a cover up. ![]() Is covid-19 caused by the 5G phone network, or the product of a secret Chinese bioweapons program? No. ![]()
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