How Conspiracy theories work

Table of Contents

Conspiracy theories all work the same way:

  1. Start with a conclusion. e.g. “something is not right about this xxxx case.”
  2. Immediately reject official explanations, no matter how logical they might be, as “propaganda” or “more media lies.”
  3. Identify or invent small “inconsistencies” in a complex situation and use them to make great logical leaps.
  4. Hand-wave away any logical problems with your theory by saying something like “the corporations are trying to control us!” or “the government/CIA/reverse-vampires are covering up the truth!”
  5. Spread it all on X, TikTok, or NextDoor and enjoy feeling special because you know something that everyone else doesn’t, or you’re courageous enough to face the truth.

Reading material

  1. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5724570/
  2. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6282974/
  3. https://iep.utm.edu/conspiracy-theories/

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