What are conspiracy theories? Conspiracy theories are ideas that posit that a group of people is secretly responsible for, controlling, or coordinating events in order to achieve a particular goal. In recent decades, this has often taken the form of conspiracy theories involving powerful governments and large businesses. It is also popular among certain groups such as those who believe in UFOs, Bigfoot, Aliens, and the Illuminati. Conspiracy theories are not necessarily true or false, but they are sometimes viewed as such.
These beliefs can combine with other ideas, such as the idea of good and evil. The belief that there is a conspiracy can have many consequences. To see these consequences, we must examine how people think about conspiracy theories and the effects of their beliefs. Conspiracy theories present a problem for the ‘skeptical’ mind: theorists may appear to be ‘crazy’ because they are so skeptical of those with whom they disagree. It is difficult to be convinced by someone who cannot accept any evidence you might provide them. Because of this, many conspiracy theorists have difficulty being taken seriously.
“Conspiracy theories are driven by the belief that power or in some other way secret forces are directing society for their own benefit. They may be motivated by a desire to change society through revolutionary means, or they may reflect a wish to restore some imaginary earlier golden age. The conspirators themselves may be searching for benefits, such as increased power over others, or loyalty within their group.”
Theories that conspiracy theorists believe in often involve large groups of people that a person perceives as being in charge of this. However, it goes beyond just the people at the top of the hierarchy structure and includes significant others below them who also do not have any association with those in control.
“Conventional wisdom holds that conspiracy theorists are either paranoid fantasists or right-wing cranks. The majority of researchers have abandoned these folk psychological assumptions in favor of the view that conspiracy theories are invariably the result of political cynicism, a response to powerlessness, and a symptom of the sense that mainstream politics and news media are not to be trusted.”
These views contradict many people’s conceptions that conspiracy theorists are merely “crazy”. Another common feature of conspiracy theories is the use of the Dunning–Kruger effect. Those who repeat unsubstantiated information may do so because they lack knowledge of what they are talking about. There is little hesitation put into deciding what is true or false.
Conspiracy theories also do not affect the people who study them. They are not affected by the reasons behind them, or why they think these things are true. Instead, many scholars actually enjoy conspiracy theories because of their entertainment value and their appeal to the imagination. Perhaps it is better to view them as a form of modern myth-telling than a potential threat to conventional conceptions of history and politics. There has been much study on the topic of conspiracy theory due to increased popularity over recent years and disturbing statistics that could indicate instability in society that could cause society to come crumbling down.
So, what is a conspiracy?
We will begin with a definition since one often comes before the other. Of course, this is not really a good starting place for the discussion, as there are many different ideas about what constitutes a conspiracy. However, I do not want to claim that a particular group of individuals has invented conspiracy as a concept. What I will do here is provide a definition consistent with other uses of the concept in culture, and from which we can test what is more or less true.
First, it is important to understand those conspiracy theories are usually discourses about secret plots by shadowy groups or individuals for the purposes of manipulating or controlling the public at large. By contrast, a theory on how these plots work would be different because it would be a scientific explanation rather than an attempt to bring about change through manipulation and control. Finally, we need to distinguish between popular conspiracy theories and hoaxes such as the Illuminati among others (which are not necessarily conspiracies either).
So let us begin: conspiracy theory is a set of ideas that either claim that an elite group of individuals is working towards a much larger and sinister purpose, or a group of individuals are working to achieve some specific goal through secret means. All conspiracies are necessarily both covert and manipulative. Most commonly they involve manipulation by secret groups or organizations, while also often being covered by secrecy. While the main goal of most conspiracies is usually governmental control or manipulation, they might also be small-scale operations by individual agents. These could include minor acts such as rigging elections, trying to get rich off insider trading, or staging political protests (which would then be regarded as part of the conspiracy since the events would seem too coincidental on their own). The origins of the phrase “conspiracy theory” can be traced to the book “The Report From Iron Mountain”, by Leonard Lewin (New York: Dell Publishing Co., Inc., 1967).
Top popular conspiracy theories:
The JFK Assassination: The assassination of U.S President John F Kennedy on November 22nd, 1963 remains an unresolved topic to date and many speculate it was not Oswald alone who killed Kennedy but rather, he was only one element in a broader plot by various political groups or figures within the United States government such as J Edgar Hoover and Lyndon B Johnson. Though this is generally considered a conspiracy theory, the idea has become more mainstream since Oliver Stone’s film JFK (1991).
9/11 attacks: The September 11th attacks by al-Qaeda on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon are among several other events which have been interpreted as being part of a conspiracy theory. These speculations are generally not considered as legitimate as they are often based on questionable evidence and facts which may not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. The United States and/or other governments had a hand in the 9/11 terrorist attacks that took place on September 11, 2001. The purpose of this act was to instill fear into us so that we would be more willing to give up our freedoms for “protection” from terrorism. In order to carry out these attacks, several facts must be present: an inside person who has sway within the government, access to planes or plans, and facilities within the USA where such aircraft can be rigged with explosives.
9-11 Trutherism: The idea that elements within American corporations helped bring about or allowed 9/11 to happen without having any knowledge of these activities occurring is known as 9-11 Trutherism.
The New World Order (NWO): The idea that there is a hidden group of people or nations which control or have control over all world governments has been around for centuries, but the notion became more mainstream since the 1970s after Richard Nixon used it in his 1972 presidential election campaign.
The Federal Reserve System: The Federal Reserve is a privately owned institution created in 1913 to run the U.S. banking system and provide liquidity to the country. Though it is technically privately owned, it does have backing from the government through its dual mandate to ensure price stability, full employment, and moderate long-term interest rates. Conspiracy theorists commonly claim that there are secret motives behind the creation of the Federal Reserve system that is beneficial to certain groups or individuals who own stock in Federal Reserve Banks or banks that accept their currency as legal tender.
FEMA Camps: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is a U.S government agency that operates the national disaster relief system. The agency’s primary goal is to ensure the safety of lives and property in the event of a natural or man-made disaster in all 50 states, U.S territories, and courthouses. It has come under attack by conspiracy theorists who believe that FEMA is training for widespread martial law as well as conducting secret experiments on humans conducted by The MILAB Program. The conspiracy theory also states that FEMA plans to round up Americans who are deemed undesirable by the government.
Bigfoot, Ufos: The United States government has captured and possesses live/dead aliens as well as bigfoot. The U.S. has captured and possesses both live-dead aliens as well as bigfoot (as in Sasquatch). Evidence for these assertions comes from a former military intelligence officer who claims to have been part of a secret government program that remains active to this day. He has also hinted at the existence of a room in Area 51 where live aliens are kept. The government has kept them away secretly for various reasons. Bigfoot is kept in order to not bankrupt the logging industry. There is a common belief by many that the government is keeping things from us such as the existence of alien life forms, bigfoot, UFOs, etc. This has been theorized in many conspiracy theories in order to keep us down and in control.
Under the treaty signed between aliens and the government, humans must only be allowed to see them for a short period of time. The government (US Government) is in contact with aliens from other planets or dimensions. They use this contact as a means of gaining information and technology. The government no longer hides this secret.
The government has become involved with the aliens and has been keeping them on the earth’s surface for numerous purposes (ie. cooperation, experimentation, exchange of secrets, creating a new race, etc.) The moon is an artificial satellite that the government uses to control people’s minds through various technologies like radio waves etc. The moon is actually an alien base/control station where aliens are hidden and kept captive.
The Cover-Up: Some believe that the government is intentionally covering up everything because they are afraid of what the public will do if they found out about these aliens. They want to keep us in the dark so that they can carry out their agendas without interference from us. The governments of the other countries are hiding information among their people such that they do not realize that aliens exist and that the US Government knows this information.
The government (US Government) has been experimenting on us for years without us knowing. We are being given drugs to control our thoughts and keep us under control. [Does anyone have any evidence?]
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC): The FDIC is a privately owned institution created in 1933 as a private corporation under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. It protects the individual deposits of bank customers and, since it is privately owned, it does have backing from the government through its dual mandate to ensure that financial institutions maintain funds on deposit with it and none of their deposits are used to fund illegal enterprises or activities. Conspiracy theorists commonly claim that there are secret motives behind this private corporation which benefits certain large banks at the expense of any small banks that operate within a community.
Covid vaccination: According to this theory, the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) is giving out a vaccination that sterilizes people in order to cause depopulation and keep people under control.
NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical): These are weapons that are being developed by the government in order to keep us under control. NBC weapons are possibly being tested on human beings without our consent and knowledge.
The Federal Reserve System: The Federal Reserve System is the central banking system of the United States. Created by an act of Congress in 1913, it consists of the Federal Reserve Board, which governs the system, and twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks. Its main purpose is to manage a monetary policy to control inflation and achieve economic growth and stability. Conspiracy theorists commonly claim that there are secret motives behind this privately-owned bank system which benefits certain private interests at the expense of the average American citizen.
The theorists may refer to any of a number of theories about the Federal Reserve. One theory is that the Federal Reserve is an inherently fraudulent organization, with little or no real economic value. Another theory is that the Federal Reserve is in fact an international banking cartel, which seeks to maximize its own profits at the expense of the federal government and American taxpayers in general. A third theory holds that the Federal Reserve System creates money out of nothing for itself and lends it to the United States Treasury at interest. In return, the Treasury guarantees to support the Fed with any financial emergencies.
The Federal Reserve is supposed to be an independent agency with no official political affiliation; however, it has long been the target of conspiracy theorists and others who blame it for the country’s economic problems, claiming that it acts contrary to the public interest and creates crises for political gain. In many of these theories, the Federal Reserve’s actions are said to be either controlled or coordinated by Jews or international bankers for their own benefit, usually at the expense of “the common man.
The government (US Government) is hiding the truth from us about bigfoot and aliens. The reason being that the government knows that the existence of alien life forms will cause a crisis in the world which will lead to an infinite amount of chaos and mayhem. The government wants to keep everything in order so they are trying to hide it from us. The government wants to keep us under control, and under their watchful eye, because they fear that if this information is released, we will lose our minds and go insane. There is a common belief by many that the aliens are out there but they still remain hidden for various reasons.
Disinformation: Some people think that the government is purposefully giving out false information in order to confuse us. They want us to be distracted while they are doing what they want to do.
Disinformation: Some people think that the government is purposefully giving out false information in order to confuse us. They want us to be distracted while they are doing what they want to do. These people think that the government is trying to get rid of us. They are keeping us in the dark and throwing out false information so we don’t know what is really going on.
Mass Media: Some people think that the mass media (TV, radio, newspapers, magazines) is owned by big corporations and they are being funded by wealthy individuals in order to keep everything hidden from us. The mass media is owned by the government and they use it as a propaganda tool to keep us under control. The mass media works to keep us divided. It makes us think that we are the only people in the world that believes/disbelieve what it tells us.
The mass media is controlled by the real government and they are keeping the truth away from us. The mass media is owned by the government and they are intentionally misleading us. There was once a time when people had faith in what they read in their newspapers, magazines, or books because people actually believed what was printed. The whole corporate community has been corrupted by money, greed, power, fear & sex (sex sells).
The government also takes care of biological weapons, which we think it has been using on us for some time, such as HIV, Ebola, covid-19 and Smallpox viruses. We have seen that the U.S. military is keeping a lot of secrets about alien technology and what kinds of things they can do with it in terms of spying on us and killing people through various ways, such as chemtrails poisoning them or making them ill with various diseases which are called biowarfare weapons, like smallpox virus and Ebola virus. The U.S.
Global Warming: Many people believe that global warming is caused by pollution, and they want to stop this so that they can continue to develop our planet without any consequences. They don’t understand that everyone’s safety is in jeopardy if they are not stopped.
GMOs: The government is experimenting on us through genetically modified organisms (GMOs). This theory suggests that GMOs are bad for people’s health because they cause allergies, diseases, cancers, and food contamination.
UFOs: The US Government has been watching UFOs and spying on them to find out information about the aliens that are on our planet. UFOs travel from different parts of the universe and visit our earth. They have created a secret base at Area 51 in Nevada to keep control over these aliens.
What We Really Know: The truth regarding a lot of things is actually pretty small. People have a distorted view of what’s really going on because of the mass media, which try to mislead us into thinking that we’re being told what’s really going on when it’s really not. You can’t believe everything you read in the news or hear on TV. To get the whole story you need to do your own research on many subjects.
In conclusion, conspiracy theories come in all kinds of colors and flavors. Will we ever know absolutely that such a vast and unending conspiracy can’t be true? Of course not. What we can do is put the theories under scrutiny and discount those which have no evidence to support them. Sadly, they may never be discounted 100%, but they can certainly be minimized – especially when the “facts” the theories are based on have been misconstrued or just flat out lied about. The government has a large agenda going on behind closed doors, but it may not be what you think it is…
- Various churches and denominations have done their own research and believe that people are not being told everything about these subjects by the government.
- Many people think that the government wants to keep us from knowing about the existence of aliens because they are in league with the aliens.
- Some people believe the government is in contact with aliens and bigfoot.
- The US Government has a special department that oversees all alien activity on Earth and works closely with aliens who live here already. The government is using aliens for many purposes including technological advancements like military equipment, medicine, etc.
- The government (especially the government of the United States) is keeping aliens in the dark and underground. The government does not allow us to see them, although they come here to study us.
- The CDC is also experimenting on us through vaccinations.