Editing Conspiracy theory (section)

{{Short description|Attributing events to improbable causes}}
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[[File:Dollarnote siegel hq.jpg|thumb|The [[Eye of Providence]], as seen on the US$1 bill, has been perceived by some to be evidence of a conspiracy linking the [[Founding Fathers of the United States]] to the [[New World Order conspiracy theory]].<ref name=Barkun2003/>{{rp|58}}<ref>{{cite book|first1=Micah|last1=Issitt|first2=Carlyn|last2=Main|title=Hidden Religion: The Greatest Mysteries and Symbols of the World's Religious Beliefs|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2014|isbn=978-1-61069-478-0}}</ref>{{rp|47–49}}]]

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),<ref name="Harambam-Aupers 2021">{{cite journal|last1=Harambam|first1=Jaron|last2=Aupers|first2=Stef|date=August 2021|title=From the unbelievable to the undeniable: Epistemological pluralism, or how conspiracy theorists legitimate their extraordinary truth claims|journal=[[European Journal of Cultural Studies]]|volume=24|issue=4|pages=990–1008|doi=10.1177/1367549419886045|doi-access=free|hdl=11245.1/7716b88d-4e3f-49ee-8093-253ccb344090|hdl-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|first=Ted|last=Goertzel|date=December 1994|title=Belief in conspiracy theories|journal=[[Political Psychology]]|volume=15|issue=4|pages=731–742|doi=10.2307/3791630|jstor=3791630|quote=explanations for important events that involve secret plots by powerful and malevolent groups}}</ref><ref>{{Cite OED |conspiracy theory}} "the theory that an event or phenomenon occurs as 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"</ref> when other explanations are more probable.<ref name="Harambam-Aupers 2021"/><ref name="BrothertonFrench2013">{{cite journal|last1=Brotherton|first1=Robert|last2=French|first2=Christopher C.|last3=Pickering|first3=Alan D.|title=Measuring Belief in Conspiracy Theories: The Generic Conspiracist Beliefs Scale|journal=Frontiers in Psychology|volume=4|year=2013|page=279|doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00279|pmid=23734136|pmc=3659314|s2cid=16685781|quote=A conspiracist belief can be described as 'the unnecessary assumption of conspiracy when other explanations are more probable'.|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="probability">Additional sources:
*{{cite book|last1=Aaronovitch|first1=David|title=Voodoo Histories: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History|date=2009|publisher=Jonathan Cape|isbn=9780224074704|page=253|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=icxkMJK-WmgC|access-date=17 August 2019|language=en|quote=It is a contention of this book that conspiracy theorists fail to apply the principle of Occam's razor to their arguments.}}
*{{cite journal|last1=Brotherton|first1=Robert|last2=French|first2=Christopher C.|title=Belief in Conspiracy Theories and Susceptibility to the Conjunction Fallacy|journal=Applied Cognitive Psychology|volume=28|issue=2|year=2014|pages=238–248|doi=10.1002/acp.2995|quote=A conspiracy theory can be defined as an unverified and relatively implausible allegation of conspiracy, claiming that significant events are the result of a secret plot carried out by a preternaturally sinister and powerful group of people.|doi-access=free}}
*{{cite journal|last1=Jonason|first1=Peter Karl|last2=March|first2=Evita|last3=Springer|first3=Jordan|title=Belief in conspiracy theories: The predictive role of schizotypy, Machiavellianism, and primary psychopathy|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=14|issue=12|year=2019|pages=e0225964|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0225964|pmid=31794581|pmc=6890261|bibcode=2019PLoSO..1425964M|quote=Conspiracy theories are a subset of false beliefs, and generally implicate a malevolent force (e.g., a government body or secret society) involved in orchestrating major events or providing misinformation regarding the details of events to an unwitting public, in part of a plot towards achieving a sinister goal.|doi-access=free}}
*{{cite journal|last1=Thresher-Andrews|first1=Christopher|title=An introduction into the world of conspiracy|journal=PsyPAG Quarterly|volume=1|year=2013|issue=88|pages=5–8|doi=10.53841/bpspag.2013.1.88.5|s2cid=255932379|url=http://www.psypag.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Issue-88.pdf|quote=Conspiracy theories are unsubstantiated, less plausible alternatives to the mainstream explanation of the event; they assume everything is intended, with malignity. Crucially, they are also epistemically self-insulating in their construction and arguments.}}</ref> The term generally has a negative [[connotation]], implying that the appeal of a conspiracy theory is based in prejudice, emotional conviction, or insufficient evidence.<ref name=Byford>{{Cite book|title=Conspiracy theories : a critical introduction|last=Byford|first=Jovan|date=2011|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|isbn=9780230349216|location=Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire|oclc=802867724}}</ref> 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 [[scientist]]s or [[historians]].<ref name="Andrade2020">{{cite journal|last=Andrade|first=Gabriel|date=April 2020|title=Medical conspiracy theories: Cognitive science and implications for ethics|url=https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11019-020-09951-6.pdf|url-status=live|journal=[[Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy]]|volume=23|issue=3|pages=505–518|doi=10.1007/s11019-020-09951-6|doi-access=free|pmc=7161434|pmid=32301040|s2cid=215787658|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200508193924/https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11019-020-09951-6.pdf|archive-date=8 May 2020|access-date=7 October 2021}}</ref><ref name="Barkun2016"/><ref name="Brotherton2013-q"/>

Conspiracy theories tend to be internally consistent and correlate with each other;<ref name="annurev-psych">{{cite journal|author1-last=Douglas|author1-first=Karen M.|author2-last=Sutton|author2-first=Robbie M.|date=January 2023|title=What Are Conspiracy Theories? A Definitional Approach to Their Correlates, Consequences, and Communication|editor-last=Fiske|editor-first=Susan T.|editor-link=Susan Fiske|journal=[[Annual Review of Psychology]]|volume=74|pages=271–298|doi=10.1146/annurev-psych-032420-031329|doi-access=free|oclc=909903176|pmid=36170672|s2cid=252597317}}</ref> they are generally designed to resist [[Falsifiability|falsification]] either by evidence against them or a lack of evidence for them.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Douglas|first1=Karen M.|last2=Sutton|first2=Robbie M.|date=12 April 2011|title=Does it take one to know one? Endorsement of conspiracy theories is influenced by personal willingness to conspire|url=http://kar.kent.ac.uk/26187/1/Douglas%20%26%20Sutton%202011%20BJSP.pdf|url-status=live|journal=[[British Journal of Social Psychology]]|volume=10|issue=3|pages=544–552|doi=10.1111/j.2044-8309.2010.02018.x|lccn=81642357|oclc=475047529|pmid=21486312|s2cid=7318352|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181103180834/https://kar.kent.ac.uk/26187/1/Douglas%20%26%20Sutton%202011%20BJSP.pdf|archive-date=3 November 2018|access-date=8 May 2024}}</ref> They are reinforced by [[circular reasoning]]: both evidence against the conspiracy ''and'' absence of evidence for it are misinterpreted as evidence of its truth.<ref name="Byford" /><ref name="Keeley1999">{{Cite journal|last=Keeley|first=Brian L.|date=March 1999|title=Of Conspiracy Theories|journal=The Journal of Philosophy|volume=96|issue=3|pages=109–126|doi=10.2307/2564659|jstor=2564659}}</ref> [[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."<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lewandowsky|first1=Stephan|last2=Gignac|first2=Gilles E.|last3=Oberauer|first3=Klaus|date=2013-10-02|editor-last=Denson|editor-first=Tom|title=The Role of Conspiracist Ideation and Worldviews in Predicting Rejection of Science|journal=PLOS ONE|language=en|volume=8|issue=10|pages=e75637|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0075637|doi-access=free|pmc=3788812|pmid=24098391|bibcode=2013PLoSO...875637L}}</ref> As a consequence, the conspiracy becomes a matter of faith rather than something that can be proven or disproven.<ref name="Barkun2003">{{cite book|last1=Barkun|first1=Michael|author-link1=Michael Barkun|title=A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America|date=2003|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley|pages=3–4|title-link=A Culture of Conspiracy}}</ref><ref name="Barkun2011">{{cite book|last1=Barkun|first1=Michael|author-link1=Michael Barkun|title=Chasing Phantoms: Reality, Imagination, and Homeland Security Since 9/11|date=2011|publisher=University of North Carolina Press|location=Chapel Hill|page=10}}</ref> Studies have linked belief in conspiracy theories to distrust of authority and political [[Cynicism (contemporary)|cynicism]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Swami|first=Viren|date=2012-08-06|title=Social Psychological Origins of Conspiracy Theories: The Case of the Jewish Conspiracy Theory in Malaysia|journal=[[Frontiers in Psychology]]|location=London, UK|volume=3|pages=280|doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00280|pmc=3412387|pmid=22888323|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=Radnitz|first=Scott|title=Revealing Schemes|chapter=Citizen Cynics: How People Talk and Think about Conspiracy|date=2021|pages=153–172|url=https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/oso/9780197573532.001.0001/oso-9780197573532-chapter-9|publication-place=[[University of Washington]]|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|doi=10.1093/oso/9780197573532.003.0009|isbn=978-0-19-757353-2|access-date=2022-05-17|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Jolley|first1=Daniel|last2=Douglas|first2=Karen M.|date=2014-02-20|title=The Effects of Anti-Vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Vaccination Intentions|journal=[[PLOS One]]|language=en|publication-place=[[University of Kent]]|volume=9|issue=2|pages=e89177|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0089177|pmc=3930676|pmid=24586574|bibcode=2014PLoSO...989177J|doi-access=free}}</ref> Some researchers suggest that '''conspiracist ideation'''—belief in conspiracy theories—may be psychologically harmful or pathological.<ref name="Freeman 595–604">{{Cite journal|last1=Freeman|first1=Daniel|last2=Bentall|first2=Richard P.|date=29 March 2017|title=The concomitants of conspiracy concerns|journal=Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology|language=en|volume=52|issue=5|pages=595–604|doi=10.1007/s00127-017-1354-4|pmc=5423964|pmid=28352955}}</ref><ref name="Barron 156–159">{{Cite journal|last1=Barron|first1=David|last2=Morgan|first2=Kevin|last3=Towell|first3=Tony|last4=Altemeyer|first4=Boris|last5=Swami|first5=Viren|date=November 2014|title=Associations between schizotypy and belief in conspiracist ideation|journal=Personality and Individual Differences|language=en|volume=70|pages=156–159|doi=10.1016/j.paid.2014.06.040|url=http://westminsterresearch.wmin.ac.uk/14570/1/1-s2.0-S0191886914003821-main.pdf}}</ref> Such belief is correlated with [[psychological projection]], [[paranoia]], and [[Machiavellianism (psychology)|Machiavellianism]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Douglas|first1=Karen M.|last2=Sutton|first2=Robbie M.|date=12 April 2011|title=Does it take one to know one? Endorsement of conspiracy theories is influenced by personal willingness to conspire|url=http://kar.kent.ac.uk/26187/1/Douglas%20%26%20Sutton%202011%20BJSP.pdf|journal=British Journal of Social Psychology|volume=10|issue=3|pages=544–552|doi=10.1111/j.2044-8309.2010.02018.x|pmid=21486312|s2cid=7318352|access-date=28 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181103180834/https://kar.kent.ac.uk/26187/1/Douglas%20%26%20Sutton%202011%20BJSP.pdf|archive-date=3 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20402445/|pmid=20402445|date=2010|last1=Brüne|first1=M.|last2=Basilowski|first2=M.|last3=Bömmer|first3=I.|last4=Juckel|first4=G.|last5=Assion|first5=H. J.|title=Machiavellianism and executive functioning in patients with delusional disorder|journal=Psychological Reports|volume=106|issue=1|pages=205–215|doi=10.2466/PR0.106.1.205-215}}</ref>

Psychologists usually attribute belief in conspiracy theories to a number of psychopathological conditions such as [[paranoia]], [[schizotypy]], [[narcissism]], and [[insecure attachment]],<ref name="Andrade2020"/> or to a form of [[cognitive bias]] called "[[illusory pattern perception]]".<ref>{{cite web|title=Conspiracy Theorists Really Do See The World Differently, New Study Shows|url=https://www.sciencealert.com/conspiracy-theory-beliefs-illusory-pattern-perception-cognitive-science|first=Signe|last=Dean|publisher=[[Journal of Biological Sciences|Science Alert]]|date=23 October 2017|access-date=17 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Conspiracy Theorists Have a Fundamental Cognitive Problem, Say Scientists|url=https://www.inverse.com/article/37463-conspiracy-beliefs-illusory-pattern-perception|first=Sarah|last=Sloat|publisher=[[Bustle (magazine)|Inverse]]|date=17 October 2017|access-date=17 June 2020}}</ref> It has also been linked with the so-called [[Dark triad]] personality types, whose common feature is lack of [[empathy]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Hughes|first1=Sara|last2=Machan|first2=Laura|date=2021|title=It's a conspiracy: Covid-19 conspiracies link to psychopathy, Machiavellianism and collective narcissism|journal=Personality and Individual Differences|language=en|volume=171|pages=110559|doi=10.1016/j.paid.2020.110559|pmc=8035125|pmid=33867616}}</ref> However, a 2020 review article found that most [[cognitive science|cognitive scientists]] view conspiracy theorizing as typically nonpathological, given that unfounded belief in conspiracy is common across both historical and contemporary cultures, and may arise from innate human tendencies towards gossip, group cohesion, and religion.<ref name="Andrade2020"/> 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 the likelihood of perceiving conspiracies in social situations."<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=van Prooijen|first1=Jan-Willem|last2=Douglas|first2=Karen M|date=2017|title=Conspiracy theories as part of history: The role of societal crisis situations|journal=Memory Studies|language=en|volume=10|issue=3|pages=323–333|doi=10.1177/1750698017701615|pmc=5646574|pmid=29081831}}</ref>

Historically, conspiracy theories have been closely linked to [[prejudice]], [[propaganda]], [[witch hunt]]s, [[war]]s, and [[genocide]]s.<ref name="annurev-psych"/><ref name="DouglasUscinski2019"/><ref name="Goertzel2010"/><ref name="HR">{{cite journal|author-last=Frankfurter|author-first=David|date=February 2021|title=Religion in the Mirror of the Other: The Discursive Value of Cult-Atrocity Stories in Mediterranean Antiquity|editor1-last=Copp|editor1-first=Paul|editor2-last=Wedemeyer|editor2-first=Christian K.|editor2-link=Christian K. Wedemeyer|journal=[[History of Religions (journal)|History of Religions]] |volume=60|issue=3|pages=188–208|doi=10.1086/711943|jstor=00182710|s2cid=233429880|lccn=64001081|oclc=299661763}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author-last=Nefes|author-first=Turkay|year=2018|chapter=Framing of a Conspiracy Theory: The Efendi Series|editor1-last=Asprem|editor1-first=Egil|editor2-last=Dyrendal|editor2-first=Asbjørn|editor3-last=Robertson|editor3-first=David G.|title=Handbook of Conspiracy Theory and Contemporary Religion|location=[[Leiden]]|publisher=[[Brill Publishers]]|series=Brill Handbooks on Contemporary Religion|volume=17|doi=10.1163/9789004382022_020|isbn=978-90-04-38150-6|pages=407–422|s2cid=158560266|quote=Conspiracy theories often function as popular conduits of ethno-religious hatred and conflict.}}</ref> They are often strongly believed by the perpetrators of [[Terrorism|terrorist attacks]], and were used as justification by [[Timothy McVeigh]] and [[Anders Breivik]], as well as by governments such as [[Nazi Germany]], the [[Soviet Union]],<ref name="DouglasUscinski2019"/> and [[Conspiracy theories in Turkey|Turkey]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Göknar|first1=Erdağ|title=Conspiracy Theory in Turkey: Politics and Protest in the Age of "Post-Truth" by Julian de Medeiros (review)|journal=The Middle East Journal|date=2019|volume=73|issue=2|pages=336–337|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/730239|language=en}}</ref> [[AIDS denialism]] by the government of [[South Africa]], motivated by conspiracy theories, caused an estimated 330,000 deaths from AIDS.<ref name="Thresher-Andrews2013"/><ref name="SimelelaVenter2015"/><ref name="BurtonGiddy2015"/> [[QAnon]] and [[Election denial movement in the United States|denialism]] about the [[2020 United States presidential election]] results led to the [[January 6 United States Capitol attack]],<ref name="Nature 2021">{{cite magazine|last=Tollefson|first=Jeff|date=4 February 2021|title=Tracking QAnon: how Trump turned conspiracy-theory research upside down|url=https://media.nature.com/original/magazine-assets/d41586-021-00257-y/d41586-021-00257-y.pdf|url-status=live|magazine=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]|volume=590|pages=192–193|doi=10.1038/d41586-021-00257-y|doi-access=free|lccn=12037118|pmid=33542489|s2cid=231818589|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427105931/https://media.nature.com/original/magazine-assets/d41586-021-00257-y/d41586-021-00257-y.pdf|archive-date=27 April 2021|access-date=7 October 2021}}</ref><ref name="Crossley 2021">{{cite journal|last=Crossley|first=James|date=September 2021|title=The Apocalypse and Political Discourse in an Age of COVID|journal=[[Journal for the Study of the New Testament]]|volume=44|issue=1|pages=93–111|doi=10.1177/0142064X211025464|doi-access=free|s2cid=237329082}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=QAnon reshaped Trump's party and radicalized believers. The Capitol siege may just be the start.|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/01/13/qanon-capitol-siege-trump/|date=13 January 2021}}</ref> and belief in [[GMO conspiracy theories|conspiracy theories about genetically modified foods]] led the government of [[Zambia]] to reject food aid during a [[famine]],<ref name="Goertzel2010"/> at a time when three million people in the country were suffering from [[hunger]].<ref name="BrossardShanahan2007"/> Conspiracy theories are a significant obstacle to improvements in [[public health]],<ref name="Goertzel2010"/><ref name="GlickBooth2014"/> encouraging opposition to such public health measures as [[vaccination]] and [[water fluoridation]]. They have been linked to outbreaks of [[vaccine-preventable disease]]s.<ref name="Goertzel2010"/><ref name="Thresher-Andrews2013"/><ref name="GlickBooth2014"/><ref name="PrematungeCorace2012"/> Other effects of conspiracy theories include reduced trust in [[scientific evidence]],<ref name="annurev-psych"/><ref name="Goertzel2010"/><ref name="Douglas 538–542"/> radicalization and ideological reinforcement of [[Extremism|extremist]] groups,<ref name="DouglasUscinski2019"/><ref name="Brotherton2015-2"/> and negative consequences for the [[economy]].<ref name="DouglasUscinski2019"/>

Conspiracy theories once limited to fringe audiences have become commonplace in [[mass media]], the [[Internet]], and [[social media]],<ref name="Andrade2020"/><ref name="annurev-psych"/> emerging as a [[cultural phenomenon]] of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.{{sfn|Barkun|2003|p=58}}<ref name="Camp 1997" /><ref name="Goldberg 2001" /><ref name="Fenster 2008" /> They are widespread around the world and are often commonly believed, some even held by the majority of the population.<ref name="van ProoijenDouglas2018"/><ref name="SunsteinVermeule2009"/><ref name="Brotherton2015-i"/> 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.<ref name="Douglas 538–542"/><ref name="van ProoijenDouglas2018"/><ref name="SunsteinVermeule2009"/><ref name="LewandowskyCook2020"/>