Conspiracy Theories

Late one summer night in July of 1947, a couple saw a large glowing object quickly fly across the sky. It was later reported that a weather balloon crashed nearby. People have often wondered if it actually was a weather balloon, and some have believed it to be a downed alien craft that the government covered up. Theories about a Roswell coverup did not become widely known to the American public until a few decades after the crash. This change in public knowledge demonstrates the variability of conspiracy theories--some become popular immediately following the events they try to explain, and some can take years to catch on. From the crash in Roswell in 1947 to current day, America’s public knowledge of theories about Roswell has grown at an unsteady pace, driven by the types of technology used to disseminate information. America’s knowledge of the Roswell incident has developed in three phases. First, immediately after the crash in 1947, there was some attention given to the crash, but it was mostly local news reports. Second, after the testimony in 1984 of an eyewitness who was a major in the air force, conspiracies blossomed. Finally, after interest diminished had begun to diminish, the internet ignited another increase in Roswell theories.

What if what you had been told your whole life was a lie? How would you feel if everything reported about a terrorist attack or a shooting was actually a conspiracy by the United States? What is a conspiracy? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a conspiracy is “a secret plan made by two or more people that is harmful or illegal”. There are so many conspiracy theories out there in the world starting as early as the 1800s. These theories range from scientific, terrorist, criminal, political, economic and business, and even religious conspiracies. The two conspiracy theories that I am talking about is the attack that changed the United States, as we knew it, the one that we believed was a terrorist attack, also known as 9/11, and the Sandy Hook shooting. There are multiple reasons that lead me to consider these two attacks to be something more than a terrorist and criminal attack. The reasons are because the timelines do not add up, there are too many inconsistencies, and the benefits are too great.

Brian Keeley’s short essay, “Of Conspiracy Theories” discusses conspiracy theories and their value in an epistemological context. Keeley defines a conspiracy theory as “a proposed explanation of some historical event (or events) in terms of the significant causal agency of a relatively small group of persons-the conspirators-acting in secret (Keeley 1999, pg. 116).” Keeley seeks to answer the question of why conspiracy theories are unwarranted. His interest in the warrant of conspiracy theories focuses on ¬the unfalsifiability of conspiracy theories and how conspiracy theories are founded upon an extraordinarily large amount of skepticism. In section III, Keely discusses what a conspiracy theory is, and contends that there is no grounds for

Although many people may like to think of America as a honest and moral nation, it is no secret that artifice has cemented itself as an indispensable skill, exploited by many to achieve their own ambitions. Artifice, characterized through the usage of cunning devices or expedients to deceive others, is often utilized by politicians and organizations to help push their own agendas. As illustrated by Chris Hedges in his social commentary, Empire of Illusion, “artifice” has emerged to become so ubiquitous and essential throughout American society, whether in business or the entertainment industry. Essential, in the essence that without it, people in any industry are more likely to be disadvantaged in achieving their personal goals. In today’s modern world, no area has seen more abuse of artifice than in the field of media and politics. Its common knowledge that newspapers skew reports to their own biases and politicians often tell half-truths to cover-up ulterior motives. Unfortunately, these politicians and media giants hold extremely influential positions in society, and their usage of artifice is extremely damaging to the integrity and accountability within the United States. As a result, the press as well as the general populace must utilize free speech to expose this behavior. Despite the complete immorality of the usage of artifice, such chicanery remains essential for success in media and politics.

Maggie Koerth Baker’s piece titled Why rational people buy into conspiracy theories represents the reasons why rational people believe in conspiracy theories. Throughout the article Baker tries to explain the reasons behind the belief of conspiracy theories supported by research and evidence. This paper will review Baker’s article as well as her main arguments, will evaluate the quality of Baker’s writing and focus on any areas of weakness within the article.

Perfectly sane minds possess the possibility of creating the most fascinating narratives. Conspiracies are a way to react to being powerless or uncertain. Economic recessions, terrorists’ attacks, and deaths of the young and famous happen and when they do people do not know what to think or believe. Their minds react in overdrive

Bill O’Reilly’s and Martin Dugard’s book Killing Lincoln delves into the events leading up to the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln and the repercussions upon the people involved, as well as a detailed analysis of the ongoing war efforts and the affects one has upon the other. While unraveling the conspiracy and its members, the reader is given compelling evidence and speculative reasoning that leads the reader to believe that the plot to assassinate Lincoln involves additional people, and could in fact be a conspiracy that reaches into the regions of power far above what is historically proven.

In the world today there are events that happen and have stories untold. On the rise are many different twists that come about from events happening. “63 percent of registered American voters believe in at least one political conspiracy theory according to a recent poll conducted by Fairleigh Dickinson University” (“Theories Prosper”). There are many different conspiracy theories in the world today including, included in the top ten lists of conspiracy theories is the Sandy Hook elementary shooting, the Boston Marathon bombings, as well as the September 11th terrorist attacks. Ever wonder how a conspiracy theory comes alive and what is all needed to justify the meaning of a conspiracy theory?

The perpetuation of misinformation can be very difficult to correct and may have lasting effects even after it is discredited. For instance, if an audience is reliant on the information provided by the media to make an informative decision about a topic involving their morals, the validity of the author’s claims will determine the mass majority of their decisions they make in the future. As a result, false information may continue to influence beliefs and attitudes even after being debunked if it is not replaced by an alternate causal explanation.

In, “One Man’s Rumer I Another Man’s Reality, Gregory Rodriguez, an author of the Los Angeles Times he argues about the power of broadcasting the truth and its effect on the people. As a result, “can false rumors and off-the-wall theories be corrected by broadcasting the truth” (Gregory Rodriguez, Los Angeles Times, September 28, 2009)?

The spread of fake news can be detrimental and life altering without checking the validity of sources and facts before passing on such news to others. Pizzagate was a conspiracy theory that went viral during the 2016 Presidential Election campaign, which alleged there was a child-sex ring taking place and the top Democrats had something to do with it (Pizzagate: A Slice of Fake News). Some believe it all started when John Podesta, Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager, had his email account hacked. Tons of emails were leaked and made public. His emails were said to contain coded messages that referred to human trafficking and were also connected to the Comet Ping Pong pizza parlor (“Pizzagate: A Slice of Fake News). James Alefantis is the owner of the Comet Ping Pong and also an acquaintance of Podesta. One email did contain Podesta and Alefantis discussing a fundraiser idea for Hillary Clinton, but no talk happened about the alleged child-sex ring. While this ‘news’ was spreading fast, Alefantis and his forty plus employees were receiving deaths threats, negative tweets on Twitter and Facebook, and facing harassing altercations with strangers. The staff observed social media outlets and “counted five #pizzagate Twitter posts a minute” at one point (Kang). Alefantis himself said that, “From this insane, fabricated conspiracy theory, we’ve come under constant assault.” (Kang) The only people that know what is true in the Pizzagate conspiracy theory are the ones who are

The interview was took place on the 9th of November in the classroom of 11- Mead. Ms. Kyra Mallari and Kayla Flores where tasked to be the interviewers for Mr. Robert James Nitura, High School teacher of Miriam College. The Interview was on Western Conspiracy Theories, with it being categorized into 4: Political Conspiracy Theories, Extraterrestrial and Unearthly Creatures & Legends, Existential Conspiracy Theories, and Historical Conspiracy Theories. The Interviewers goal for the interview was to capture the audience’s attention through the exchange of the interviewer’s and interviewee’s beliefs and opinions, Expound the interviewee’s knowledge on the topic through the use of the Maieutic method, and look into and give value to western conspiracy

To most a fairy tale, to some an interesting topic of discussion, however, to a small population, 5 % to be exact, Government conspiracy does exist. How, you might ask, do I intend to prove that indeed government conspiracy is real? I do not intend to prove it. In fact I only intend to inform you of its ever growing ploy of world domination, capitalism and control and open your mind to the idea that government conspiracy is out there. Throughout history as it is known to repeat itself, I will show facts that support this “theory” and dismiss the legendary lies we have been taught to believe through a system known as memetics.

In order to illustrate the methodology to extract a stable representation of a topic in a search engine, conspiracy theories were selected as a case study providing highly controversial and polarized media content. Because of their ubiquity and enduring popularity, conspiracy theories attract psychologists and political scientists, interested in the variety of social and psychological conditions that might favor “conspiratorial thinking,” such as dispossession, powerlessness, political alienation, social exclusion, and low levels of education (Knight, 2000; Clarke, 2002). While conspiratorial thinking has been strongly present in the public sphere since the nineteenth century (Hofstadter, 1964), conspiracy theories have found in the Web their

The recent surge in popularity of social media comes with a price: fake news. Fake news is defined as news or media that has been altered or modified. Journalists have begun to analyze why that fake news exists and why it continues exist. Two authors, Eoin O’Carroll and Kevin D. Williamson, both have written articles about fake news. Eoin O’Carroll’s article “How Information Overload Helps Spread Fake News,” discusses how the media has bombarded us with news stories, blurring the distinct lines between real and fake news. Kevin D. Williamson, a journalist for the National Review, writes in his article “‘Fake News, Media and Voters: Shared Reality Must Be Acknowledged” that the news is not fake; it just does not align with one’s personal beliefs. Both authors successfully appeal to their audiences’ emotions and feelings, but O’Carroll is more likely to succeed than Williamson in persuading his audience to try and combat fake news because the writer presents himself as someone the intended readers will more readily identify with and offers evidence that his readers will find more compelling.