Conspiracy Theory

Roughly 2,753 people were killed on September 11, 2001, by terrorists who overtook commercial airplanes (Jones). The cause of these thousands of deaths were a series of attacks in New York City by an Islamic terrorist group, Al-Qaeda. However, there are still many questions about what actually happened the morning of September 11, 2001. As there are many different conspiracy theories about what happened that day, 9/11 was an attack which began with Al- Qaeda hi-jacking airplanes, but ended with more questions than answers. Many questions still remain about the authenticity of cell phone calls from inside the planes, why air defense was told to “stand down,” and how three buildings imploded as the result of two buildings being struck by airplanes.

The events that occurred on September 11th, 2001 are some that will never be forgotten in American History. What was a beautiful day in New York City quickly turned into a American Nightmare as multiple planes where hijacked by a terrorist group by the name of Al Quida. While these events have where one of the worst tragedies in American history their also comes many conspiracies theories. Some of these theories suggest that George W. Bush knew about or even planned the tragic events that happened that day. However these conspiracierie theories are simply false. Conspiracy theories that blame the events that occurred on September 11th on the American Government are not true. Still to be able to prove these theories incorrect one must understand what exactly happened on that terrible day in New York City.

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

Additionally, she also uses compelling anecdotal evidence to support her argument that the brain of a rational person forms these conspiracy theories as it is a human tendency to latch onto interpretation of facts as they become available. The writer also uses scientific terms like amygdala and theories such as ‘confirmation bias and the ‘backfire effect’ to persuade the readers that conspiracy theories are formed by rational people due to psychological reasons.

In the controversial essay, which was first published in the November 1964 issue of Harper’s Magazine, “The Paranoid Style in American Politics,” Richard Hofstadter argues how the prevalence of paranoia in American politics has dominated the country. Hofstadter asserts American politics have been governed by paranoia since the creation of the United States, and it has manifested itself into the minds of both average and intellectuals Americans. He contends that paranoia has played a pivotal role in American politics by fostering fear in citizens regarding issues such as gender, ethnicity, race, and religion—and proclaims the reason fear is heightened in citizens has more to do with the style in which panic is spread than any other factor. Furthermore, the author claims the sole issue dictating American politics is not simply paranoia, but rather a problem internationally caused, primarily, through misconceptions and false imaginations. Hofstadter also explores the affiliation paranoia has to power, to corruption, and to the government. Additionally, he examines the reasoning behind many skeptics and paranoids in the country today and describes the techniques with which they spread panic and hysteria, through methods such as books, speeches, and media. “The Paranoid Style in American Politics,” by Richard Hofstadter, demonstrates the critical role paranoia plays in dictating American politics through the utilization of academic diction, anecdotal evidence, logical appeals, an explanatory tone, and chronological organization.

When a person is introduced to a conspiracy theory, it has the potential to severely affect the way they view the world, as well as the way their brain processes information. With numerous theories surfacing in the world, and more than 50 percent of Americans believing in at least one conspiracy; it is hard to determine which are real, and which are fiction. As a result of conspiracy theories people stop trusting each other and become less social. An experiment instructed by Sander van der Linden,a Dutch social psychologist in the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge, show that the belief in conspiracy theories can cause a person to be less pre-social. In his experiment Dr. Linden separated his participants into three groups, the first group watched a video about conspiracy theories of global warming, the second group watched a video about taking action on global warming, and the third group was a control group which did don't watch any video.   Studies conducted by Willem Prooijen,a social and organizational

Texas Theater where Oswald was arrested says that Oswald was at the theater the exact moment Officer Tippit was killed. “The bullet shells from an automatic pistol found at the Tippit killing scene don't even fit Oswald’s only known handgun which was a revolver” (Groden 23). “The doctors who labored in a futile effort to save Kennedy’s life at the Parkland hospital all had stated that in contemporaneous interviews that the wound in his throat had been and entrance wound. Wade and the FBI had concluded that Oswald was directly behind the president and that he alone had fired a weapon in Dealey plaza.” (Lane 17). So if he was directly behind the president how could he create and exit wound in the front of John F. Kennedy’s throat. Also if the

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?

Throughout American history and still today these conspiracy theories always come up about any major tragedies. Some have been true but until someone within our own government comes out and says that these theories are true, they will continue to be all make believe. 9/11 is one of the biggest attacks on American soil and it also has a lot of conspiracies surrounding it. What really hit the towers? Where they commercial jet liners? How does a 747 leave that small of a hole in the Pentagon? These are some of the questions surrounding it. What it all comes down to though is what makes these theories so fascinating to Americans. What makes these so believable and to think that our own government would do this to us is just crazy, or is it?

Thunder and lightning crashing from the high heavens, scaring you out of your mind. You turn to your safety device, a blanket. It’ soothing and helps ground you from the terrifying ordeal you are going through. The same thing can be said of conspiracy theories, they help to comfort people from uncertainty and fear, and that’s why people believe them. An example would be JFKs assassination, simply put a man by the name of Lee Harvey Oswald shot and killed the president single handedly. There was a great deal of fear surrounding

Have you ever heard of an event that had more conspiracy theories than the JFK assassination? John Fitzgerald Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas at 12:30 on November 22, 1963. JFK was our 35th president of the United States, he was loved by many Americans and only some hated him, which might have led to the Kennedy assassination. He was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald, a U.S. Marine American Sniper who secretly went to the Soviet Union for unknown reasons. The day of the assassination was a huge uproar, it happened so fast that many Americans couldn’t explain what they saw, this created conspiracy theories. A conspiracy theory is a belief that an organization or individual is responsible for an event. One can conclude that the JFK

On a smaller scale, those on the fringe of society like Alex Jones, connect the various conspiracy theories, such the JFK assassination, covert government mind control experiments, and corruption to a greater scheme by wealthy elites. Who he argues, want to cripple governments in order to take over the world, and create a global communist regime, via the U.N and World banks.). A quick search on YouTube provides on abundance of videos claiming to reveal the illuminati’s secret plans. However, most American’s remain skeptical of those assertions. But, on the other hand, many do remain skeptical of official accounts. In fact, most Americans distrust the media and the government, which rises it’s own issues. Because, while criticism of authority is healthy, if the public does not trust any institution then government becomes stagnant, and is unable to solve the major issues currently facing society. Hopefully, at this point, you are wondering, what does this have to do with the JFK assassination? Well, for many scholars, the Kennedy assassination marked the beginning of public alienation and apathy towards the government and politics*. Moreover, his assassination marked a pivot from an era of trust and confidence the intuitions and leaders of government to one of deep distrust and cynicism. However, in depth research on the early Cold war era reveals that conspiracy theories have been a part of American culture since the

Paranoia is often a significant fuel for negative decisions, whether it be rational or irrational

This paper will open the eyes of many. The truth shall be prevailed and the lies will end. In this literature review there were 10 sources, and these 10 sources talked about conspiracy theories. Theses conspiracy theories also prove 9/11 wrong. There will be hate, denial, patriotism, and revenge for those who died on the September 11th, 2001. It is the right of the free people to find what really happened and the truth is

A moral panic is a phenomenon that is examined and understood in an unbiased fashion. This type of panic locates a “folk devil,” is shared, remains out of synch with the seriousness it evokes, and varies in intensity over time (Goode and Ben-Yehuda, 41). On the other hand, a media panic is a moral panic about the effects of a communications medium of technology (Class lecture: January 27, 2016). Overall, a moral panic is based upon the reaction of society from an event while a media panic is the reaction of society from a type of technology. This paper looks to examine the similarities and differences between surveillance in the government today and surveillance in the government during the Cold War. It will address the effects these events have or had on society while examining specific media panics that played a role in society’s reactions to these historical events. By providing evidence to prove how these panics affect society, I will examine why these moral and media panics exist and the impact they have had on society as a whole.