Negative Theories Of Conspiracy 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

2) What is the premise of the argument regarding Frank Capell and Jack Clemmons' conspiracy theory?

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.

Widely regarded as one of the most beloved presidents, John F. Kennedy is still remembered to this day. President Kennedy was involved in one of the most controversial topics in the history of the United States. Although a few presidents prior to JFK were unfortunately assassinated, JFK’s assassination is the one most discussed. Although many Americans know that Lee Harvey Oswald was the man that shot President Kennedy, no one knows what motivated him to do so. The FBI concluded that he committed the crime on his own will without ties to any groups. However, not everyone believes what the FBI tells them. One of the more popular theories regarding the President’s assassination is that CIA had plotted to kill him. In an online article, “The CIA and the JFK Assassination” written by the Mary Ferrell Foundation, the author of the article discusses the theory of the CIA killing the President and how the evidence supports the theory. This conspiracy theory garners a specific audience as the text targets those who are in fear of national security, have beliefs in Christianity, distrust the U.S. government, interested in socially significant events, and value knowing the truth.

Throughout history, people have attempted to come up with explanations to make sense of events which could not be comprehend, such explanations are commonly known as conspiracy theories. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the official definition of conspiracy theory  is “a theory that explains an event or set of circumstances as the result of a secret plot by usually powerful conspirators.” These theories can range from minor events, to large scale terrorist attacks. A few well known theories include, Bill Clinton caused 9/11, the Earth is flat, and a reptilian race is planning to take over the Earth. Conspiracy theories can inflict various amount of damage, but it dependent on the conspiracy theory context. (Mckay).  In an

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.

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

In her introduction to Real Enemies, Kathryn Olmsted argues that the ways in which conspiracy theories were thought about in America changed significantly in the 20th century. More specifically, Olmsted pins down World War One as the 'watershed' moment which, she claims, marks the time the American government gained enough power to enable them to carry out real conspiracies against its citizens. It is thought that, before this point in history, American citizens felt vulnerable and subject to ‘alien subversion’ in which a foreign other was set to attack and invade the American government and use it for their own devices. However, Olmsted effectively uses Richard Hofstadter's framework of the paranoid style to extend her own theories about

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

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.

The phrase “conspiracy theory” is often expressed with a negative connotation and used as a label for the explanation of outlandish incidents that are hard for the everyday person to comprehend. Conspiracy theorists are often labeled as lunatics that spit out senseless claims with no real substance. “The mere mention of the word ‘conspiracy’ seems to set off an internal alarm bell that causes scholars to close their minds in order to avoid cognitive dissonance and possible unpleasantness, since the popular image of conspiracy both fundamentally challenges the conception most educated, sophisticated people have about how the world operates…” (Bale). What is often unspoken is that conspiracy theories have a real effect on the political

2.1 Socio-psychological cause Because of the fact that conspiracy theories appear in every society and to every epoch and have become a steady companion of human culture, some authors speak about an „anthropological constant“ of the conspiracy theories. These would correspond to a basic human need for world orientation and, therefore, are to be found in every age in all societies of the world. From the social-psychologically perspective, conspiracy theories fulfill the function to reduce the complexity of such perplexing events like crises or wars, thus making the understanding of such events more accessible. Among other things, "conspiracy theory" is fascinating; unlike the theories explaining the universe with an action of the blind, impersonal forces she is full of dramatic nature, and therefore any conspiracy explanation other things being equal