by Joelle Steele

Conspiracy theories have been around since the dawn of time. But now we live in a time when the Internet and Social Media combine to perpetuate more urban myths and legends than at any other time in history. A “conspiracy” is basically defined as a secret scheme, plot, or plan, often meant to do something harmful or unlawful. A “theory” is an idea that is presented as being true but that has not or cannot be proven. So, a conspiracy theory is an idea about a secret plot that some people believe is true but for which no proof exists. 

There are more of these conspiracy theories than you can possibly imagine, usually about famous people or events. There are numerous conspiracy theories surrounding JFK, Elvis, global warming, Marilyn Monroe, the Clintons, Sandy Hook, Roswell, NASA moon landings, Obama, 9/11, Illuminati, Mayan calendar, FEMA, Deep State, Michael Jackson, Planet Nibiru, October Surprise, Jesse James, alternative medications, crop circles, cloud seeding, artificial diseases, anti-vaccines, HAARP, Philadelphia Experiment, phantom time hypothesis, new chronology, and flat earth – just to name a very, very few. 

Conspiracy theories don’t just come out of nowhere. They are started and spread by people who some psychologists say have illusory pattern perception. We are all hard-wired to perceive patterns, but people with this mental disorder see patterns and correlations in things that are illogical, irrational, unproven, random, or simply non-existent.

Conspiracy theorists generally want attention. They want to be famous and make money by writing and speaking about their favorite conspiracy. This becomes very obvious when you look at the number of books written by conspiracy theorists. For example, more than 20 books alone have been written by “anti-vaxers,” the people who believe vaccines cause autism and a host of other disorders and diseases. None of these books contain even the tiniest morsel of fact. Pick any conspiracy theory and you’ll find a plethora of books and articles to back it up. 

Today, in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are more than 1,000 different conspiracy theories about the disease itself and its often dangerous cures. All of these COVID conspiracies are dangerous because they lead people all over the world to believe that COVID-19 is just a very bad cold, that most people are immune to it, that your flu shot protects you from it, that it doesn’t mutate, that it was engineered in a lab, that masks don’t work, etc. Thousands of people have died as a result of ingesting poisonous substances recommended by conspiracy theorists. And, many people who listen to these conspiracy theorists believe that COVID-19 doesn’t exist at all, and is itself a conspiracy being perpetrated on the world by secret political cabals. 

To even a novice critical thinker, conspiracy theories can be very easily dismissed, usually because they are so obviously the products of paranoid narcissists who want to get attention for their utterly ridiculous theories by spreading them among the ignorant or the gullible. Every conspiracy theory out there has been debunked multiple times by real hard evidence and legitimate expert investigations. But you won’t hear about them being debunked because that’s not as controversial – and therefore not as exciting – as the conspiracy theory itself. Most debunking is pretty simple to do because the vast majority of conspiracy theories consist of little more than opinions, such as with TV shows like Ancient Aliens that seeks to link the building of ancient cities with alien technology, among other things. That’s not to say they weren’t, but there is no hard evidence of any kind to prove it.

Use your critical thinking skills to research anything that you even remotely suspect might be nothing more than a conspiracy. A healthy dose of skepticism will do wonders in helping you get to the truth. One place to go that is helpful in seeing what’s been debunked is SNOPES, a fact-checking site. They are rated as a top-notch reference source by Newsguard. Another is Joe Nickell who has been debunking a wide variety of conspiracy theories for close to 40 years.