Conspiracy theory

“ Underneath the particular claims of each conspiracy theory, there lie important and general constructions. Each conspiracy theory, by definition, suggests a group or community of perpetrators, the directly involved conspirators and those whose interests they serve, versus a community of victims—those who are harmed by the alleged conspiracy. This is not the only moralized distinction constructed by conspiracy theories. ”

“ One of the advantages of definitional and descriptive work is, of course, to help us decide which beliefs or statements are the proper subject of conspiracy theory research, and thus to set the limits of our research topic. Beyond this advantage, however, we will argue that the correlates, consequences, and communication of conspiracy theories should depend on features that set them apart from other kinds of beliefs and which vary by degree even within conspiracy theories. ”

“ They propose alternative, risky, rather innovative understandings of reality. In so doing they identify—or rather construct—communities of interest. These communities include the perpetrators and the victims of conspiracies as well as distinct epistemic communities, such as those who embrace the conspiracy theory and those who are in the thrall of the falsehood that it opposes. Thus, conspiracy theories contain the seeds of important social categories, which in turn can provide the basis of shared identities, realities, goals, and actions. ”

“ What, therefore, makes conspiracy theories special in this crowded field of strange and unhelpful beliefs? Are the effects we have observed specific to conspiracy theories, or even true of conspiracy theories, if we control for their overlap with related kinds of belief? In order to answer these questions, we need a theory of what exactly conspiracy theories are—what makes them ontologically different from other beliefs. ”

“ While a conspiracy theory refers to an allegation that may or may not be true, a conspiracy is a true causal chain of events. Real conspiracies involving illegal, antidemocratic, or harmful activities by high-level government officials and political elites have been exposed in the past and it has been argued that such plots have encouraged conspiracism in society. ”

“ Finally, since so much sensitivity surrounds conspiracy beliefs (e.g., Douglas et al. 2022, Lantian et al. 2018) , we believe it is preferable for social scientists to avoid positioning themselves, inadvertently or not, as having a stake in the truth or falsity of conspiracy theories, even less being the arbiters of their truth or falsity. In our experience, many people—whether they reject or embrace conspiracy theories—view conspiracy theory researchers such as ourselves as having a stake in our object of study. This perception, of course, is not necessarily warranted. ”

“ If conspiracy theories are contributing to these problems, it must be that they are disseminated, adopted, and affect attitudes and behavior en masse. Thus, a comprehensive theory of the societal impact of conspiracy beliefs must account for their antecedents, their consequences, and their transmission. ”

“ Another illustrative example of this advantage is in examining the epistemic riskiness of conspiracy theories. The riskier a conspiracy theory is, the more its acceptance should be associated with variables connected to the endorsement of empirically risky ideas in general. ”

“ A related issue has hampered progress in conspiracy theory research. This is the difficulty of recruiting research participants who are strong believers in conspiracy theories. These are the people the public may have in mind when they think about conspiracy theorists and whom researchers may have had in mind when they describe populations who have a closed, obsessive mindset and who do not participate in mainstream civic, political, or health systems (Goertzel 1994, Sunstein & Vermeule 2009) . ”

“ A conspiracy theory is an attempt to explain events or circumstances as the result of a group of actors working in secret to benefit themselves at the expense of others. [2] Conspiracy theories typically allege wrongdoing by powerful others (for example, public officials, business executives, scientists) or societally marginalized groups (for example, Muslims, Jews) , and are most prevalent among individuals with extreme political views. [3] Some conspiracy theories point to weak circumstantial evidence, but ignore stronger evidence that would refute their claims. ”

“ By analogy, we argue that the effects of exposure to conspiracy theories depend on key features of the conspiracy theories as well as of the people who are exposed to them.
This perspective on causality is unusual in psychology. We seldom build theory about the causes and consequences of a variable by paying attention to its properties. ”

“ To our knowledge, not one study has systematically manipulated the presence versus absence of essential features of conspiracy theories. Nor have studies sought to identify which of the key features of conspiracy theories are the active ingredients, or mediators, of their functional differences from other beliefs—for example, whether the malevolence ascribed by conspiracy theories explains why they are more likely than other explanations for social phenomena to foment intergroup hostility. ”

“ These findings suggest that in an effort to make sense of important political and social events, people turn to conspiracy theories when their epistemic motives are challenged by information that feels too much, too little, incomplete, contradictory, or ambiguous. ”

“ They further admit a belief that the degrees of criminality in the individuals who compose the conspiracy, are very different, as it appears to be a principle with the authors of this institution to cloak their real design under false colours. Can we desire a stronger proof of the warm attachment of the people to these measures, than that the leaders of a wicked conspiracy, such as that disclosed in the report, have been enabled by holding them forth as their ostensible objects, to organize a force so formidable, as almost to brave the strength of the established government? ”

“ And everywhere, meanwhile, the government followed close on the trail of the conspirators and kept in close touch with the elements of discontent. Everywhere spies and informers were enlisted, even from the ranks of conspiracy itself, to discover and also, it was whispered, to foment conspiracy where none existed, that dangerous men might be drawn in and seized. ”

“ The analysis of conspiracy theories we have advanced in this article suggests that something analogous may be said about the collective. Conspiracy theories have a creative, world-making potential, and if anything may make the world in their own image—a world in which trust and benevolence are in short supply, evidence cannot be trusted, social groups have few interests in common, and power is concentrated in the hands of a few. Left unchecked and unchallenged, conspiracy theories threaten to become self-fulfilling prophecies. ”

“ Now, these gentlemen bring forward a law to protect the United States Government, and they bring that forward as an evidence of conspiracy, as evidence of a fraud. Nothing could be more unfair, nothing on earth could show a greater want of character. ”

“ Show us a born bondsman and we will show you 'a born conspirator,' or, a born fool, if he be not a conspirator, in the sense we have explained. Let the nations who rule by might instead of right learn at last that they are the creators and perpetuators of conspiracy. If there is shame in the sound, it is their shame. ”

“ Because people do conspire, and we seldom witness the full causal chain leading to events of public interest, some conspiracy theories could in principle turn out to be true. Psychologists and other social scientists do not necessarily have privileged access to relevant evidence, so they are not necessarily in a better position than anyone else to judge the truth or plausibility of conspiracy theories. ”

“ The court went too far in admitting testimony on the general question of conspiracy.
Doubtless, in all cases of conspiracy, the act of one conspirator in the prosecution all, and is evidence against all. U.S. v. all, and is evidence against all. ”

“ When scales are developed without reference to a stable, reasoned, and explicit definition of conspiracy theories, there will always be the risk of inconsistent measurement, and therefore inconsistent results, between studies. ”

“ In my opinion the concept of conspiracy is in such a case inflated to the point of monstrosity. It was created for conditions of a narrower and smaller scope where it was within the framework of a man’s possibilities to keep an over-all view of his associates and their deeds. But to extend the concept of conspiracy over an entire nation and, simultaneously, over numerous organizations with millions of members, that no longer can be commensurate with true justice. ”

“ What conspiracy ever was consistent? You would indeed give the most perfect freedom to conspiracy, rebellion, and treason, if you disbelieved witnesses coming to prove declarations inconsistent if made at the same time, though not inconsistent when made at different times. They may at first think the soldiers to be Chartists and their friends, and, in the next moment, talk of attacking them in their barracks. But will you give a carte blanche to conspirators and traitors by saying, that if witnesses prove inconsistent declarations, they are not to be believed? ”

“ Overly individualistic theories of conspiracy belief are also misleading in that they encourage us to characterize the societal impact of conspiracy theories as an aggregate of their impacts on individuals—for example, as a function of the number of people who are persuaded to refuse vaccines, decline to vote, or ignore environmental recommendations. In contrast, conspiracy theories have the potential to directly shape societies. ”

“ Criminal they may be, but it is not the criminality of mass conspiracy. They do not invite mass trial by their conduct. Nor does our system tolerate it. That way lies the drift toward totalitarian institutions. ”

“ A man has got to commence some time, if he ever goes into the business, and if this doctrine be true, the first bid that a man ever makes is evidence that he has entered into a conspiracy. Suppose, on the other hand, my clients have long been engaged in this business. What would the Government counsel then have said? They would have said, gentlemen, that they had been engaged for years in the business. They knew all the tricks that were played, and consequently they were the very persons to form a conspiracy. And that is the wonderful thing about suspicion. It changes every fact. ”

“ The reasons underlying the doctrine that conspiracy may be a substantive evil in itself, apart from any evil it may threaten, attempt, or accomplish, are peculiarly appropriate to conspiratorial Communism. ”

“ Now, a conspiracy is made up of certain acts by individuals, either together or separate, and every act that was done by either of these parties necessary to carry out the object of the conspiracy binds the others who were in the conspiracy. For instance, if a conspiracy existed, then the act of Coughlin in hiring the horse was the act of Burke, the act of Sullivan, or the act of Beggs, or any other person who engaged in that conspiracy. ”

“ In the nature of things, can you, in the light of this testimony, say that because some man somewhere, on account of some reason, which is not explained here, which never can be explained, acting upon his own individual responsibility, lighted a bomb and threw it, that therefore you must say that the grand conspiracy, the arrangement for years and years had this result, or rather that the throwing of that bomb was the result of that conspiracy? ”

“ If the government, under pretence of putting down a secret conspiracy, should violate your lawful, open, peaceable societies;—if you are to be told, you shall not calmly deliberate on the means of saving yourselves from the evils which surround you;—if a military force is to scatter you like some lawless rabble—then is the state of the country fallen and low indeed. ”

“ Or, admitting a conspiracy, do they mean to deny only that Frank Knapp, the prisoner at the bar, was abetting in the murder, being present, and so deny that he was a principal? If a conspiracy is proved, it bears closely upon every subsequent subject of inquiry. ”

“ This was done on the principle that when two or more persons conspire together to do an unlawful act, or to do that which is lawful by unlawful means, the act of any one of the parties thus conspiring, in pursuance of said conspiracy becomes the act of all. ”

“ For it is most often true, especially in broad schemes calling for the aid of many persons, that after discovery of enough to show clearly the essence of the scheme and the identity of a number participating, the identity and the fact of participation of others remain undiscovered and undiscoverable. Secrecy and concealment are essential features of successful conspiracy. The more completely they are achieved, the more successful the crime. ”