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Conspiracy theory

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A conspiracy theory is an allegation or conjecture in which historical or current events are explained as the actions of a powerful, secretive conspiracy.

In general, conspiracy theories propose that some group has been involved in a conspiratorial plan or series of actions — anything from manipulating governments, economies, or the legal system, to hiding important information of cultural or scientific significance — and has suppressed most or all evidence of the plan or their involvement in it. In short, a very powerful shadowy organization is influencing the course of history.

Usually, what are commonly called "conspiracy theories" are employed by people who would like to believe some conclusion but have little if any evidence for it. They therefore refer to a supposed conspiracy to justify both their conclusion and the fact that they cannot support it with evidence—which, naturally, the conspirators are actively concealing. Such theories, unlike a scientific theory, cannot be falsified: a conspiracy theorist takes lack of evidence for their theory or evidence to the contrary to support the notion that an extremely powerful conspiracy has either suppressed or fabricated the evidence in question.

Conspiracy theories vs. historical conspiracies

Proven conspiracies have taken place throughout history, and some kinds of conspiracy are crimes. At any given time, hundreds or thousands of conspiracies in the criminal sense are afoot, but very rarely are any of them as large a scope and dramatic as those postulated by the so-called conspiracy theorists.

Yet if conspiracy is taken to include every back-room alliance, every unpublishable "understanding" between political or business persons, every cartel, and so forth -- every secret plan between two or more parties at the expense of a third -- then conspiracy is so widespread as to be unremarkable. It is in this sense that conspiracy theory collector Colin Wilson has remarked that conspiracy is "the normal continuation of normal politics by normal means."

The label of "conspiracy theory" has also been used to mock or denigrate social and political dissent, for instance when a powerful public figure is accused of corruption. The crucial difference between an accusation of conspiracy and a conspiracy theory in the popular sense is precisely that the former may be verified or falsified, whereas the latter is self-contained and self-defending.

Subjects of conspiracy theory

Assassinations are a classic subject of conspiracy theories. The assassination of a prominent figure is a singular event which can dramatically change the course of public affairs. Those drawn to conspiracy theory are led to ask, in the aftermath of an assassination, Who benefited from this death? Though many assassinations are committed by lone individuals, and many others by aboveboard governments (such as that of Leon Trotsky) there have been several assassinations whose purposes remain mysterious in the public eye -- and suspicious to the conspiracy theorist.

Secret societies and fraternal societies have aroused nervousness from some non-members since at least the time of the ancient Greeks. A secret society is a club or organization whose members do not disclose their membership, and may be sworn to hold it secret. However, the term is also used in conspiracy theory to refer to fraternal organizations such as the Freemasons who do not conceal membership, but are thought to harbor secret beliefs or political agendas.

Conspiracy theory about the Freemasons goes back at least to the late 18th century. The Masons were accused of masterminding the American and French Revolutions, of plotting the downfall of religion, and of dominating republican politics. Worry about Masonic conspiracy grew to such an extent in the early United States as to spawn a political party, the Anti-Mason Party. The Bavarian Illuminati, a German secret society related to Masonry, also figures in the conspiracy theory of that time.

Suppressed inventions take conspiracy theory into the realm of business rather than politics. A typical suppressed-invention story is that of the incredibly efficient automobile carburetor, whose inventor was supposedly killed or hounded into obscurity by petroleum companies desirous to protect their business. The subject of suppressed-invention conspiracy also touches on the realm of medical quackery: proponents of more unlikely forms of alternative medicine are known to allege conspiracy by mainstream doctors to suppress their cures, particularly when faced with charges of medical fraud.

Many governments use intelligence agencies to promote national policies in secretive ways -- in several cases including the use of sabotage, propaganda, and assassination. Intelligence agencies, such as the CIA, KGB, MI6, and Mossad, are a common element of political conspiracy theories precisely because they are so believable.

A class of present-day conspiracy theory with a dramatic effect upon regional politics is AIDS/HIV conspiracy. This divides by and large into two subcategories: allegations that HIV was created by a conspiratorial group or a secret agency as a tool of genocide, and claims that AIDS is not caused by HIV and that the HIV-AIDS connection is the propaganda of a conspiracy. The former allegation has become well-known in parts of the African-American community, usually with the United States government or "the Jews" as the virus's originator. The latter is largely confined to anti-homosexual groups in the West, but has become disturbingly established in parts of Africa where the disease has had the worst toll.

Antisemitism has spawned innumerable conspiracy theories (which the present author does not feel prepared to describe, though they are an important category. Someone should write this and touch on "Jewish Bankers", "Jewish Bolshevism", "Protocols of the Elders of Zion", and so forth.)

Conspiracy theory and urban legends

The nexus between conspiracy theory and the urban legend is considerable: one need only consult American supermarket tabloids such as the Weekly World News to see foremost examples of both. Many urban legends, particularly those which touch on governments and businesses, have some but not all of the attributes of conspiracy theory.

For instance, during the 1980s the story that the Proctor & Gamble company was affiliated with Satanism was a common urban legend in some circles. Is this tale, too, a conspiracy theory? It does allege secretive and presumedly harmful action (support of Satanism) on the part of a group (Proctor & Gamble, or its leadership). However, it does not have the expansiveness or attempt at explanation of historical events which earmark a conspiracy theory. It is too simple.

Works of fiction featuring conspiracy theory

There is a body of literature which draws from conspiracy theory. The works are invariably complex and deliberately confusing, filled with detailed information which may or may not be relevant and connected to the reputed plot of the book. The normal arc is the discovery of a potential conspiracy by an outsider, then the protagonist's increased involvement as the conspiracy reveals itself to be ever more complex and far-reaching. Reality is questioned, until at the end it is often unclear what was truly conspiracy and what was coincidence.

Examples include:


Needs encyclopediafying

Just about anything associated with governments, Nazis, communists, ancient civilizations, or aliens has a conspiracy theory attached. They're very popular and form the basis of many popular books, movies, and TV shows.

Belief in imaginary conspiracies is also a feature of paranoia, which is a symptom of several diseases including paranoid schizophrenia.


Popular elements of conspiracy theories include:

Global conspiracy theories

  • The Bilderberg Group. This is a well-known informal, international, annual meeting of influential people that some believe to have a sinister purpose. Its name is that of the hotel in the Netherlands where the group first met in 1954.

Conspiracy theories peculiar to the United States of America

Conspiracy theories peculiar to Canada

Conspiracy theories peculiar to the Arab and Muslim world

Plot to murder Princess Diana
  • For some time the Arab press was reporting that that there was a plot by Jews to make Egyptian and Palestinian schoolgirls sexually promiscuous by selling them bubble-gum laced with aphrodisiacs. An example of this conspiracy theory is that written by Mohammad Dalbah:
"Palestinian authorities uncovered Israeli efforts to spread a special kind of gum that contains sexual hormone between Palestinians. The authorities requested laboratory tests on the gum which were conducted in Cairo. Those tests showed that the gum contains progesterone which is responsible for sexual arousal and also and also prevents pregnancies. Palestinian authorities confiscated 200 tonnes of gum in the city of al-Khalil alone. The Washington Post claimed in report that it asked a chemistry professor in the hebrew university to examine the gun. His tests were negative, however the paper also reported that the majority of Palestinians believe the conspiracy. It quoted one Palestinian saying that it was possible to send a space ship to Mars then it is possible to manufacture a 'sexual gum' it is after all a war. In other new, some Jewish and non-ethical Palestinians merchants sold expired flour in the west back and Gaza strip last spring. They also sold large quantities of baby milk when it was actually soya bean derivatives that were expired."
Another example of believer in the anti-Arab bubblegum conspiracy
  • There were many mass-hysteria episodes in which Palestinians claimed that Israelis were nerve gassing them. All of them were proven to be false.
  • Many Egyptians imagine that the Israelis engineered the crash of EgyptAir Flight 990 in 1999, despite strong evidence that the pilot committed suicide. Others insist that the US is covering up for Boeing, the airplane's manufacturer: ,
  • Theory that US President Bill Clinton's relationship with Monica Lewinsky was part of a Zionist plot to get rid of Bill Clinton.
  • Conspiracy theories in Arab discourse, from "Arab News":

Daniel Pipes has written an essay on the prevalence of conspiracy theories throughout the Arab and Muslim world. Conspiracy theories extend far beyond those biased against Jews. They extend even to the creation of conspiracy theories about the results of sporting events. Analysis of conspiracy theories in the Arab world

See also: David Icke