Who Coined The Term “Conspiracy Theory”?

The term “conspiracy theory” was first used by the Central Intelligence Agency in 1967 to discredit critics of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. It originated from Karl Popper’s writings about the “conspiracy theory” of history, which he associated with people deluded into believing they can create “heaven on earth”. Conspiracy theories thrive in societies with poor education systems, disaffected populations, and low social capital. The claim made in a New Zealand Facebook post likely comes from a decades-old theory that the CIA invented the term in a 1967 memo to discredit critics of the Warren Commission.

The term “conspiracy theory” has had a bad reputation since its first use in reference to a presidential assassination in connection with the shooting of James A. Garfield by Charles Guiteau on July 2, 1881. The term proliferated in newspapers from the 1870s onward, particularly after the assassination of President Garfield in July 1881.

Conspiracy theory is widely acknowledged to be a loaded term, with politicians using it to mock and dismiss allegations against them. Since the Warren Commission concluded that a lone gunman assassinated President John F. Kennedy, people who doubt this finding have been widely discredited. Research on conspiracy theories has proliferated since 2016, partly due to the US election of President Trump and the COVID-19 pandemic.