Why Do Conspiracies Never Hold Water?

Conspiracy theories are false beliefs that people believe in for various reasons, such as the existence of real conspiracies or the idea that powerful groups are secretly plotting to manipulate events. These theories can be based on various factors, such as the moon landing never happening, government insiders carrying out the attack on the World Trade Center, or the notion that Russian nationals meddled in the 2016 presidential election.

Some conspiracy theories are erroneous, such as the 2020 U.S. presidential election being rigged, or the Russian nationals meddling in the 2016 election. Scientific literacy provides people with two key resources for resisting conspiracy theories: scientific knowledge and scientific knowledge can help identify factual information.

Belief in conspiracy theories is often seen as a paradigm of epistemic irrationality, but this optimism is misplaced. Belief in false conspiracy theories doesn’t make one interested in strong controlling institutions. A new review finds that only some methods to counteract conspiracy beliefs are effective.

Conspiration theories explain distressing events as malevolent actions by powerful groups. People believe in secret plots when other explanations are based on an alleged secret plot, a group of conspirators, and evidence supporting the conspiracy theory. The late Sir Karl Popper, who criticizes “the conspiracy theory of society”, provides the only argument available to this author.

Despite being criticized in popular culture, research has shown that most Americans believe in conspiracy theories.