A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a conspiracy theory is a belief or idea that some covert and influential institution is responsible for an unexplained event or secret plot largely unknown to the commonwealth (Conspiracy Theory, 2013). Many nations have these circulating rumors of perfidious authority; however, it has been observed frequently that the United States of America is a uniquely fertile land for individuals to suspect high-ranking government organizations, or other powerful societies, are plotting to do something unlawful or harmful to American citizens. Viren Swami, a psychology professor researching beliefs of conspiracy theorists at the University of Westminster, suggested, “the best predictor of belief in a conspiracy theory is belief in other conspiracy theories”. This is because of the psychological phenomenon referred to as confirmation bias, the tendency to be more aware of evidence that supports what someone already knows or believes to be true (Koerth-Baker, 2013). In other words, when people lose faith in authority and begin to doubt the assumed truths proposed by officials then suspicions spread like a contagion and soon develop immunity to logic. Multiple examples of this contagious conspiracy ideology have been constructed over the years such as: man never walked on the moon; extraterrestrial beings have crash-landed on Erath; and a totalitarian one-world secret government has assumed all power. These undisclosed schemes appeal to conspiracy theorists through their creative presentation of evidence and seemingly plausible narrative. However, of the most proclaimed theories, two stand above the rest as the most proclaimed conspiracies—the disturbing assassination of President John Fitzgerald Ken...

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