Naiqing Zhou
Professor Jonathan Keeperman
WR 39B
15 March 2015
The origin of conspiracy theories
Conspiracy has been given different meaning by various people. A journalist, Jonathan Elinoff states “Conspiracy theory is a term that originally was a neutral description for any claim of civil, criminal or political conspiracy.” In my understanding, a conspiracy theory blames individuals, organizations or known groups for hiding the truth or leading to harmful situations. To conspire is a secret agreement in order to perform unlawful behaviors as a way to reach lawful endings. According to Elinoff, conspiracy theory is often used as a way of finding the secrets in either military affairs, political means or financial system, which aimed at taking
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Web. 18 Mar. 2015. <http://forum.prisonplanet.com/index.php?topic=195848.0>.
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Conspiracy theories are entertaining for many to speculate and demand a great deal of thought to constitute. A conspiracy theory is defined as the idea that many important political, economic, and social trends are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public (“The Definition of Conspiracy Theory”). Many conspiracy theories are thought up around children’s shows, which offers a feeling of nostalgia and pleasure. A few children’s show conspiracies that need a deeper light shone on them are from Max & Ruby (2002-2013), Winnie the Pooh (1977), Rugrats (1990-2004), and All Grown Up (2003-2008).
The day that President Kennedy was assassinated, people started to view the world differently. His death was the first time that a conspiracy theory transformed into a conceivable form of knowledge among the general public. "It was because of Kennedy's death in Dallas that the conspiracy theory was born" (Wensley). It started with an article written ...
Holt, Richard. "Apollo 11 Moon Landing: Conspiracy Theories Debunked." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 15 July 2009. Web. 02 Mar. 2014.
Belzar, Richard. UFO?s, JFK, and Elvis conspiracies you don?t have to be crazy to believe. New York: The Ballantine Publishing Group, 1999.
Conspiracy is a business that many people thrive on daily for their career. The number of theories associated with the John F. Kennedy assassination should show people that conspirators do not know the truth themselves. If there was one conspiracy that was proven a fact, there would be no need to continue making up others. The conspiracy theories of the assassination of John F. Kennedy do not show enough evidence to be considered fact.
Such as, did inside traders know about attacks before the event even occurred, Why did the world's most powerful air force fail to intercept any of the four hijacked planes, Why did the Twin Towers collapse so quickly and a good question is why was the crash site at Shanksville, Pennsylvania so small and why was the aircraft debris not visible. Many of these conspiracies got most of the world thinking about the tragic event that occurred on september 11, 2001 and if it was an event that was made up by the government to set up the terrorist and their
Conspiracy theorists, calling themselves Truthers, have provided evidence to support their claims numerous times in attempts to convince the general population. Truthers start by pointing out the FBI Crime They demand the government to explain what really happened and that justice be fairly served. They have not had an open playing field, however, they received opposition at every move they make with explanations, counterarguments, and information from the government, police forces, first responders, and the residents of Newtown.
The Top September 11 Conspiracy Theories. (n.d.). America - Engaging the World - America.gov. Retrieved April 26, 2010, from http://www.america.gov/st/webchat-english/2009/
...Hofstadter, Richard. The American Political Tradition and the Men Who Made It. Knopf, New York: Vintage Books, 1989. Print.
On November 22, 1963, at 12:30 in the afternoon, President John F. Kennedy was shot at and killed while participating in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas. The most important question that arises from this incident is ‘Who killed President John F. Kennedy?’ This is an issue which has been debated by scholars, The Government, and even common people alike. Many people seem to feel that it was a conspiracy, some large cover-up within a cover-up.
... Information has been brought to our attention that the assassination of President Kennedy includes that it still remains a conspiracy theory,well-planned,and connections with alleged suspects. The Kennedy Assassination Thesis:A study of the John F. Kennedy assassination would include the conspiracy theories,plans of the assassination,and connections with the alleged suspects. 1.Consiracy of the Assassinations A. Unusual escort of president.
Hofstadter, Richard. The American Political Tradition and the Men Who Made It. New York: Vintage, 1989.
This section was given in order to show why conspiracy theories are appealing to the average person and how anybody can create one. Next, research data on the general personality and mental state of conspiracy theorists was introduced with believers being more likely to be cynical and have low self-worth (Koerth-Baker 343). Afterward a brief explanation is given on the amygdala, a part of the brain which activates after fear is felt, and how it is crucial to the creation of the various theories we have today. There has also been research showing a correlation between theorizing and strong support of democratic principles due to the fact that conspiracy theories wouldn’t exist without real conspiracies coming to light (Koerth-Baker 344). Then, Koerth begins to talk about how an abundance of available knowledge on the internet has made destroying conspiracy theories even more difficult due to the constant use of confirmation bias. In 2006 scientists discovered an event called the “backfire effect” where any attempts to debunk a theory makes it more popular to the people, but the effect seems more noticeable when it supports a worldview or ideology (Koerth-Baker
Since the beginning of settled civilizations, people have had more mutual sharings than ever before. By the same token, there have been some conspiracy theories that are usually against the culturally accepted beliefs of religions, science and society. A conspiracy theory can be described so differently. However, as in his text, Marshall Brain explicates, a conspiracy is generally defined as a theory seeking to explain a disputed case or matter as a plot by a secret group or alliance rather than an individual or isolated act (Brain). Especially, after the new media has become quite popular, more and more conspiracies are theorized every single day, which aim to catch society’s attention via such media tools as the internet, journals and newspapers. Thus, people who theorize those conspiracies tend to use such objects as spiritual and mysterious ones in order to interest people. To illustrate, many examples can be given. For instance, many people have claimed that they were abducted by aliens, although they could show no evidences. Here, a citation from Blackmore could facilitate to understand the circumstance better. She states that people occasionally claim that they have been abducted from public places by aliens, in this case that may provide them with witnesses and affirmations but no evidence could be shown so far (Blackmore). As it is well known, only a small number of people believe such alien abductions, however, rating of this kind of news is quite high on media, because humankind has been wondering if there are extraterrestrial creatures out of the earth. Another example can be conspiracy theories which are about the origins of religions such as the rejection of Jesus Christ. There are some people who pay attention to...
Conspiracy theory- noun, a belief that some covert but influential organization is responsible for a circumstance or event. For some reason there is something so addicting to reading or watching things about conspiracy theories. The thought that there is a ridiculous explanation for something is so interesting, yet I can’t get myself to believe any of them. I’ve watched so many videos about Harry Potter or Disney conspiracy theories, and yes they are interesting and fun to watch but, to me, they just aren’t believable. I think it might be because I know in the back of my head that it isn’t true without actual facts presented. Some of my friends are subscribed to a YouTube channel that makes conspiracy theory videos every once in awhile and