An Overview of Conspiracy Types
Conspiracy theories have been with us longer than we can imagine. Although most are about more contemporary tales some date further back than we can imagine. Why they have become so predominant? We are going to dive into a few examples of what there are and why they exist.
One rule however is that I am going to try and refrain from mentioning any specific conspiracy theories as I do not want to give credibility to any modern ones. As well I will not be able to cover every angle of all conspiracies, but I will try to cast a wide net.
Cultural Conspiracy
From the first civilization and until the last, conspiracies about different groups have always been used to cast blame or create an enemy out of usually innocent groups of people. Some conspiracies are used to create fear of another culture that may change a way of life or challenges a societal belief. These are usually, if not always, related to religious beliefs. From the ancient persecutions to the modern ones the conspiracy usually frames the group as immoral enemies.
Example:
The witch trials are a great example of a scare that was irrational and based on fear rather than facts. Pretending that there were real, ask yourself “What evidence do I have to prove that witches are actually evil”. There would be extraordinarily little evidence that witches are evil and most likely practice the 16th century version of what spiritual tarot card readers are doing now. Harmless but different beliefs. With a fundamentalist view, you will see them as an enemy and something that challenges your belief in your deity and therefore must be bad. This would spark unfounded theories about what they are doing or could do and that evolves into what should be done with them, usually a form of extreme or lethal punishment.
Nationalist Conspiracies
Like cultural conspiracies, nationalist conspiracies are usually used by unscrupulous groups to rally a Populus behind the idea that specific groups are the reason for all the hardship and downfall of a country. Unlike cultural conspiracies, nationalist conspiracies are not discriminatory on just beliefs but rather anything that can be physically identified (place of birth, appearance, clothing). The reasons for this are usually to purge what the group see as “undesirables” for any reason. Perhaps a bad experience or that they feel threatened by their existence. These are usually birthed out of hardship and could have slight, albeit skewed, truth to them.
Example:
You live in a country we will call “Inovia”, whose majority populations was Inovians. A neighboring country named “Latica” experienced economic and political strife, many Laticans moved to Inovia. This migration caused Inovians to be displaced from jobs, positions of power, and benefits. The balance of power between the Inovian born people could change towards the growing Latican population. Conspiracies will be formed around the idea that Inovians are going to lose power, and that maybe there was not any hardship in Latica in the first place. Was it a ploy to conquer Inovia? Why are so many Laticans in positions of power now? What do these people really want? Then, and unrelated to the mass migration, Inovia experiences its own economic and/or political strife. The questions become statements. “Things were great before the Laticans came.” “The Laticans are destroying our country” “The Laticans are pests that invaded our home!” At this point any conspiracy become valid because that validation provides justification for action against Laticans. This is what causes torture, persecutions, and genocide within a nation, all under the guise of taking back control from a false narrative.
Based in Truth
This is necessary to be added in because some conspiracies turn out to not be so untrue after all. These are usually subdivided by “Sinister” and “Sincere” conspiracies. Conspiracies based in truth are conducted by companies or governments for the purposes of an end goal sometimes for the purposes of good or sometimes for bad. UFO cover ups were used to keep the secrets of the cosmos and military weapons away from the Russians, whereas cigarettes causing cancer was used to keep people smoking and profits high. Usually you can tell a conspiracy has some credence if it is not terribly difficult to conduct and seems to have some lightweight goal. Exposure of these are usually through whistleblowers or through further investigation.
Examples:
Sinister – Local residents suspect that a secret experiment is being conducted on them as they are all becoming mysteriously ill. Behind the scenes a company is conducting illegal dumping of a toxic chemical behind its production facility. The toxic waste is entering the ground and water poisoning wildlife and the surrounding population. The citizens try to get help on the issue, but local authorities have been paid off to keep quiet and allow them to continue their illegal dumping. The goal is to make sure the secret does not get out either for public relation reasons or profit motive.
Sincere– Residents are noticing that they are being monitored more closely and their personal information is being collected, they suspect the government is tracking them. A company secretly deploys staff to watch people buying food at a grocery store. Quantities and products are kept track of as well as other spending habits. Collection of semi-personal information is collected such as age, demographics, and living area. The end goal is that a new restaurant is being built in a nearby area and the company is looking to offer new cuisine that most families do not have time to cook. The government is also using the data to determine the next best course to help alleviate hardship for low income families in upcoming legislation.
Reputational Based
Somewhat like truth-based conspiracy, reputational conspiracies are usually developed through a track record of mischief. Almost exclusive to government, reputational based conspiracies are all on a “Well they did it before” adage. Coups, assassinations plots, espionage, and other methods of chaos perpetrated previously are permanently affixed to that organization and what forms is a conspiracy based on that reputation. If an agency has a tendency towards funding rebel groups, its more believable that it is funding a new rebel group. Whether or not that is true is hard to disprove as these are usually secretive organizations and the truth will not be known for a long time, if ever.
Example:
Latica believes that Inovia is sending over spies to create a rebel group that will overthrow the current government with one more favorable to Inovia’s interests. Latica has no evidence of this but Inovia has already publicly claimed that it has supported three other coups in other countries. In truth, Inovia has no plans to overthrow the the Latica government…as of yet.
Control
Control based conspiracies are not so much about any particular conspiracy but rather a way for an individual who feels or is powerless, to grasp at a narrative in order to feel in control. The conspiracies themselves do not have to be based on any plane of reality and are usually different from each person that you speak to. The facts of the conspiracy are inconsistent, and the evidence is commonly non-existent. The archetype person who believes in control conspiracies are those that call other “sheeple/sheep” or believe that only they and a few select other know the “truth”. Conspiracies are often a way for them to assign blame to a faceless entity and feel like they are fighting an enemy, being a hero of their own story. The undereducated, criminals, drug users, and the poor are often seen as common believers of the narratives, but this type of conspiracy is often universal and infects others regardless of background, culture, social status, etc… in its later stages.
These types of people are usually the most vocal and are very apparent in their beliefs. Oddly enough they usually end up utilizing the exact thing they believe is part of the conspiracy, be it social media, telecommunications, or corporate manufactured products. People who follow these conspiracies usually end up contradicting themselves and may say that they are now “awake” while other people are “sleeping”. The point is that the conspiracy they follow allows them to feel they can have some sort of effect against it, giving them power they don’t actually have.
Example:
Usual online posting format
“X is causing people to Y and is meant to slow your ability to think. This is perpetrated by a group known as the [Insert Organization Name], an organization of elites, who orchestrate this to kill off more of the population so that they can inhabit more land for themselves and ultimately create a single world government. All of you are just sheep to this group, but I will not fall for their agenda of divide and conquer. I am a free thinker and can’t be corrupted by their agenda”
Paranoia and Mental illness
Conspiracy theories based out of paranoia and mental illness are straightforward. Usually brought on by past trauma or sickness an individual can become paranoid such as thinking they are being stalked. A more serious case is mental illness whereby somebody honestly believes in certain theories that usually relate to the targeting of themselves specifically.
Example:
The government has implanted a chip inside my brain and is transmitting messages to me through cell towers.
Mystery
People fear what they do not understand. Often its convenient to have a theory about something tragic so that there is some sort of reason or meaning to it. Often mysteries cause people to use their imagination to create some of the most farfetched ideas because it is somewhat comforting to at least know what happened or why. The conspiracies can be horrifying to lighthearted and usually have no credible evidence to support them and have ever changing details the more the story is passed along. Often when the mystery is solved, the reason behind it is something simple and rather boring in comparison.
Example:
The disappearance of the hiking group in the mountains had signs they had been attacked by an unknown force and tried to run away. The hikers may have been trying to escape from a monster or perhaps they were fighting off an abduction from an unknown force. Decades later the hikers remains are found and it turns out that a rockslide caused their deaths.
Truth
Yes, some conspiracies are fully truthful. It is usually exceedingly rare that they are but sometimes fact is stranger than fiction. This is not to be confused by “based in truth” but rather that they are fully factual. More often based in military and defence circles, the truth behind certain conspiracies are relevant. Mostly this is a case of competition to be better than the enemy. Things based in science fiction often make their way to the research and development stage of the military who try to make good on their concepts.
Example:
Almost any cold war era weaponry research project.
Digital Conspiracy Centers
****Note: This section is an exceedingly small extract from a meticulously detailed defence report and does not entail all the methods and objectives of a DCC. Continue reading with the knowledge that this is a complex subject and is not always black and white, or can be easily digested in only a few sentences***
A few years ago, documentation was being circled around the security and defence circles about how all these types of conspiracies could be consolidated and delivered in one package. The purpose to collect all these types of conspiracies was to develop and deploy basic fear, confusion, and anger. These were to be created by Digital Conspiracy Centers (DCC)
Although they may go by other names these days, the basic setup of a DCC is just a room full of computers hooked up to the internet with access to social media. These are used to spread misinformation to the detriment of the target. The goal a DCC could be economic, political, and/or military disruption. Some usages could be to misinform people about information that could help them, influencing voters to certain leaders or away from certain issues, and creating mistrust among society and its government. The most common goal is to basically sabotage your competition or anything that is a threat to you by fueling conspiracies within their own societal circles.
Companies may use this to try and get rid of competition by helping fuel negative rumors. Foreign governments often deploy it to create instability in a target country. Community groups may use it to create false narratives that help propel them in better light.
So what can we do about conspiracies?
Nothing can be done to stop a conspiracy as it is only an idea. Once an idea is formed it cannot just be swatted away, however the true remedy to avoiding conspiracies in the first place usually is through transparency and communication. The more educated and informed people are on what is happening the less likely they are to believe that something is being hidden from them.
If somebody were to hold both hands behind their back and tell you they do not have anything in their hands, you probably wouldn’t believe them, but if they had their hands out front and they are clearly empty you would trust that they probably aren’t hiding anything. That is the fundamental problem with most institutions in that they always have their proverbial hands behind their back and tell you to trust them. Sometimes they are hiding something but with more transparency and more communication trust is built and doubt is eroded.
Conspiracies are never going to just go away, but they can be dampened by developing trust and understanding between one another. It is difficult process, but if the lizard overlords can conquer earth and remain undetected for hundreds of years, I think we can have leaders who can build up a relationship with us to take it right back.
