My topic concerns how conspiracy theories form, what makes them appealing, and their implications for society and ability to affect political change and national psyche. This is relevant because access to reliable information is becoming increasingly difficult, and misinformation and distrust of government, strong contributors to conspiracies, are increasing as well.
Scientific opinion on how conspiracy theories form is relatively unanimous. There needs to be some disconnect in the transfer of information from government to public. The public generally needs to have reason to believe that the government is concealing or withholding important information, to manipulate the public in some way. A lack of transparency/ a general air of secrecy leads to the formation of conspiracies. For the reason the Cold War era fostered many conspiracies (McCarthyism). Conspiratorial thinking is also generally easier than empirical thinking, which relies on extensive research and fact checking. Conspiratorial thinking requires only belief, and often gives the person who believes a sense of power, for they feel they are not powerless or ignorant know that they wield this knowledge. Generally, belief in one conspiracy is the greatest indicator for belief in others. However, the impact of conspiracy theories on society is often overlooked. However, in light of current politics conspiratorial thinking must be analyzed and understood if we want to progress. Much of Trump’s campaign used propaganda and fearmongering to incite distrust and conspiratorial thinking against what supporters considered the establishment. Many arguments against Clinton were conspiracies, such as the scandals involving her emails. Conspiracies can have a surprisingly large impact on society, an impact which will only increase in the upcoming years.
The Rhetoric of Containment 