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Anatomy of a Conspiracy Theory

Before dismissing an idea as a ‘conspiracy theory’, we should consider whether the claim might be true.

It has become commonplace for many Americans to call any dissenting view or alternative narrative a ‘conspiracy theory’.

The pejorative use of the term ramped up during the Cold War, when both sides were actively engaged in espionage, covert operations, and proxy conflicts around the world. ‘Conspiracy theory’ was a handy way to dismiss anyone questioning what was really going on.

The thing with a conspiracy theory is that even when once-wild claims are proven to be valid and truthful, people’s minds have already been made up. They’re fully invested and, once that happens, no one wants to admit their beliefs are wrong or backtrack on something that fundamentally rocks their world view.

A caller on C-SPAN recently took presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to task for spreading a so-called conspiracy theory that “chemicals in our water cause transgender.” On air and in the hot seat, Kennedy didn’t have enough time to tell the caller the whole sordid story of how atrazine, a pesticide commonly found in groundwater, has been shown to feminize male frogs. It would have taken him too long to describe the aggressive, multi-million dollar campaign waged by the pesticide’s manufacturer against the scientist who uncovered the finding.

We took the time to lay out the facts in a recent Substack, simply to make the point that before dismissing an idea we don’t like as a ‘conspiracy theory’, we should consider the possibility that the claim might be true.

READ MORE: The Trouble With “Conspiracy Theorists”