Am I alone in thinking that the incidence of conspiracy theories is on the rise? Of course, conspiracy theories are nothing new and have an age-old allure about them: from questioning the veracity of the lunar landing to inciting vaccine hesitancy, they have pervaded many aspects of modern life. Indeed, I was recently intrigued to learn that even the American declaration of independence was arguably founded on a conspiracy theory, revolutionaries having successfully argued that a tax on tea and stamps was a sinister plot by Britain to exert oppression and control over its former colony. But whether or not the incidence of conspiracy theories is increasing, there is little doubt that the ease with which they take hold and are propagated by social media has greatly extended their reach, making their impact on society all the more insidious and the consequences potentially dangerous: suggestions that the 2020 US elections were rigged ended in the deadly storming of Capitol Hill while derisory claims that the SARS-CoV2 vaccine is a software platform that can receive uploads capable of controlling individuals’ behaviour is so pernicious as to dissuade people from taking simple steps to protect themselves from a potentially life-threatening disease.
So how do conspiracy theories arise and what makes them so alluring? Perhaps part of the answer lies in the tendency of our brains to look for links and patterns between events in order to make sense of the world around us. However, most of us simply don’t appreciate just how significant a role chance alone plays in everyday life which can lead us to conclude that mere coincidences are evidence of third-party involvement, the stuff of sinister plots. And when we add into the mix the suggestion that any who question the validity of such claims are a part of the very plot they seek to discredit, a conspiracy theory is born that is fully self-sustaining.
But the enduring allure of conspiracy theories remains something of an enigma. Nevertheless, I can’t help wondering whether our need for escapism provides a clue. We all love films with a convoluted plot which end by forcing us to reassess all the assumptions we have made along the way. Having watched the da Vinci Code several times, I must confess that I am still little the wiser! However, the escape from real life that such films provide is necessarily short lived: unlike conspiracy theories which have proven themselves to have unexpected longevity.
So given the current plethora of conspiracy theories, I wonder what an appropriate collective noun to describe them might be. A ‘dupe’ of conspiracy theories perhaps?
(Image courtesy of Gabriel Castles and Unsplash)