18-July-2007, 08:42 PM
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Vulcan Moderator
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Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Greenbelt, MD
Posts: 24,225
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Why do people believe in conspiracy theories?
Why do people believe in conspiracy theories?
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New Scientist has an interesting article by Patrick Leman on the psychology of believing in conspiracy theories.
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Belief in conspiracy theories certainly seems to be on the rise, and what little research has been done investigating this question confirms this is so for perhaps the most famous example of all - the claim that a conspiracy lay behind the assassination of JFK in 1963. A survey in 1968 found that about two-thirds of Americans believed the conspiracy theory, while by 1990 that proportion had risen to nine-tenths.
One factor fuelling the general growth of conspiracy beliefs is likely to be that the internet allows new theories to be quickly created, and endlessly debated by a wider audience than ever. A conspiracy-based website built around the death of Princess Diana, for example, sprang up within hours of the car crash that killed her in 1997.
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