WASHINGTON (AP) — Conspiracy theories have a long history.
Humans have always speculated about ulterior motives and conspiracies as a way to understand their world and avoid danger.
But today, conspiracy theories and those who believe in them seem to play an outsized role in politics and culture.
Republican Donald Trump He has amplified conspiracy theories about climate change, elections, voting, and crime, and has expressed support for the QAnon conspiracy theory. His lies about the 2020 election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden, encouraged the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, which quickly debunked his own conspiracy theories.
On the left is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He used conspiracy theories about vaccines to run his own presidential campaign this year.
Conspiracy theories have also proven lucrative for those who make money from false medical claims, investment offers or fake news sites.
The Associated Press examined the history of conspiracy theories in the United States.
Interviews with experts in technology, psychology and politics provide insight into why people choose to believe and spread conspiracy theories and how these beliefs affect our mental health, politics and society.
A look at some of the most important takeaways from the investigation:
LONG STORY
Conspiracy theories revealed social tensions long before the American Revolution and the birth of U.S. democracy.
Just like now, early conspiracy theories reflected popular concerns of the day. In the years immediately following the American Revolution, rumors and hoaxes circulated about dark conspiracies of the Illuminati and the Freemasons, suggesting that these secret organizations wanted to control the republic.
Similarly, modern-day conspiracy theories often reflect uncertainties about technology, immigration, and government overreach. Examples include the UFO cover-up, microchips in vaccines, or stories that the September 11, 2001 attacks were committed from within.
While specific claims in many of these stories can be debunked, the stories reflect concerns shared by millions of people.
“We are the stories we tell ourselves,” said John Llewellyn, a professor at Wake Forest University who studies conspiracy theories and why people believe what they believe.
WHY DO PEOPLE BELIEVE
People are thirsty for information that will help them protect themselves and make better decisions for the future. This knowledge, along with personal experiences, upbringing, and cultural perspectives, creates a worldview that helps people understand major events and forces in their lives.
Disasters, elections, wars, and even the results of sporting events can shake our perspective and cause us to seek explanations. Sometimes that means accepting facts. But sometimes it may be easier to adopt an alternative explanation.
Conspiracy theories can serve as a shortcut to understanding. They often fill gaps in understanding with speculations that reflect the believer’s inner beliefs rather than the events themselves. For example, conspiracy theories that suggest vaccines are being used to implant microchips in people reflect concerns about technology, medicine, and the power of government.
Thanks to the internet, false claims and conspiracy theories can spread farther and faster than ever before. Social media algorithms prioritize content that reveals strong emotions such as anger and fear.
ENCOUNTERING DEMONS
The AP interviewed dozens of current and former conspiracy theory believers to understand what led them to believe it. They consistently said that conspiracy theories offered them a sense of power and control in a world that might seem random and chaotic.
“The pieces didn’t fit,” said Melissa Sell, a Pennsylvania conspiracy theorist who began to doubt the official narrative of history after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
They spoke of growing distrust of democratic institutions and the media and the feeling that they were being lied to. The online world of conspiracy theories offered answers and a built-in community of like-minded people.
“I was suicidal before I got into conspiracy theories,” said Antonio Perez, a Hawaiian who became obsessed with 9/11 conspiracy theories and QAnon and decided they were interfering with his life. But he was ecstatic when he first found other online conspiracy theorists. “It was like: God, I finally found my people!”
TRANSFORMING IDEAS INTO ACTION
Polls show that nearly half of Americans believe in a conspiracy theory, and these beliefs are almost always harmless. However, when extreme views interfere with a person’s work or relationships, they can lead to social isolation. And when people put their conspiracy theory beliefs into action, it can lead to violence.
In recent years, conspiracy theorists have tried to stop vaccine clinics, attacked election officials and committed murders they say are motivated by their beliefs. The January 6 riot is perhaps the most notable example of how conspiracy theories can lead to violence: The thousands of people who stormed the Capitol and clashed with police were motivated by Trump’s election lies.
Disinformation spreading so rapidly fuels extremist groups and encourages distrust; This is especially concerning in a year of major elections in the United States and other countries. Russia, China, Iran, and other rivals of the United States have sought to amplify conspiracy theories as a way to further destabilize democracy. AI’s ability to quickly create realistic video and audio only adds to the challenge.
“I think the post-truth world may be much closer than we want to believe,” said AJ Nash, vice president of intelligence at ZeroFox, a cybersecurity firm that tracks disinformation. “What happens when no one believes in anything anymore?”
PROFITING FROM FAITH
For as long as conspiracy theories have existed, people have tried to make money from them. More than a century ago, street vendors went from town to town selling tonics and pills that they said could solve almost any problem. Sales are now made online. Business is booming.
There are supplements claiming to reverse aging, fake treatments for COVID-19, t-shirts, investment scams claiming a new financial order is just around the corner.
The AP took a close look at conspiracy theories involving treatment beds, futuristic-looking devices that believers say can reverse aging and cure a long list of diseases. According to claims circulating on the internet, the US military is hiding the technology from the public, but Trump will make them available for free if he wins another term as president. For people desperate to find help for a medical condition, the claims may be too tempting to ignore.
“There have always been hucksters selling medical treatments, but I feel like it’s accelerating,” said Timothy Caulfield, a professor of health policy and law at the University of Alberta who studies medical ethics and fraud. “There are some forces driving this: of course the internet and social media and the distrust of conventional medicine and conventional science. Conspiracy theories create and feed this distrust.”