Why do some people believe in conspiracy theories?

[Peter Kleinschmidt]

Even Haitians can write a 6 word sentence without having to go back and edit and then re-edit 

I'm in a straight-jacket and I type with my nose.

[Zeon Mason]

It could be that Duniger Krugerrand thingy whatever 

[Bill Chapman]

Why do people believe in conspiracies? WTF. The CIA has an entire division dedicated to conspiracies, its called the "Covert Operations Division." ANY covert action in a democracy is a conspiracy. This is a BS propaganda post. Lets name a few well documented ones shall we...Iran Contra, Watergate, Stuxnet, the Iraq War, every coup the CIA ever pulled, ALL assassination programs and in the modern day we have Russiagate, the funding of Islamic proxies in the middle east, the NSA spy progrms, need I go on?

Read my cut & paste OP again and note that no one is claiming there are no conspiracies. The point of my thread is that why are some people more susceptible to conspiracy theories than others? For instance do you believe in UFOs, 911 as an inside job, faked moon landings etc?

[Peter Kleinschmidt]

Hughes,

Regarding "Russiagate," you're obviously full of beans and KGB/FSB-SVR/GRU propaganda.

Keep up the good work.

Vladimir Putin loves what you do.

-- MWT 

Thomas,

Putin would be proud of you. Why? Because you are projecting.
I wonder what Putin will have to say about Ukrainegate.
Thomas, will you offer a view or are you a fan of the Podesta brothers.
BTW do you speak Russian?

[Thomas Graves]

Thomas,

Putin would be proud of you. Why? Because you are projecting.
I wonder what Putin will have to say about Ukrainegate.

Thomas, will you offer a view or are you a fan of the Podesta brothers. [Huh?]

BTW do you speak Russian?

Dear Whatever Your Name Is,

No, I don't speak Russian, but would it matter if I did?

Regarding your beloved "Ukrainegate," can you rebut, with evidence, anything in this article?

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/05/donald-trump-fox-news-us-ambassdor-ukraine-masha-yovanovitch?verso=true&fbclid=IwAR00655QOw0g88dvPW9g6T_dvlwbkg-kpzLobr5os2vtmbSes5c-3a84l64

-- MWT 

[Rob Caprio]

Why do some people believe in conspiracy theories?
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-some-people-believe-in-conspiracy-theories/

Christopher French, a professor of psychology at Goldsmiths, University of London, explains:

Although conspiracy beliefs can occasionally be based on a rational analysis of the evidence, most of the time they are not. As a species, one of our greatest strengths is our ability to find meaningful patterns in the world around us and to make causal inferences. We sometimes, however, see patterns and causal connections that are not there, especially when we feel that events are beyond our control.

The attractiveness of conspiracy theories may arise from a number of cognitive biases that characterize the way we process information. ?Confirmation bias? is the most pervasive cognitive bias and a powerful driver of belief in conspiracies. We all have a natural inclination to give more weight to evidence that supports what we already believe and ignore evidence that contradicts our beliefs. The real-world events that often become the subject of conspiracy theories tend to be intrinsically complex and unclear. Early reports may contain errors, contradictions and ambiguities, and those wishing to find evidence of a cover-up will focus on such inconsistencies to bolster their claims.

?Proportionality bias,? our innate tendency to assume that big events have big causes, may also explain our tendency to accept conspiracies. This is one reason many people were uncomfortable with the idea that President John F. Kennedy was the victim of a deranged lone gunman and found it easier to accept the theory that he was the victim of a large-scale conspiracy.

Another relevant cognitive bias is ?projection.? People who endorse conspiracy theories may be more likely to engage in conspiratorial behaviors themselves, such as spreading rumors or tending to be suspicious of others' motives. If you would engage in such behavior, it may seem natural that other people would as well, making conspiracies appear more plausible and widespread. Furthermore, people who are strongly inclined toward conspiratorial thinking will be more likely to endorse mutually contradictory theories. For example, if you believe that Osama bin Laden was killed many years before the American government officially announced his death, you are also more likely to believe that he is still alive.

None of the above should indicate that all conspiracy theories are false. Some may indeed turn out to be true. The point is that some individuals may have a tendency to find such theories attractive. The crux of the matter is that conspiracists are not really sure what the true explanation of an event is?they are simply certain that the ?official story? is a cover-up.

Why do some believe in totally unsupported official theories?

[Rob Caprio]

Number 4 applies to most Conspiracy Theorists on this forum... IMHO.

So the fact that the WC failed to support any of their claims in regards to the shootings doesn't bother you in the least, huh? The official narrative is NOTHING but a theory too in case you didn't know this.

Why do you support theories with no supporting evidence? What does that say about your psyche?

[Thomas Graves]

So the fact that the WC failed to support any of their claims in regards to the shootings doesn't bother you in the least, huh? The official narrative is NOTHING but a theory too in case you didn't know this.

Why do you support theories with no supporting evidence? What does that say about your psyche?

The mission of the Warren Commission was to protect J. Edgar Hoover's reputation, to cover up KGB's and DGI's involvement in the assassination (in order prevent "the deaths of 40 million Americans"), and to establish in the public's collective mind that Lee Harvey Oswald did it all by him widdle self, without ... gasp ... having been trained or "programmed" by the KGB during the 2.5 years he lived in the U.S.S.R.

D'oh

-- MWT