What is a conspiracy theory anyway?

The term 'Conspiracy Theory' has become a label to pin on people with ideas, theories and facts that don't conform to what lawful authorities and mainstream media want you to believe.

Say for example you held an executive position and a lot of people depended on your decisions and actions. A few of your closet and most trusted advisors whispered into your ear that there were people 'out there' who were dangerous and they had weapons and they were coming for you. Many of the people who work for you, who had worked in their departments for decades, people with experience, people who knew these people 'out there' kept telling you it wasn't true. But you didn't listen to the experienced people, you trusted your friends and went and killed these people 'out there'. But then you didn't find any weapons. Did you fall for a 'conspiracy theory'? What is going to happen to you? Well if you're George W. Bush you will get four more years of a cushy job, you can make a video mocking the fact there were no weapons and you can fire the expensed people for not finding the proof needed to make your conspiracy theory fact instead of fantasy.

The term conspiracy theory never seems to apply to misinformed politicians, they are just victims of "bad intelligence" (and the more misinformed they are they more it doesn't apply).

The term is often used to label people that have done extensive research, the more dangerous the research (and the person) is to the status quo the more that label is applied, PhD's in particular make wonderful target for the label conspiracy theorist.

It may be time to abandon the label "Conspiracy Theory" It has been perverted and is used to isolate and stigmatize ideas and information that governments, media and other gatekeepers of power want to discredit.

That is not to say that there are not some really outrageous statements out there concerning banking, money, secret societies, the elite, plans for a new world order, you name it you can find it. These claims and stories do a real disservice when they shade the facts, tell untruths, and just flat out make shit up. These are not conspiracy theories these are another form of spin used to discredits ideas and hinder an examination of the facts. Sometimes they are published by over zealous 'true believers' in some cause. They feel that the truth is not enough to convince people of their cause. In reality they are doing their cause a disservice. Sometimes these theories are crafted, honed and published by experts in the field of disinformation. They have been aged, given a pedigree and when in circulation cannot be recognized for honest research.