conspiracy theory

A theory that some fact or information is being hidden from the general public—a conspiracy—for whatever reason. These views are generally not held by most people or media (which is often part of the point—if something *is* being hidden, most people wouldn’t know). Possibly the most well-known and widespread conspiracy theory is that planet Earth is actually flat, not spherical, and that this fact is covered up, keeping people in the dark. A conspiracy theory may be true, false, or only partially true. “Conspiracy theory” is often used as a pejorative, usually an attempt to discredit ideas that are disagreed with; however, although theories like the Earth being flat can be patently disproven, many are still controversial. In the United States, many conspiracy theories are attributed to the federal government. For example: • some people purport that the attacks on September 11, 2001 (9/11) were perpetrated by the government as an excuse to increase citizen surveillance, or justify invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. • the demonstrations at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021 were allegedly helped along by the government in an effort to discredit Donald Trump and his supporters. • the existence of aliens and UFOs is supposedly hidden by the government, and equipment and specimens from said aliens is being stored in the top-secret Air Force facility Area 51.