From the JFK assassination and a living Michael Jackson, to the government controlling the weather and the Earth being flat, people have come up with many theories and possibilities that defy what is common knowledge.

“One of the most common conspiracy theories is the conspiracy theory about Lincoln and JFK and how JFK, when he was president, had a secretary whose last name was Lincoln. And Lincoln, while he was president, had a secretary whose last name was Kennedy. And I think it goes beyond that where the dates of how they died are similar… a bunch of weird differences. It’s really kind of cool either coincidence or conspiracy theory – whatever you want to believe. If you don’t believe it was on purpose or a setup, then it would just be a coincidence, but either way I think it was really cool,” said senior Conor S.

The reason behind conspiracy theories can be identified from a scientific lens.

People are likely to believe conspiracy theories due to a combination of personality traits and motivations, a feeling of superiority towards others, and especially how they perceive threats in their environment, according to the American Psychological Association. 

Conspiracy theories can help to make light of situations and add interest into the monotony of everyday life.

“I think it’s something to make light of. I think a lot of times life can be really mundane and so people do whatever they can to make it not so mundane. I think it’s similar to writing a story. I think there’s a whole genre of books based on that concept of taking something that might be a coincidence or might be half true and making a story out of it. Historical Fiction for example is taking a historical background and setting and part of it is true and part of it they kind of just make up. And I think that’s just to make life more interesting,” said Conor S.

Another advantage is that conspiracies may encourage people to become critical thinkers, and challenge the information presented to them.

“It’s good to question things. It’s not good to always just accept what you’re told. It’s good to use critical thinking and think for yourself. So we’re not always forced to think a certain way. It’s good to challenge some beliefs but, yet again, some people can go over the top with their conspiracy theories and it takes over their whole personality and that’s all they really care about,” said senior John P.

Though it may be enjoyable to dive into the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories, one may also note that there are some negative implications.

“I do not believe conspiracy theories are harmless as I believe the development of the human race and every individual is imperative in the pursuit of knowledge and the truth. Because of this, if people are consuming knowledge that is not true or is biased, in reality pushing an agenda that is one specific person or group of people’s, where the idea is not actually an accurate representation of the world people’s views and actions can be greatly swayed and irrational because of the extreme beliefs or the extreme lengths they take their actions,” said senior Carlos K. via email.

Conspiracy theories may also be considered a reflection of society and not only the concerns of a given time but also the foundations of how information is processed and received.

“I think conspiracy theories perfectly reflect our society. The United States’ society is based on people having freedom in thought, speech, belief, religion, and many other freedoms. With these freedoms comes the ability to create information or say anything you want, and some people may choose to believe you. Because people choose in our society to confirm their own beliefs it makes sense that conspiracy theories exist, as one person can have a belief or idea and they can simply look up information to confirm their belief even if that belief is not true and the information they found to confirm it is also not true,” said Carlos K.

Though these theories may spark controversy in today’s society, finding compromise is also important.

“I feel like we can coexist if there is agreement that there are multiple sides to an argument and if people can respect other people’s perspectives and know that there are always two sides to a situation. if people are always open to hearing different ideas and aren’t so closed minded and can agree that they could be wrong,” said John P.

Regardless of whether an individual believes in conspiracy theories or not, these theories definitely make life interesting.

“The moon landing is fake,” said John P.🔳