The Popularity of Conspiracy Theories

 by Grace G

A conspiracy theory has been defined as a belief that some influential but secret organisation is responsible for a certain event and phenomenon. Due to the rise of social media enabling gossip, theories and potential lies to be spread and shared through simply the click of a button, it has become increasingly harder to distinguish conspiracy from fact, as well as the fact that more and more people have been given a platform to raise their thoughts and beliefs, causing a web of conspiracy theories spreading across all types of categories. Conspiracy theories can deal with extremely serious topics, such as war and conflict, often causing harm and disagreement between those who believe and those who disagree, or alternatively, conspiracy theories can be extremely lighthearted and often humorous, yet whilst simultaneously being rather valid. In this article, I will explore some of the conspiracy theories out there. 

Site of the crash in which Princess Diana died

An example of a famous conspiracy theory is one related to the death of Princess Diana in Paris on August 31st. Theories became popular due to the suspicious nature of her death, as people have believed that it is extremely unusual for someone of royalty to be killed by a common drunk driver, rather than the typical passing away due to old age and rich food. It is also probable that the death of such a high-profile and beloved figure caused shock and outrage, adding fuel to the controversy and conspiracy. The theory that the British Royal Family deliberately had Diana killed was fueled by Mohammed Al-Fayed, father of Dodi Al-Fayed, who also died in the crash. This theory has some possible truth, as a letter was revealed by Diana’s butler, where Diana revealed that she had herself thought she was going to be murdered, mentioning an ‘an accident’ with her car. This theory has largely been debunked as the outcome of ‘Operation Paget’, which Al-Fayed launched to find out the truth about the nature of the death, was determined as the result of gross negligence of the driver and the fact that the deceased were not wearing seatbelts. However, due to lack of evidence, it is impossible to say for sure what happened. 

A conspiracy theory which became popular in the 1980s was ‘Subliminal advertising’. This theory claims that companies and businesses who advertise their specific product, would use images and sounds to influence consumer’s responses without being consciously aware of it. This concern over subliminal messages spread to bands such as Styx and Judas Priest, with Styx actually being sued in 1990 due to allegedly causing a teen’s suicide - however this case was later dismissed. It has been proved that whilst subliminal mental processing does in fact exist, subliminal advertising has very little effect by itself. Studies have shown that there is no greater benefit of subliminal advertising over regular advertising, meaning that it is safe to say that some of this conspiracy theory is entirely false. 

The Birds Aren’t Real conspiracy was a movement developed by Peter McIndoe, who began sharing his thoughts and beliefs in 2017. McIndoe claimed that birds are not real, but instead they are actually surveillance drones made by the US government as a means of spying on the citizens. Despite its absurdity, Birds Aren’t Real actually achieved large followings, with its followers buying billboards, organising protests and large social media campaigns. However this conspiracy was actually satire and ironic to begin with. McIndoe revealed in an interview with the New York Times in 2021 that the purpose of his spreading of rumours was to parody the misinformation that Generation Z continually finds itself obsessing with. The experiment revealed the fact that conspiracy theories sometimes grow by credulity and acted as a force for good by exposing all the ways that misinformation is able to thrive, as well as McIndoe mentioning the fact that Birds Aren’t Real has been a solution for ‘people to process’ the ‘lunacy’ that comes as a result of fake news nowadays.

In conclusion, there are many more examples of conspiracy theories, which have elements of plausibility mixed with fallaciousness, with often the goal of conspiracy theories being to simply raise controversy or cause upset. Conspiracy theories, in my opinion, despite sometimes being rather damaging, encourage people to question and challenge our society, and to find the deeper meaning.