Purpose Of Conspiracy Theories

Conspiracy theories are built from the foundations of rumors. They are sometimes called “quasi-theories” (Ch.3, pg. 53). The purpose of conspiracy theories is to help people bring order to a chaotic event. To do so, conspiracy theories also use accepted societal beliefs to lay the blame upon a given party and divide the participants. Commonly, conspiracy theories are used to separate people into an ‘us’ and ‘them’ category. This separation is used to help the believer direct their emotions to the appropriate party, usually anger towards the ‘them’ party and sympathy towards the ‘us’ group. This creates a sense of unity within the ‘us’ party, it also allows for a person to reside in a sense of community. Since many conspiracy theories are not the published truth, believers can take a sense of comfort from this community. Conspiracy theories is the ending product after rumors go through three stages of evolution.

The example used through the chapter of September 11th and its aftermath is a good example to show the progress of rumor to conspiracy theory. After the towers fell and the days following, numerous rumors spread about more terrorists’ attempts and plans. These attacks caused great confusion, this level not seen since Pearl Harbor. The rumors that were spread were meant to keep people away from potential sites of terrorist attacks. Feat was rampant after the attacks and people relied more on rumors and stories to guide their lives following the attacks. People wanted to know how to cope with the new sense of insecurity and fear. After the fear has waned, rumors developed into the people seeking to know that justice was met