Episode 31: Contextualizing Conspiracy Theories

This will be the first of a multipart arc that examines conspiracy theories. In this episode we contextualize the concept of a conspiracy theory. What is the history, how do they serve human beings, who is most likely to believe in them, what is the connection between conspiracy and information wars, what are some of the most famous/persistent, and how does the internet factor in? Our key sources are below.

Does subliminal "advertising" actually work? It might: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/sold-language/201101/subliminal-seduction-gets-second-glance

Top Ten Conspiracy Theories: https://www.livescience.com/11375-top-ten-conspiracy-theories.html

Bush Attack Ad with Rats: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rV2Fl50_e8A

Some historical Conspiracies: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/588240/historical-conspiracy-theories

History of propaganda: https://www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/aha-history-and-archives/gi-roundtable-series/pamphlets/em-2-what-is-propaganda-(1944)/the-story-of-propaganda

For a tidy list of some of the conspiracies that got sucked into the QAnon master conspiracy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QAnon