yOu sHouLdN’t bElieVe iN ConSpIRaCy tHeoRiEs
The term “conspiracy theory” emerged in the mid-20th century and underwent various shifts in meaning. The phrase gained prominence after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963 when alternative explanations and speculations about the event started circulating.
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was accused of using the phrase “conspiracy theory” to discredit critics of the Warren Commission’s report on the Kennedy assassination. Documents released through the Freedom of Information Act, more specifically CIA Document 1035-960, revealed that the CIA had indeed used the term as a tool to marginalize dissenting views.
Outlined in the document were some other arguments used to shut down critics of the report. Maybe they sound familiar.
- No significant new evidence has emerged which the [Warren] Commission did not consider.
- Critics usually overvalue particular items and ignore others.
- Conspiracy on the large scale often suggested would be impossible to conceal in the United States.
- Critics have often been enticed by a form of intellectual pride: they light on some theory and fall in love with it.
- Oswald would not have been any sensible person’s choice for a co-conspirator.
- Such vague accusations as that “more than ten people have died mysteriously” [during the Warren Commission’s inquiry] can always be explained in some natural way e.g.: the individuals concerned have for the most part died of natural causes.
