Conspiracy theories tend to run in packs, suggests research published in January by University of Kent psychologists. Perhaps most surprising is the finding that conspiracy theorists often hold beliefs in conspiracies that are mutually incompatible. The study looked at conspiracy theories relating to the deaths of Princess Diana and Osama bin Laden. For example, people who believed that Osama bin Laden was dead, even while videos of him surfaced, were as likely to believe that Osama bin Laden was still alive after his execution under the Obama administration.
Michael Shermer explains:
Conspiracies are a perennial favorite for television producers because there is always a receptive audience. A recent Canadian Broadcasting Corporation documentary that I participated in called Conspiracy Rising, for example, featured theories behind the deaths of JFK and Princess Diana, UFOs, Area 51 and 9/11, as if there were a common thread running throughout. According to radio host and conspiracy monger Alex Jones, also appearing in the film, “The military-industrial complex killed John F. Kennedy” and “I can prove that there’s a private banking cartel setting up a world government because they admit they are” and “No matter how you look at 9/11 there was no Islamic terrorist connection—the hijackers were clearly U.S. government assets who were set up as patsies like Lee Harvey Oswald.”
