Secrecy and Conspiracy

Abstract

In the literature on conspiracy theories, the least contentious part of the academic discourse would appear to be what we mean by a “conspiracy”: a secretive plot between two or more people toward some end. Yet what, exactly, is the connection between something being a conspiracy and it being secret? Is it possible to conspire without also engaging in secretive behavior? To dissect the role of secrecy in conspiracies – and thus contribute to the larger debate on the epistemology of conspiracy theories – we define the concepts of “conspiracy,” “conspirator,” and “secret,” and argue that while conspirators might typically be thought to commit to keeping secrets once their conspiracy is underway, the idea that conspiracies are necessarily secretive to start with is not as obvious as previously thought.

Understanding Conspiracy Theories

“…“Conspiracy theories” are attempts to explain the ultimate causes of significant social and political events and circumstances with claims of secret plots by two or more powerful actors (Aaronovitch, ; Byford, ; Coady, ; Dentith & Orr, ; Keeley, ). While often thought of as addressing governments, conspiracy theories could accuse any group perceived as powerful and malevolent.…”

“…Further, Jameson () claims that conspiracy theories function as cognitive maps for people to comprehend social and political realities. Others go further arguing that since elites do engage in conspiracy, conspiracy theories are a crucial instrument for holding authorities accountable (Basham, ; Dentith, ; Dentith & Orr, ). Singh () argues that globalization has resulted in the increasing power of informally rather than formally networked elites, meaning that conspiracist understandings of the world order may increasingly reflect political realities.…”

Hunting Conspiracy Theories During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Conspiracy theories are attempts to explain the causes of significant social and political events with claims of secret plots involving two or more powerful actors (Aaronovitch, 2010;Byford, 2011;Dentith & Orr, 2018). There has been extensive research conducted on who falls for conspiracy theories, why they believe these theories, and what effects these beliefs may have on real-world behavior (Douglas et al, 2019;Imhoff & Lamberty, 2020;Sternisko, Cichocka, & Van Bavel, 2020).…”

Conspiracy theories on the basis of the evidence

“…29 As previously mentioned, see (Dentith 2016). 30 Indeed, many of the activities we suspect ground our belief in the existence of conspiracies are open secrets, some of which we just politely ignore, or downplay (see (Dentith and Orr 2017)).…”