Was John F. Kennedy (JFK) assassinated by the U.S. government? Did the moon landing happen? Who runs the government? Jews? Satan worshipers? We are questioning everything these days, and this has sinister implications.

A conspiracy theory is the belief that an event or phenomenon happened, was covered up, or altered because of a secret plot by a powerful group. Often this group is the government and its various organizations.

According to a 2023 survey by Gallup, 65% of Americans believe some conspiracy about JFK’s assassination, the most popular being that the U.S. government, specifically the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), is responsible.

JFK’s death isn’t the only thing people disbelieve: Flat Earthers believe that National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is covering up the true shape of the Earth; while QAnon believers think the government is run by Satan worshiping Democrats who are using their power to abuse children, but Donald Trump will save the kids and the government.

Conspiracy theories have particularly spread due to the rapid sharing enabled by the internet. People feel like they are being lied to. Fake evidence is more and more believable. What and who can we trust now?

William Keegan, a senior, thinks people believe conspiracy theories because of a lack of trust.

“People are naturally going to question everything,” he said. “They always think the government is lying to them because the government lies a lot.”

One particular conspiracy theory Will believes is that Jeffery Epstein was killed.

“I believe that Jeffery Epstein did not commit suicide and instead was killed,” he notes. “He had a lot of close friends in Hollywood who were doing bad things and people wanted him silenced.”

Epstein was a millionaire and serial abuser of young women; he is most famously known for the island where he sex trafficked young women, which was commonly visited by celebrities, politicians, and other famous individuals. While in prison, on July 23, 2019, he was found unconscious in his cell with marks around his neck, he died soon after.

Most people could understand the theory that foul play was involved in his death but when it comes to more extreme beliefs its believers are dismissed as stupid.

Will himself believes that thinking Satan worshipers run the government “is stupid. I think people are grasping at straws.”

But people do believe it. Your friends probably believe in a conspiracy or two, extreme or not.

The Willistonian had 50 Williston members, 49 students and one teacher, take an anonymous paper survey. It had 30 questions on different current or former conspiracy theories. Respondents could circle yes, maybe, no, I don’t know, or skip the question. They varied from former conspiracy theories which were later confirmed like MKUltra, a human experiment conducted by the CIA in 1953-64 to find drugs to force confessions, to current and very active conspiracies like flat earth.

When it came to JFK’s 1963 assassination being a government plot the sample said 10 yes, 12 maybe, 19 no, 9 I don’t know/skip.

JFK was shot in 1963 while in a presidential motorcade in Texas.

This theory falls into Russell’s Teapot fallacy, an analogy formed by Bertrand Russell to explain his reasoning as an atheist, though it has been expanded in use. The fallacy goes like this: I say there is a teapot in space. You say there isn’t. I say how do you know that it is not. You say because there is no evidence that it is. When it comes to JFK’s assassination, there is no totally concrete evidence the government was involved, but nothing proving they concretely were not.

When asked if the Earth is flat the sample responded with 0 yes, 1 maybe, 47 no, 2 I don’t know/skip.

Omar Santoyo, a senior, quickly responded to if the Earth is flat with, “No, it’s round. There are pictures.”

His conviction was strong, but it also was when it came to not believing the moon landing happened, at least when NASA and the U.S. government said it did.

He is not alone. In the poll, 37 said the moon landing happened, but 10 said maybe, 2 said no, and 1 said they didn’t know/skip.

Not believing in the moon landing is not trusting the U.S. government and NASA. If they are lying to us, conspiracy theorists believe, what can we trust? It leads to a slippery slope of mistrust and misinformation.

Conspiracy theories can be gateways into other beliefs and prejudices, even with fun ones like the idea that aliens helped build the pyramids.

Our sample responded to if aliens built the pyramids with 4 yes, 6 maybe, 38 no, 2 I don’t know/skip.

It may not seem like there is much behind this theory besides a belief in extraterrestrial, which is not absurd, but it has many implications.

For one it is founded on the idea that historians lied to us. That they, probably along with the government, are trying to hide the fact that they know extraterrestrials exist.

Second, it’s racist.

The 2021 essay “Did Aliens Build the Pyramids? And Other Racist Theories” talks about the clear trend in whose historical sites are challenged as being not built by the local people.

“Archaeological sites from Africa, Asia, and the Americas are often put forth as proof of external interventions, while the achievements of those who lived in ancient Greece or Italy, for example, are rarely questioned,” it reads.

Theories are built on our distrust and bias. It is a way for us to understand the world. Often it is based on an agenda pushed out by people who want to believe a certain way.

The essay continues, “Pseudoarcheology [belief in advance cultures intervening in history] is useful to white nationalism specifically because it casts doubt on the achievements of BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, & other people of color] communities, opening the doors to rewriting history through a white power lens.”

We could think the government is lying about Area 51, JFK’s assassination, or spying on its citizens. All things with merit, all beliefs that have some evidence but are not confirmed. Victims of Russell’s Teapot. Somewhat unprovable, especially given that the government would have to fess up to it, but not improbable.

The AP article explains how conspiracy has turned to violence in the U.S.

“The disinformation spread by extremist groups and even politicians like former President Donald Trump can create the conditions for violence, by demonizing the other side, targeting democratic institutions and convincing their supporters that they’re in an existential struggle against those who don’t share their beliefs,” it said.

A part of willing to take down democracy is not trusting the people who run it, may that be due to fact or theory.

The sample was asked to respond to an identical statement, ______ run the government, with three groups put into the blank: White men, Jews, and Satan Worshippers.

For White men: 28 yes, 7 maybe, 12 no, 3 I don’t know/skip. 76% not denying the statement.

For Jews: 3 yes, 11 maybe, 29 no, 7 I don’t know/skip. 42% not denying the statement.

For Satan worshippers: 7 yes, 5 maybe, 32 no, 6 I don’t know/skip. 36% not denying the statement

According to Reflective Democracy Campaign’s September 2024 report, White men hold 56% of state and federal seats despite making up around 30% of the U.S. population. Jews are also overrepresented but only end up making up 6% of federally held positions according to a Pew Research report. Jews do not run the government; White men on the other hand do hold a majority position.

White men running the government has precedent in the U.S. with the long history of disenfranchising oppressed people, while the belief that Jews run the government is rooted in antisemitism. It is founded on the stereotypes that Jews are greedy for power and money and therefor control the banks of the world. The theory is that Jews run the banks and therefore the government in the goal to rule the world.

It is the hatred and distrust in the “Satan worshiping” government that led to January 6t a riot on the U.S. capital in 2021 in response to Joe Biden becoming President.

Rinka Okuno, a senior, said conspiracy theorists believe what they do because, “It makes more sense for them.”

Ava Medaugh, a senior, thinks people believe in conspiracy theories, “To look for answers when they may not find any anywhere else.”