Conspiracy Narratives

Conspiracy narratives try to explain particular events in the world with conspiracies. They offer unambiguous answers that are contrary to an official version of the "truth". Conspiracy narratives are usually based on a division of the world into "good" and "evil" or "above" and "below". Conspiracy narratives are usually incoherent and contradict proven data or even natural laws.

Crises seem to fuel conspiracy belief, as conspiracy narratives offer simple explanations for complex interrelationships and can thus convey a sense of security. Thus, belief in conspiracy narratives feeds on the desire to trace complex issues back to a simple causal chain of explanation and to name responsible parties.

Conspiracy narratives are particularly problematic because they can obscure the view of the real reasons for problems. Also, many conspiracy narratives incite hatred by identifying a particular group of people as the culprits. For example, conspiracy believers may be led to believe that problems can be solved by using violence to fight the "guilty."