Conspiracy Theory or Fan Fiction? How to Create a Conspiracy Theory (Step-by-Step)

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Conspiracy theorists, as we discussed in Mr. Kelly's lecture, can sometimes have very questionable motives when developing their theories. And when we look at what they can gain, what exactly do they have to lose? Their sanity for one, maybe even some of their morals, but where does that stand in the face of incentives such as the limelight and more importantly the green light (money). 

Conspiracy has become less of a hobby and more of an industry. During Mr. Kelly's lecture we briefly spoke about Gerald Posner. Posner wrote a NYTimes best selling book, Case Closed, that presented information against the leading JFK conspiracies, supporting the inclination that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone (which is most likely the truth). Not only did the book sell over 9000 copies in the first week, it crowned him a finalist for the 1994 Pulitzer Prize in History. See, there's a market for these things. 

WARNING: THESE INSTRUCTIONS ASSUME THAT YOU ARE FALSELY CREATING A CONSPIRACY THEORY. I AM NOT DENOTING THAT ALL CONSPIRACIES ARE FALSE, IN FACT SOME ACTUALLY TURN OUT TO BE TRUE.

HOW TO CREATE A CONSPIRACY THEORY
An article in Slate, provides that a research team found that "the strongest predictor of general belief in conspiracies, the authors found, was “lack of trust.” So,

STEP 1. FIND A TRAGIC EVENT IN WHICH THE EVIDENCE IS "TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE"
Frequently stated in Mr. Kelly's lecture, truth is indeed often more bizarre than fiction. 
This is where the next step comes in,

STEP 2. CREATE A THEORY THAT IS LESS BIZARRE THAN THE TRUTH
As seen in many of the JFK conspiracies that we discussed, the most common approach to supporting their theory was heavily exploiting "questionable" discrepancies (such as video evidence). Focus on the small things, forget the larger picture...

STEP 3. MARKETING MARKETING MARKETING
It is one thing to think of a conspiracy theory, it is another thing to sell it. Take your dinner conversations to the pub, the corner diner, and the coffee shop on main street. Get the people going. There is no comfort in the unknown, give them something to keep warm with at night. 

STEP 4. TELL YOUR STORY SO MUCH THAT YOU YOURSELF BELIEVE IT IS TRUE
Any good cars salesman will tell you, they would never sell you a car they wouldn't drive themselves. To avoid getting tricked by car salesmen check here.

STEP 5. RINSE AND REPEAT

After note: Put away your tin foil hats conspirers, your tricks are getting old. The next time you sit down to plot your next paycheck do some research.