CONSPIRACY theories: we’ve heard them at the dinner table, we’ve forwarded them on WhatsApp, and we’ve debated them online and on talk shows. Proponents of conspiracy theories can be found in every country and every age group and social strata. It doesn’t matter if you’re educated or illiterate, rich or poor, white or black — there’s a conspiracy theory for you.

Take America as an example: A study by the University of Chicago indicated that at least 50pc of Americans believe in one conspiracy theory or another, although what they believe in depends on who they are. The ‘birthers’, who claim that President Obama is not a US citizen (with a subset convinced he is a secret Muslim), tend to be white and with right-wing political leanings. Those who believe crack cocaine is a CIA conspiracy to destroy black Americans tend to be, you guessed it, black Americans. In the Muslim world you will find that a worldwide Western-Zionist conspiracy is to blame for most, if not all, of our ills. And then there are the Illuminati, beloved by just about all conspiracy theorists everywhere.

The world is crazy enough to lend some of these beliefs credence. After all, the CIA did indeed experiment with mind-altering drugs and the US Centre for Disease Control did indeed infect black men with syphilis without their knowledge or consent. Governments have indeed made secret deals in backrooms that affected the lives of millions, creating wars and crises and toppling governments. Also, humans have an innate need to impose order on chaos and to question and analyse events around them — that’s a trait that has taken us from being hunter-gatherers to beings capable of space travel.

We’re crazy enough to lend some beliefs credence.

But the dedicated theorist finds conspiracies everywhere, from climate change to regime change to street protests by local political parties, tying them all together in a neat package that leaves absolutely no loose ends.

Some researchers point to a link between anxiety and conspiracy theories, others claim people suffering from low self-esteem are more prone to believing such. Still others posit that those with narcissistic tendencies are given to believing and disseminating such theories. This may all be true, but the main reason we believe is because conspiracies are comforting.

It’s a relief to think that the world moves according to a plan, no matter how nefarious it may be. It is a comfort to know that there’s someone out there pulling the strings.

It’s comforting because chaos is a scary thing indeed; it’s frightening to consider that we live in a world governed by chance, where the only real constant is inconstancy. It is difficult to accept that our lives are largely governed (and can be abruptly cut short) by random events that we have little or no control over.

Belief in conspiracy theory is also liberating, paradoxical as that may seem. If events are engineered by an all-powerful cabal then there’s really nothing we can do about them. If sectarian strife in the Muslim world is the result of a vast conspiracy, then there is no use in trying to look for and correct other causes. Playing the victim offers a way out, because when you blame the world for all your troubles you essentially abdicate any personal responsibility.

It’s also empowering; the feeling that you are lone warriors fighting against dark and terrible forces really gets the adrenaline pumping. You’re no longer just some random person forwarding inane messages online; you’re a crusader for truth and justice.

And that means you’re a part of something greater than yourself, something we all quite naturally aspire towards.

That’s where the trouble begins – as is natural, we seek out others who think like us and share our values. One conspiracy theorist will seek others to reaffirm and develop his own views. That’s where confirmation bias sets in, the tendency to search for or interpret information in a way that confirms one’s preconceptions. The result is that one quickly finds oneself in a virtual echo chamber, where every voice mirrors one’s own.

Let that process continue too long, and what was once a marginal view becomes mainstream — or close to it — with rather dangerous consequences.

Take the example of Donald Trump; much of the support he enjoys would not exist had there not been an established base of conspiracy theorists talking about how climate change is a scam, or that the Muslim brotherhood was infiltrating the US government. When Trump utters his half-truths, innuendos and outright lies, these people see it as an affirmation of what they have always believed. Here, and in similar examples, lays the true danger of the post-factual world we live in: that if enough people believe something false, it practically becomes the truth while the actual truth becomes a conspiracy theory. And then the voices of reason can only be found in the wilderness.

The writer is a journalist.

Twitter: @zarrarkhuhro

Published in Dawn October 17th, 2016