Conspiracy and the news

One of the main themes followed in Conspiracy Theory in Film, Television, and Politics is the gradual expansion of a conspiracy-minded culture in American society. Especially since World War II, numerous ambiguous or hazy events have encouraged the growth of this outlook. Hollywood's frequent use of the theme has reinforced the idea that we are surrounded by conspiracies.

The mixture of fact, conjecture, and fiction makes the truth hard to sort out. Whether focusing on recent controversies -- such as the debates about Barack Obama's birth certificate

and questions about mass H1N1 flu vaccinations -- or on questions from the past, there seems little question that conspiracy theories are thriving in modern America.

The news is a steady source of new material for conspiracy arguments. For example, Fidel Castro's sister -- a U.S. resident -- recently confirmed that long ago she cooperated with CIA efforts to overthrow her brother. (See a CNN report here.) Of course, the U.S. government’s long and convoluted struggle against the Castro regime in Cuba has fueled conspiracy theorizing on many occasions. The American desire for regime change there is well known, and details about some activities -- most notably the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion -- have been documented in much detail. But much has yet to be revealed, which adds to suspicion and speculation. The new revelations from Castro's sister will surely add an interesting dimension to those conversations.

And earlier this month, the controversy, murkiness, and questions raised by the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963 were also in the news once again. A New York Times article reported how the CIA continues to be vague and ambiguous, especially in terms of being completely forthcoming about the circumstances that surround the events of November 1963.

It seems likely that attention such as this will only fuel more conspiracy theorizing in America for some time to come.

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Image credit (above): Lee Harvey Oswald. Government photo, National Archives

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