this post was submitted on 26 May 2026
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Conspiracies used to be ironic things people did satirically (Birds are not real) and not actual belief systems with entire media spheres built around them (UFOs, Flat Earth).
They never were.
People repeating them on the internet used to do it ironically. But conspiracies always were actual belief systems and have always brought groups of people together to reinforce each other idiocies.
Nah conspiracies go way back. Delusional behavior and thinking has always been a standard feature for humanity, it's only relatively recently that it's become so visible. Satanic Panic, red scare, and UFO conspiracies were a relatively big thing throughout the mid to late 20th century - and still are. Illuminati conspiracies go back hundreds of years. There are at least several dozen more examples like this and that's only if you don't wanna get all religious with it and include stuff like the Millerites or the Popish Plot.