The moon landing was faked. Paul McCarty died in 1966 and was replaced with a body double. Chemtrails are a thing. The earth is flat. Birds aren’t real. The Denver Airport is headquarters for the Illuminati.

Odds are you have at least one relative or friend who buys into one of these ideas. Heck, you might believe some of them yourself.

In general, conspiracy theories reject established narratives, implying that nefarious forces are manipulating events behind the scenes.

So why do otherwise intelligent people get drawn into fabricated stories? Dr. Karen Douglas, a social psychologist who studies conspiracy theories, offers three main motivations:

1. Certainty – People want to live in a world that makes sense, with clear causes and effects.
2. Security – People want to feel safe in their worldview and not out of control.
3. Justification – People want to feel good about themselves and the groups they belong to—including a sense of uniqueness and superiority (e.g. being “in the know” while others are not).

Note these are emotional needs. Capitalizing on the uncertain, insecure, and ambiguous world we live in, the authors of conspiracy theories—much like con artists—hone their ideologies to target and elicit strong emotional trust. Their main trick is making emotional trust look like cognitive or functional trust.

Though many conspiracy theories are harmless, some can be quite dangerous. They can be used to sow division, demonize marginalized groups, and even justify violence.

Here are a few tactics for navigating a world teeming with misinformation:

• Check your Sources. Be vigilant. How biased is your source and—importantly—how much does that bias line up with what you already want to believe? Before you believe it or share it, check multiple credible sources, even sources you don’t normally agree with.
• Look for Red Flags. Red flags in headlines include blatant appeals to emotion, opinions peddled as facts, assertions not backed up by evidence, and the use of polarizing language.
• Play a Game. Two Cambridge psychologists designed an online browser game where players take on the role of a fake news producer and learn to master six common misinformation techniques. After the game, players could more accurately identify and resist misinformation. Play the game here. See if you can beat my score of 15,156 followers.
• Don’t Judge. If you know someone who might be caught up in a conspiracy theory, don’t try to convince them they’re wrong or ignorant. Remember, conspiracy theories are feeding emotional needs, if you attack them, they can retreat further into a group that already makes them feel certain, secure, and justified. Instead, love on them…
• Show Real Trustworthiness. Be honest and vulnerable. Listen to them non-judgmentally. Be curious. Encourage critical thinking by asking open-ended questions. Be there for them; don’t cut them off. In other words, show yourself to be truly authentic, benevolent, competent, and dependable.

For Reflection: Which conspiracy theory do you find the most interesting? Why?

Update: 88% Proposal Complete

With over 60,000 words written, I’m currently focusing on putting my book proposal together. It was a rough week with some unexpected obstacles. I worked on the Sample Chapters this week, but only moved the needle 3% toward completion.

9/10 Content (10%)

9/10 Market (10%)

4/5 Author (5%)

24/25 Synopsis (25%)

42/50 Sample Chapters (50%)

88/100 Total (100%)