lpetrich
Contributor
Opinion | Will you fall into the conspiracy theory rabbit hole? Take our quiz and find out. - Washington Post
The quiz questions were on conspiracy theories, which ones does one believe. Some of the conspiracies are real and well-documented, others are poorly supported or discredited.
1: Jeffrey Epstein was murdered (50%); JFK was killed by a conspiracy (44%); the FBI spied on civil-rights leaders to discredit them (*); the world's real rulers are some secret group (35%)
2. Republicans cheated to win in 2000, 2004, 2016 (27%); Hillary Clinton sent nuclear-bomb materials to Russia (28%); during Reagan's presidency, some officials sold weapons to Iran and funded Nicaraguan revolutionaries with it (*); Obama faked his citizenship (birtherism) (20%)
3. Genetically-modified food dangers hidden (45%); US Gov't secretly dosed people with LSD in experiments (MKUltra) (*); the AIDS virus was genetically engineered on purpose (22%); the COVID-19 virus was genetically engineered on purpose (31%)
4. School shootings are "false flag" ops done by the gov't (17%); the number of Jews killed by the Nazis was exaggerated on purpose (15%); Satanic sex traffickers control the gov't (14%); None of them (*)
5. The US Gov't did not treat some black men's syphilis (the Tuskegee experiments) (*); Donald Trump faked his COVID-19 to get re-elected (26%); Donald Trump colluded with Russia to get elected (37%)
6. The Rothschilds control gov'ts with their wealth (29%); there is a "deep state" in our gov't (43%); fossil-fuel companies knew that global warming would happen and they spread misinformation to deflect blame (*)
Conspiracy theories often have this three-part form:
(Powerful people) (use deceitful or shadowy means) (to benefit themselves or harm the public)
In conclusion,
The quiz questions were on conspiracy theories, which ones does one believe. Some of the conspiracies are real and well-documented, others are poorly supported or discredited.
1: Jeffrey Epstein was murdered (50%); JFK was killed by a conspiracy (44%); the FBI spied on civil-rights leaders to discredit them (*); the world's real rulers are some secret group (35%)
2. Republicans cheated to win in 2000, 2004, 2016 (27%); Hillary Clinton sent nuclear-bomb materials to Russia (28%); during Reagan's presidency, some officials sold weapons to Iran and funded Nicaraguan revolutionaries with it (*); Obama faked his citizenship (birtherism) (20%)
3. Genetically-modified food dangers hidden (45%); US Gov't secretly dosed people with LSD in experiments (MKUltra) (*); the AIDS virus was genetically engineered on purpose (22%); the COVID-19 virus was genetically engineered on purpose (31%)
4. School shootings are "false flag" ops done by the gov't (17%); the number of Jews killed by the Nazis was exaggerated on purpose (15%); Satanic sex traffickers control the gov't (14%); None of them (*)
5. The US Gov't did not treat some black men's syphilis (the Tuskegee experiments) (*); Donald Trump faked his COVID-19 to get re-elected (26%); Donald Trump colluded with Russia to get elected (37%)
6. The Rothschilds control gov'ts with their wealth (29%); there is a "deep state" in our gov't (43%); fossil-fuel companies knew that global warming would happen and they spread misinformation to deflect blame (*)
Conspiracy theories often have this three-part form:
(Powerful people) (use deceitful or shadowy means) (to benefit themselves or harm the public)
In conclusion,
Congrats, you've aced this quiz! But even if the questions here were obvious to you, about 9 in 10 Americans would likely fail at least once — probably someone you know and love is one of them.
Even reasonable people fall for conspiracy theories. During George W. Bush’s presidency, half of Democrats said Bush let the 9/11 attacks happen so he could start wars. Two-thirds of Republicans believe the “big lie” — that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump.
These theories have consequences. Since the 2020 election, Republicans have pursued election “audits” — recounts aimed at casting doubt on Joe Biden’s win. Other conspiracy theories, such as anti-vaccine narratives, threaten public health.
Eventually, you’ll run into a conspiracy theory that appeals to you politically or psychologically. So be careful and double-check your sources — or you could fall down the rabbit hole, too.