Why do people believe in conspiracy theories?

Conspiratorial thinking: The rise of the internet and social media have magnified unfounded "alternative versions" of events and spread them through the population. – 123rf.com

WATCHING the Jan 6 committee hearings, one could be forgiven for believing we're living in the heyday of conspiracy theories, between the Holocaust denialism of the Oath Keepers, the loony paedophilia fears of the QAnoners and the "Stop the Steal" ravings of Sidney Powell, Rudolph W. Giuliani and former President Donald Trump himself.

But don't be too sure. Conspiracy theories have a long history. They date back to the Emperor Nero and the great fire of Rome, for instance, and to the ritual murder accusations against Jews in medieval Europe. They're as American as the witchcraft trials in Salem, Massachusetts.