Conspiracy theories; some are stupid, but some are interesting, intellectual, and mind-provoking. Consider this…television’s popularity sky-rocketed in the 1960’s. Senator John F. Kennedy battled Vice President Richard Nixon in the first ever Presidential candidate telecast. The first live murder caught on video was that of President John Kennedy. Turns out, the JFK assassination was one of the most controversial conspiracy theories of all time. The monumental moment of the NASA astronauts landing on the moon was viewed by 94% of the U.S. television population. Note also that the 9/11 attacks were all caught on tape and still images were taken at the Pentagon and Pennsylvania case. Conspiracies started surfacing not only but a few years after the initial attack. Theorist are able to take these videos and still images and tort the meaning and truth. It allows them also to spread their case to a larger audience whether that be through print or internet by using visual mediums. The theorists behind conspiracies, such as the Kennedy Assassination and the 9/11 Attacks, are aimed at achieving popular control, manipulating public consensus and influencing public attitudes by providing alternatives to messages given by the media. The power of being connected to the internet allows these theorist to send out false messages to the largest audience known. We are all connected.
