Long covid effect? Conspiracy theories are thriving in the US

The US government's past record inspires little public confidence

- FAYE D. FLAM

Millions of Americans believe that invisible entities are driving the country's domestic politics—shadowy deep-state actors that are allegedly controlling events, hiding toxins in our food and water and peddling dangerous and even deadly vaccines. These conspiracy theories have helped propel people like Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to prominence with their promises to provide transparency and save us from these threats.

Polling data indeed shows that 41% of Americans believe a deep state exists; more than half—as many as 54%—suspect multiple actors were involved in the assassination of former US President John F. Kennedy in 1963.

Their skepticism doesn't come out of nowhere. History has given Americans a lengthy list of reasons to distrust their government. Our leaders lied about the Vietnam War. The rationale for invading Iraq was built on lies. Big pharmaceutical companies have harmed us with their products, from Vioxx to OxyContin.

Yet, while headlines proclaim that conspiracy theories have gone mainstream, a closer look at the data and US history shows something less pathological. Americans hold a broad spectrum of beliefs, from radical conspiracy theories at one extreme to reasonable concerns about abuses of power in government and big business.