Coincidence and conspiracy theories

By Kent R. Kroeger (March 21, 2020)

Reproduction of an original flyer distributed by Keep America Committee (1955)

For three years the U.S. news media wasted our time promulgating a conspiracy theory that candidate Donald Trump and his campaign conspired with the Russians to steal the 2016 presidential election.

It was never true. Not even a little bit true. It was a conspiracy theory built on half-truths, coincidences, profit motives and malicious, partisan intentions.

And now, with the coronavirus pandemic, we are witnessing a new bull market for conspiracy theories:

• In the midst of a contentious trade war with China, the U.S. military planted the coronavirus in China to weaken their position,
• The Chinese military used the coronavrius outbreak to end the democracy protests in Hong Kong,
• The coronavirus was released due to a lab accident in Wuhan, China,
• The pharmaceutical companies created the coronavirus knowing they already had the drugs necessary to treat it (thereby enriching themselves),

There are many more conspiracy theories about the coronavirus. Too many. All predicated on nothing more than circumstantial evidence — mere coincidences — and implanted into the world’s information bloodstream where they prosper, morph, and instill a pernicious type of distrust in a vulnerable…