Talk:List of political conspiracies

definition
Is this definition accurate? "In a political sense, conspiracy refers to a group of persons united in the goal of usurping or overthrowing an established political power." This appears to include all civil wars and many full-scale rebellions. If so, isn't that too broad? Also, it appears to exclude situations in which a group of people unite with some goal of secretly and illegally obtaining power or wealth but they do not try to usurp or overthrow the established power. Or are my examples applicable only to conspiracy in some sense other than the political sense? 67.188.32.106 (talk) 03:46, 11 March 2008 (UTC)
 * completely agreed --boarders paradise (talk) 01:53, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

The definition is inappropriately narrow and has no source.
 * In a political sense, conspiracy refers to a group of people united in the goal of usurping or overthrowing an established political power. Typically, the final goal is to gain power through a revolutionary coup d'état or through assassination.

The community has added many things to this list that the definition above does not encompass. Thus: — Yellowcake forgery [51]
 * 1898 - The Dreyfus Affair, a coordinated attempt to falsely accuse Alfred Dreyfus of treason [14]
 * 1903 - The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, presented as authentic text by the Tsar's secret police efforts to foment anti-Semitism [15]
 * 1914 - The Black Hand, a secret society controlled by Serbian Military Intelligence, coordinates the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, thus causing World War I.
 * 1932 to 1972 - Tuskegee syphilis experiment, to study natural progression of untreated syphilis in black men who thought they were receiving free health care [16]
 * 1936 to 1950 - Presumed General Motors streetcar conspiracy [17]
 * 1938 - Presumed Hitler Youth Conspiracy, NKVD case in Moscow involving some 70 arrests and 40 executions of teenagers and adults, later found to be baseless [18]
 * 1939 - Operation Himmler and its Gleiwitz incident, "False Flag" terrorism by Nazi Germany as pretext for invasion of Poland
 * 1941 - British wartime plan PR4 to invade and to occupy neutral Norway also code-named "Stratford"
 * 1941 - Bombing of Pearl Harbour, Hawaii by the Japanese [21][22]
 * 1948- to 1976 - Operation Mockingbird, until then CIA director George H. W. Bush prohibited paid media recruiting [25][26]
 * 1942 - Wannsee Conference, related to Final Solution of 3rd Reich Nazis [27]
 * 1948 to early 1980s Operation Gladio CIA-NATO 'stay-behind' preparations [30][31]
 * 1953 to ? - MKULTRA mind control program [32]
 * 1962 - Operation Northwoods - A rejected proposal for the CIA to commit acts of terrorism in U.S. cities and elsewhere.[35]
 * 1969 to 1972 Secret war in Laos, and Operation Menu in Cambodia, concealed from Congressional oversight [37]
 * 1972 - Watergate scandal, burglary and cover-up scandals [38]
 * 1983 - October surprise [41][42]
 * 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack [43]
 * 1987 - Iran-Contra Affair [44][45]
 * 1991 - Nayirah testimony to rally U.S. public support to launch the Gulf War [46]
 * 1967 to 1974 - Strategy of tension theory in re series of incidents in Italy [47]
 * 2000s - Operation Merlini [48]
 * 2002 - Downing Street Memo [49][50]
 * 2002 September Dossier to justify Iraq invasion
 * 2003 - Iraq and weapons of mass destruction pretext for War in Iraq[52]
 * 2007 - 2015 PRISM (surveillance program)

Therefore, I propose we relax the definition to encompass the list of subjects the community would obviously prefer to have listed here. Here is a proposal for a new definition:
 * In a political sense, conspiracy refers to the plan by a group of people to commit some harmful or illegal act. By its nature (and by the origin of the word), secrecy is almost always a significant part of the picture.  The conspirators may be among people employed by the government, by people not so employed, or any combination thereof.  The conspiracy may be against the government, against the people, to violate the law, or some combination of those goals. The word "conspiracy" may be applied to a plan between the heads (or agents) of multiple nations to embarrass some other nation not present, but the word is not usually applied to plans within a country or between countries to make war on another country.

This page could encompass two divisions: Conspiracies that have proved or admitted, and conspiracies that are as yet unproved and only alleged. This page should not have descriptions of the conspiracies, but simply links to individual pages, as necessary, where full descriptions and controversies are described.

I also propose we make this a more formal table, something like this: Slade Farney (talk) 00:26, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

jfk
"there is proof of a conspiracy?" uh...no there isnt...I'm removing that reference 70.231.162.96 (talk) 05:29, 16 June 2008 (UTC)

Name
Would "List of political conspiracies" be better, avoiding the parenthetical? I think so. Verbal chat  15:03, 19 October 2009 (UTC)


 * I like List of notable conspiracies. Otherwise we'll might encourage Original research as to whether a conspiracy is "political." --Ludvikus (talk) 19:06, 19 October 2009 (UTC)


 * I'm afraid "notable" is strongly discouraged in titles, and, if "political" is not to be used, then it needs to be merged into List of conspiracies (even if it doesn't currently exist), rather than being renamed. — Arthur Rubin  (talk) 20:39, 19 October 2009 (UTC)


 * Arthur Rubin, I agree with you now. I support your last proposal. It appears sound to me. However, are you going to include in the list those Conspiracies which weren't? If most scholars say there was not conspiracy, but there's a belief that there was - are you ging to include in the list by that name, suggesting the conspiracy was real? --Ludvikus (talk) 21:03, 19 October 2009 (UTC)
 * Arthur Rubin, how about this: List of conspiracies (real or imagined)? --Ludvikus (talk) 21:04, 19 October 2009 (UTC)


 * There are a lot of mistakes above. Arthur, what you are referring to is the difference between an (actual) conspiracy and an (unconfirmed) conspiracy theory. And there is no use for List of conspiracies (real or imagined), we already have http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_conspiracy_theories
 * Furthermore, conspiracies are inherently political (what conspiracy isn't!?), that's simply in their nature. Therefore I would suggest simply using "List of conspiracies" as the topic title, not "List of conspiracies (political)" --boarders paradise (talk) 02:03, 21 May 2010 (UTC)
 * "List of political conspiracies" is a clearer description of what's presented here. Most conspiracies are not political in the sense of relating directly to the government. (See: Conspiracy (crime)) Also, overthrowing an established power is not an inherent aspect of conspiracies (even only political conspiracies). The coherence of the category is a bit questionable, really. groupuscule (talk) 04:16, 8 July 2013 (UTC)

Bio-bombs are WMDs too.
According to the Karl Rove, John Bolton and Atomic Agency; the Iran-Iraq War forces used a lot of dirty bombs and chemical warfare. Iraq had clouds that destroyed a quarter of a city's population and whatever it passes. [en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_warfare] I don't know which politicians want you to believe that WMDs are exclusive to atomic bombs...

Terror conspiracies
Terror conspiracies are a hot new topic in the terrified states: 3 Charged With Terror Conspiracy Ahead of NATO --Pawyilee (talk) 15:31, 19 May 2012 (UTC)

Great-great-great-&c.
Surely The Great North-Western Conspiracy in All Its Startling Details in 1865 is the great-great-great-great-granddaddy of North American conspiracy theories, but notable today only as footnote #2 in the origin of going "to hell in a handbasket." --Pawyilee (talk) 10:14, 10 June 2012 (UTC)

Former "List of proven conspiracies"
See http://conspiraciesthatweretrue.blogspot.se/2007/01/list-of-proven-conspiracies-from.html. I think some of these can be added to List of conspiracies (political), especially if source can be provided. Mange01 (talk) 22:15, 24 March 2013 (UTC)

conspiracyarchives.com
Readers come to this page seeking conspiracies. This is relevant sources. In answer to your question. GangofOne (talk) 08:33, 20 April 2015 (UTC)

Expanded List
I would like the community to consider and comment on this expanded list of political conspiracies for eventual inclusion in the article to replace the current list. I would also request help in confirming that I have not missed anything. Please comment.

Here is the definition I am using. Please edit this sandbox article in place to keep down the confusion. Grammar&#39;sLittleHelper (talk) 07:57, 23 July 2015 (UTC)
 * Grammar&#39;sLittleHelper: I'm not likely to help much with line-by-line fact checking, but this looks really good. I'm OK with moving it over to the article side and tweaking it there. - Location (talk) 04:05, 29 July 2015 (UTC)
 * I do like the format, but per Capitalismojo's comments below, it does appear that many of these items are not described as "political conspiracies" in reliable sources. It almost appears as though this is a list of anything not defined as criminal conspiracy. Are there any academic references specifically addressing "political conspiracies"? - Location (talk) 15:17, 30 July 2015 (UTC)
 * Many of these are historical incidents, military or intelligence operations that were secret but aren't generally considered or described as "conspiracies". We need reliable sources describing them as actuall conspiracies to add such to this list. Capitalismojo (talk) 15:21, 30 July 2015 (UTC)
 * Capitalismojo,Location, The source describing each incident as conspiracy is in the second column. That is the purpose of that column.  The issue of "political conspiracy" has always been open. The current page defines the term, without source: "In a political sense, conspiracy refers to a group of people united in the goal of usurping or overthrowing an established political power. Typically, the final goal is to gain power through a revolutionary coup d'état or through assassination."  That is some Wikipedian's definition.  But the Wannsee Conference is always described as a conspiracy -- Do we need a source to use the phrase "political conspiracy"?  How can anyone say it was not political?  This is a list page, not exactly an encyclopedia page.  Wikipedia creates lists of convenient categories, not mere echoes of  collections established by others. Grammar&#39;sLittleHelper (talk) 16:53, 4 August 2015 (UTC)
 * A core principle of Wikipedia is Verify, so yes we need a ref for inclusion on a list of "conspiracies", which should be easy. Here, for example, is a ref for Wannsee, although since the Nurmberg Trials also used the term "conspiracy" for this there should be many others. Capitalismojo (talk) 18:40, 4 August 2015 (UTC)
 * Is this a list of alleged conspiracies or ones that are generally considered "confirmed" by reliable sources? The Business Plot would be the one I'm looking at (and I do note that Capitalismojo removed it from the list when this expanded list was first copied over).  Our article is extremely dismissive, and it does include the same source as mentioned in this list. Ravensfire ( talk ) 19:46, 4 August 2015 (UTC)
 * This is not a list of alleged conspiracies. It is a list of conspiracies. Re the Business Plot, we shouldn't be adding things described as a hoax or wild speculation to this list. Capitalismojo (talk) 19:50, 4 August 2015 (UTC)
 * I think we would have a much easier time finding sources if this were simply List of conspiracies. - Location (talk) 21:05, 4 August 2015 (UTC)
 * Please consult the sources in the second column, "Auth." I have agreed previously the "business plot" should not be in the list.  However, the main page has nothing in the lede to indicate business plot is a "hoax," and the general impression from that page is that the business plot is history, though it was smoothed over.  I believe that should be fixed on the main page.  So to return to the main theme, this is a list of political conspiracies, that is, conspiracies that were designed to change the destiny of nations and the course of politics.  Not criminal conspiracies, else the list would be way too long.  Grammar&#39;sLittleHelper (talk) 08:06, 5 August 2015 (UTC)
 * "Political conspiracy" is still ill- or non-defined, but it appears as though we are making up definitions that include the term "political" rather than finding some that do. What about criminal acts that are committed for apparent political reasons, but are not cited as "political conspiracies"? Montana Freeman is one you have noted. What about the kidnapping and murder of Alex Rackley by the Black Panthers, or the hiking of Western Airlines Flight 701, or Marin County courthouse incident? You have that the "Vang Pao Clandestine Army / Operation Tarnished Eagle" or 2007 Laotian coup d'état conspiracy allegation was conducted to "Free the Laotian people of the abusive government". The definition of "conspiracy" in the context you are attempting to use typically suggests some malevolent outcome for the act. - Location (talk) 14:17, 5 August 2015 (UTC)
 * Malevolent or illegal attempt to affect a political end -- such is the definition of conspiracy. It's a list, not an authoritative statement.  The preamble is a definition of the list, not of the term.  You might not find the Assassination of Philip II of Macedon to be expressly described by anyone as a "political conspiracy."  Yet it was done for a political motive and purpose, and it was a conspiracy.  I believe this search for authorities is not applied to any other Wikipedia list.  WP:Lists: Stand-alone lists should begin with a lead section that summarizes its content, provides any necessary background information, gives encyclopedic context, links to other relevant articles, and makes direct statements about the criteria by which members of the list were selected, unless inclusion criteria are unambiguously clear from the article title. This introductory material is especially important for lists that feature little or no other non-list prose in their article body. Even when the selection criteria might seem obvious to some, an explicit standard is often helpful to both readers, to understand the scope, and other editors, to reduce the tendency to include trivial or off-topic entries.  See Featured_list_criteria. The construction of the list is defined by those who make the list, not by a requirement for an authority to have previously categorized the items under the term.  For example, when including a bridge in List of bridges to the Island of Montreal, we do not have to cite an authority who used the term "island of Montreal" when describing that particular bridge. Please consult those references. Grammar&#39;sLittleHelper (talk) 18:39, 5 August 2015 (UTC)
 * Where did that definition come from? I don't understand the refusal to find and cite scholarly definitions, then create an article around them. The better idea is to create Conspiracy (political science) and use the various definitions used in political science or other academic books which often explicitly state that they are not referring to the legal definitions in Conspiracy (civil) and Conspiracy (criminal). In that manner, we can embed a list of conspiracies that are discussed in those sources or other sources in the same context without resorting to an original interpretation of what we perceive to be a "political conspiracy" based on our own definition. - Location (talk) 20:30, 5 August 2015 (UTC)
 * Great. But I predict we will wind up with the same list that includes the Watergate break-in, the assassination of Phillip II, the Wannsee Conference, and everything in between.  When will that page be constructed? Grammar&#39;sLittleHelper (talk) 00:24, 6 August 2015 (UTC)

List of Political Conspiracies
A political conspiracy is an agreement among two or more people to effect a political goal through some harmful or illegal act against a political leader, a sector of the populace, or a country's laws. The term is used variously within that general description. A conspiracy often involves secrecy, but there are major exceptions. In any case, secrecy is relative and not strictly necessary in the legal definition. The American Revolutionary War, for example, was considered a "conspiracy" by the British, who were certainly aware of its existence though not of all details. As a term, political conspiracy has been used to describe plots by employees of the government (as in the Watergate scandal or the Iran-Contra scandal), by people not so employed (as in the 1993 WTC bombing), or by a combination (as in Project MKULTRA). The word "conspiracy" has been applied to plots between the heads (or agents) of multiple nations to harm or embarrass some other nation not present (such as Operation Gladio), but not usually to plots to declare conventional war on another country (as with the Bombing of Pearl Harbor) or to conduct low level espionage (of which there have been uncountable instances). Provoking war by deception or trickery is often termed a conspiracy, as in the cases of the Yellowcake Forgery and the September Dossier.

A conspiracy may be illegal but not harmful (as with Fighting Solidarity and the Slave Rebellions in North America), or harmful but not illegal (as with the Native American Holocaust and Slavery in North America). A conspiracy may be committed by the government against the people or a sector of the population (as with Project Mockingbird, Wannsee Conference, and the Armenian Genocide). As with the legal US definition, conspiracy does not require all conspirators to know all others in the same conspiracy -- in politics, numbers alone might make knowledge of all others impossible. Some conspiracies (such as the Underground Railroad and the French Resistance) deliberately limit the information available to any individual so that the damage is limited if the conspiracy is breached. For each event listed here, scholarly sources are provided on the individual page to which the event name is linked. As with many Wiki lists, the purpose of this page is to provide a general reference rather than to substantiate or explain each incident in detail.

The events listed here are selected for the following criteria:
 * 1) Each is generally recognized to be true rather than speculative or controversial
 * 2) Each meets the definition of political conspiracy given above
 * 3) Each has been described in some detail elsewhere in the Wikipedia with scholarly references

Political conspiracies through history
Dates are according to standard Christian dating system. A negative number in the Date column indicates BC. An asterisk indicates the activity is still ongoing. The "Auth" column is for noting primary (not necessarily all) sources that define the incident as a conspiracy. The "Name" column gives the name by which the incident is commonly known, linked to the Wikipedia page that details the event.

This list includes by reference (only) the hundreds of entries in the University of Maryland's Terrorist Organization Database. Some of the items in the original list are not included in this table because they do not satisfy all of the above conditions. The events omitted are these:
 * 1) 1936 to 1950 – Presumed General Motors streetcar conspiracy
 * - not shown by the source page to be a political conspiracy, nor were the sources in agreement that a conspiracy was involved


 * 1) 1938 – Presumed Hitler Youth Conspiracy, NKVD case in Moscow involving some 70 arrests and 40 executions of teenagers and adults, later found to be baseless
 * - source page indicates the event did not happen


 * 1) 1941 – British wartime plan PR4 to invade and to occupy neutral Norway also code-named "Stratford"
 * - wartime plans and strategies between warring parties are not commonly classified as conspiracies


 * 1) 1941 – Bombing of Pearl Harbour, Hawaii by the Japanese [21][22]
 * - not uniformly recognized to be a conspiracy of US interests, and as a Japanese act of war, not commonly classed as a conspiracy


 * 1) 2000s – Operation Merlini
 * - Wikipedia page of sources and details not found


 * 1) 2003  - Iraq and weapons of mass destruction pretext for War in Iraq
 * - sources disagree on whether WMDs were found, hence, whether this was a conspiracy to defraud the public; event is largely included in the September Dossier', which IS listed'

Notable political conspiracies

 * 1st century BC - Catiline conspiracies
 * 44 BC - Liberatores plot assassination of Julius Caesar to restore Roman Republic
 * AD 65 - Pisonian conspiracy
 * Late 15th century (1478) Pazzi conspiracy, which included the Pope
 * 1506 - Conspiracy against the life of the brothers Alfonso I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara and Cardinal Ippolito d'Este, coordinated by their half brother Giulio d'Este and full brother Ferrante d'Este
 * 1570 - Ridolfi plot against Elizabeth I of England
 * 1583 - Throckmorton Plot to murder Elizabeth and replace her with her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots
 * 1586 - Babington Plot, second major plot against Elizabeth, that led most directly to execution of Mary, Queen of Scots
 * 1603 - Main Plot to remove James I of England and enthrone Arbella Stuart
 * &mdash; Bye Plot, leads to the execution of Sir George Brooke


 * 1605 - Gunpowder Plot to blow up the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament as prelude to a popular revolt in the Midlands, during which James's nine-year-old daughter, Princess Elizabeth, was to be installed as the Catholic head of state; often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot; origin of Guy Fawkes Day
 * 1788 - Anjala conspiracy
 * 1865 - Abraham Lincoln assassination plot, to include assassination of cabinet members
 * 1898 - The Dreyfus Affair, a coordinated attempt to falsely accuse Alfred Dreyfus of treason
 * 1903 - The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, presented as authentic text by the Tsar's secret police efforts to foment anti-Semitism
 * 1914 - The Black Hand, a secret society controlled by Serbian Military Intelligence, coordinates the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, thus causing World War I.
 * 1932 to 1972 - Tuskegee syphilis experiment, to study natural progression of untreated syphilis in black men who thought they were receiving free health care
 * 1936 to 1950 - Presumed General Motors streetcar conspiracy
 * 1938 - Presumed Hitler Youth Conspiracy, NKVD case in Moscow involving some 70 arrests and 40 executions of teenagers and adults, later found to be baseless
 * 1939 - Operation Himmler and its Gleiwitz incident, "False Flag" terrorism by Nazi Germany as pretext for invasion of Poland
 * &mdash; Shelling of Mainila, "False Flag" terrorism by USSR as pretext for Winter War


 * 1943 - Bomb on Hitler's aircraft, an attempt on Adolf Hitler
 * 1941 - British wartime plan PR4 to invade and to occupy neutral Norway also code-named "Stratford"
 * 1941 - Bombing of Pearl Harbour, Hawaii by the Japanese
 * 1944 - July 20 Plot, attempt to assassinate Hitler with suitcase bomb, and then use Operation Valkyrie to grab power
 * 1948- to 1976 - Operation Mockingbird, until then CIA director George H. W. Bush prohibited paid media recruiting
 * 1942 - Wannsee Conference, related to Final Solution of 3rd Reich Nazis
 * 1945 - Operation Paperclip, extraction of top Nazi scientists (incl. SS Nazi Party members)
 * 1948 to early 1980s Operation Gladio CIA-NATO 'stay-behind' preparations
 * 1953 to ? - MKULTRA mind control program
 * 1953 - 1953 Iranian coup d'état Anglo-American conspiracy under the names of 'Operation Ajax' (CIA ) and 'Operation Boot' (MI6)
 * 1954 - Lavon affair Operation Susannah, "False Flag" terrorism by Mossad
 * 1960s - Project GAMMA allusion to attempts to assassinate Norodom Sihanouk, called Project CHERRY
 * 1962 - Operation Northwoods - A rejected proposal for the CIA to commit acts of terrorism in U.S. cities and elsewhere.
 * 1968 - The Markovic affair, French Secret Service Gaullist plot destabilise future president Georges Pompidou
 * 1969 to 1972 Secret war in Laos, and Operation Menu in Cambodia, concealed from Congressional oversight
 * 1972 - Watergate scandal, burglary and cover-up scandals
 * 1982 Brighton Bombings
 * 1982 - Fighting Solidarity
 * 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack
 * 1987 - Iran-Contra Affair
 * &mdash; Various CIA involvements in overseas coups d'état


 * 1991 - Nayirah testimony to rally U.S. public support to launch the Gulf War
 * 1967 to 1974 - Strategy of tension theory in re series of incidents in Italy
 * 2000s - Operation Merlini
 * 2002 - Downing Street Memo
 * 2001 successful conspiracy by Al-Qaeda to destroy the World Trade Center
 * 2002 September Dossier to justify Iraq invasion
 * &mdash; Yellowcake forgery


 * 2003 - Iraq and weapons of mass destruction pretext for War in Iraq

MLK
I removed the entry on the assassination of MLK. The article cites the HSCA as proof of a conspiracy in the death of MLK. As they did with JFK, the HSCA recommended that the DoJ take a second look. And as they did with JFK, the DoJ did and found no evidence of conspiracy. - Location (talk) 06:21, 30 July 2015 (UTC)

BOLD edit reverted
The addition of an unref'd essay containing opinion and OR to the lead is the first of the problems with the BOLD edit. This is a list the previous intro could possibly been expanded, the proposed essay is inappropriate. This was not merely "expanding the list", and the proposed expansion includes many, many items that are not described in RS as "conspiracies". Capitalismojo (talk) 15:07, 30 July 2015 (UTC)
 * I'm partially to blame in that I gave my support to the new format for the list. In hindsight, you are correct. - Location (talk) 15:20, 30 July 2015 (UTC)
 * I too liked the look and format but... Capitalismojo (talk) 15:23, 30 July 2015 (UTC)

Definition and lede
Conspiracy is a disambiguation page that notes three types of conspiracy: 1) Conspiracy (civil), 2) Conspiracy (criminal), and 3) Conspiracy (political), which redirects, or is rather now directly linked, to the page we are on now: List of political conspiracies. There are a few academic texts that offer definitions of "conspiracy" and note that they aren't referring to the legal definitions. I think we need to compile some definitions and consider a different disamb term if needed. - Location (talk) 15:44, 5 August 2015 (UTC)

Nancy Maclean's Book
Book: Nancy Maclean's "Democracy in Chains: the deep history of the radical right’s stealth plan for America"

Placing this here for discussion and potentially, article expansion. http://www.monbiot.com/2017/07/21/missing-link/ --Danimations (talk) 09:01, 29 July 2017 (UTC)
 * It appears Maclean is tying the influence of James M. Buchanan and his libertarian views to the rise of the Trump administration. She might be pushing a form of the vast right-wing conspiracy, but I haven't read it and don't intend to read it to find out. I'm not sure that political parties and their supporters acting in a concerted way for some end - like what HC alluded to in VRWC - meets the nefarious aspects of "political conspiracy".-Location (talk) 15:36, 29 July 2017 (UTC)

Page for cite re ‘conspiracy theory’?
@, Do you have a page ref for the Uscinski and Parent cite? Thx, Humanengr (talk) 11:16, 7 September 2018 (UTC)
 * yes -- https://www.amazon.com/American-Conspiracy-Theories-Joseph-Uscinski/dp/0199351813 Rjensen (talk) 12:16, 7 September 2018 (UTC)
 * That seems to just get me to the book. Page? Humanengr (talk) 13:17, 7 September 2018 (UTC)
 * @, Thx for inserting the page cite. Where on pp. 32-34 did you get the reference to 'political'? Humanengr (talk) 17:44, 7 September 2018 (UTC)
 * it's on p 31. -- they use the term "political" on 130 pages of their book. Rjensen (talk) 21:15, 7 September 2018 (UTC)

Thx, I suspected p. 31 is what you might cite. You will note, however, that the sentence "We define conspiracy as a secret arrangement between two or more actors to usurp political or economic power, violate established rights, hoard vital secrets, or unlawfully alter government institutions.[cite]" 1) defines 'conspiracy' not 'conspiracy theory' and 2) covers more than 'political'.

But more pointedly, on p.32: "For conspiracy theory, we use a standard definition: an explanation of historical, ongoing, or future events that cites as a main causal factor a small group of powerful persons, the conspirators, acting in secret for their own benefit against the common good.[cite]"

and on p. 33: "While “conspiracy” refers to events that have occurred or are occurring, “conspiracy theory” refers to accusatory perceptions that may or may not be true."

The above is the standard definition.

Two sentences following, there is this: "But for the time being, let us employ a standard discussed by Neil Levy for distinguishing be tween conspiracies and conspiracy theories. His premise is …"

Everything after that is customized for purposes of this study. Humanengr (talk) 00:26, 8 September 2018 (UTC)

Examples and/or inclusion criteria seem rather arbitrary
This list includes several terrorist attacks. By the definition given in the lede, pretty much all terrorist acts involving more than one person would qualify, so I think there needs to be either a better definition, or a better reason why the specific listed ones are included. Iapetus (talk) 09:32, 6 May 2020 (UTC)
 * All terrorist attacks include some kind of conspiracy, but they are alredy included to other lists. Yes, something should be changed. My very best wishes (talk) 15:55, 14 July 2021 (UTC)