The Difference Between a Conspiracy Theorist and a Conspiratologist

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

The Difference Between a Conspiracy Theorist and a Conspiratologist

By Norio Hayakawa
10-23-09

In the dictionary the word “conspiratology” has not been officially recognized.

It is a word that was claimed to have been coined by several individuals over the last couple of decades.

To the best of my knowledge, one of the first persons to have coined that word was Gary Schultz of Santa Monica, California, who was a former colleague of mine in the early 1990s when I was leading an informal group called the Civilian Intelligence Network.

Here is my definition of “conspiratology”:

Conspiratology is a comprehensive study on the origins, the role and effects of beliefs in conspiracy theories on society.

It is a general study on why beliefs in conspiracy theories or conspiratorial worldview are deeply ingrained in the psyche of a segment of human society.

(The Newsweek Magazine made a comment a few years ago that beliefs in conspiracy theories have become as American as apple pie.)

There are many conspiracy theorists but conspiratologists seem to be few in number.

It is important to bear in mind that a conspiratologist himself may or may not necessarily subscribe to any conspiracy theory. However, if he does, he is expected to give an impression to the public that he does not subscribe to conspiracy theories.

He simply is expected to study and evaluate the impact of beliefs in conspiracy theories on society and how people’s beliefs in such theories could be manipulated or benefited by an individual or individuals (who may or may not represent an organized group, such as certain governmental intelligence agencies or the military), partly in order to bring about certain agenda, to conceal certain agenda, or to detract attention away from certain agenda, such as muddying the waters of certain agenda.

Creation and manipulation of certain “cover stories” play a vital role in such operations.

Many large defense contractors seem to have some specialists who create “cover stories” as a means to mislead curiosity seekers among the civilian public especially during the times of certain Black Project programs testing phases.

For example, a creation and manipulation of such “cover stories” may have taken place during the mid 1980s to the early 1990s when several sensitive projects such as the stealth technology, hypersonic spy planes as well as remotely-controlled platforms such as UAVs and UCAVs programs were conducted at locations such as at Area 51. Bringing about the “laughter curtain” to the public (for example., creation of “flying saucers” stories or “alien” technology stories) to the goings-on at the Groom complex in Nevada seems to have been a brilliant strategy conceived by both the defense contractors and the Department of the Air Force.

Going back to the idea of the manipulation of beliefs in conspiracy theories, it is said that on occasion, an individual or individuals (who may or may not represent an organized group such as certain governmental intelligence agencies or the military), may even assume and play the role of a “conspiracy theorist”, posing himself as one (i.e., implanting himself as a “mole” in a segment of society, such as among UFO organizations like MUFON, etc.) in order to gather information on what the public or a segment of the public knows about certain specific agenda.

Immediately after the end of World War II, when a large number of former German scientists, engineers and SS intelligence officers were brought to the U.S. to places such as Kirtland Army Air Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico (present-day Kirtland AFB) in 1945 (through the U.S. program called Operation Paperclip), the U.S. did benefit from acquisition of SS officers’ know-hows in intelligence operations and techniques.

The German officers were skilled in the use of certain intelligence operations and strategies, such as the use and manipulation of misinformation along with creation of disinformation, as well as intentional “staging” of certain events to deflect the enemy’s espionage attempts to scrutinize sensitive projects being conducted.

By the way, many German scientists were transferred to places in New Mexico such as Los Alamos Laboratories. Others, especially those whose specialties were in rocketry and various types of experimental aircraft were transferred to places such as White Sands missile ranges and adjacent desert areas where many tests of various types were conducted in 1946, 1947 and 1948.

(Even in recent years, the presence of German pilots in air bases such as Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico has been quite noticeable. Holloman Air Force Base seems to have had a special relationship with the German Air Force for many years.)

It is quite possible that “cover stories” along with disinformation tactics (and even "staged" incidents) were used by the U.S. military in order to conceal certain sensitive testings at locations such as White Sands and other nearby desert areas in New Mexico in 1946, 1947 and 1948.

When the CIA was established as a successor organization to OSS in 1947, the role of former German SS officers was quite significant.

The same can be said of NSA, which was also established in 1947.

The intentional creation of paranoia (as well as creation of conspiracy theories, to a great extent) was a minor but important element in the vast areas of intelligence operations that the CIA and other U.S. agencies have acquired all these years from the former SS agents.