Part 1
What is a “conspiracy”? The root of the word is “conspire”. Why do people conspire? Is there any benefit to conspiring? When does a conspiracy change from “conspiracy” to “belief”?
Read the following two articles:
https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/21/us/area-51-inside-scn-trnd/index.html
https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/so-the-fbi-released-some-bigfoot-files-what-are-the-chances-the-sasquatch-is-real
After reading the two articles above, reply thoughtfully to the questions I have asked at the top of this page.
To some, many conspiracies seem ridiculous, while others appear to have at least a little truth to them. Not all conspiracies involve mythological primates or aliens. Some of these revolve around very serious topics. Read the following article:
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5568853/conspiracy-theories-flat-earth-nibiru-9-11-jfk-assassination-illuminati-moon-landings-roswell/
Be sure to read all the articles above. They will be important in part 3 of this assignment set.
Part 2
A useful tool for most writers is the ability to effectively “compare and contrast” two or more things, people, places, ideas, etc. Recall what it means to compare and contrast. Comparison looks for similarities, and contrast looks for differences. It is very important to both compare and contrast—not just one or the other.
Watch the following video about comparison and contrast:
https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/compare-and-contrast/
Part 3
The third article in part 1 of this set offers a number of modern conspiracy theories. Choose the one that you find most interesting. You are going to write an unbiased essay about your chosen theory by using ‘compare and contrast’ to identify “known facts” and “theories”. By identifying what we know to be ‘facts’ and listing them side-by-side with ‘theories’ which cannot be proven, we can arrive at logical conclusions about the truth—or lack thereof.