By Makoto Mitsui

8:00 JST, October 25, 2025

We often hear the term “conspiracy theory” these days, which suggests that powerful forces unseen by society control the world. Conspiracy theories were once considered the domain of a few eccentric individuals, but the rise of U.S. President Donald Trump and the spread of COVID-19 have brought significant changes to society, bringing these theories into greater prominence.

Trump — who has repeatedly made conspiracy-theory-like statements, such as that the concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese — was inaugurated as U.S. president again in January this year. Now in his second term, he is pushing for budget and personnel cuts at agencies such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is responsible for climate change research. At the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 23, he insisted that climate change is “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world.”

Furthermore, Trump appointed Robert Kennedy Jr., who has made unscientific claims linking vaccinations to autism, as secretary of health and human services, overseeing health administration. Kennedy too has made baseless conspiracy-style claims about the novel coronavirus. After taking office, he announced plans to phase out messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine development and fired the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These moves have been intended to incorporate his own........

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