For politicians like Donald Trump — who is arguably the most-effective manipulator of online conspiracy theories in modern times — the Internet has been a godsend

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“Conspiracy theory” is a phrase allegedly authored by the CIA 60-odd years ago, to describe some of the bizarre beliefs about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.  The expression caught on after that, because conspiracy theories did, too.  

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There are harmful conspiracy theories, and ones that aren’t. Harmless ones include: the moon landing was faked, the Earth is flat, Paul McCartney is dead, and flying saucers and aliens are being kept at Area 51 in Nevada.   

Harmful conspiracy theories are more numerous: 9/11 was an inside job, Covid-19 wasn’t real, the Sandy Hook massacre was staged, the Holocaust was a “Holohoax,” Jews control the world (along with the Illuminati and Freemasons) and on and on.  

The most enduring conspiracy theories — the ones with often fatal........

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