There are two types of conspiracy biases, i.e. the tendency of the mind to think there is a hidden truth behind the official narrative.
The first type of conspiracy bias is one where we imagine a possible hidden agenda based on our fears, imagination and chatter. There isn't much evidence or pieces of proof to justify this type of bias.
For example, there is a conspiracy belief that the Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin did not really land on the moon in July 1969. So the conspiracy theory is that the whole 3 minute clip that 650 million people worldwide saw on live television was a staged fake with special effects.
At present, this belief has hardly any corroborating proof, no documents nor whistle-blowers (except for one video released by wikileaks about an alleged filming of the landing in the Nevada desert).
Whether these theories are true or not, these conspiracies have little to no impact on our individual lives and pose no threats to our liberty.
The second and more serious type of conspiracy bias is based on a rational assessment of separate facts pieced together, like a mosaic or jigsaw, that support a more cohesive picture of the true event than what is potrayed by the official narrative.
One common example is the 9/11 attack in 2001 and the view that it was an inside job done by the CIA.
The objective for staging this red flag event is for the American military industrial complex (in association with certain corporations and foreign agencies) to invade so-called "enemy" nations (Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003) and control their energy resources/geopolitically strategic resources by installing puppet regimes.
This theory hardly deserves to be called a theory but a credible perspective: it is now established there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Less widely known is that the collapse of Building 7, located next to the Twin Towers, could not be scientifically explained as it was not struck by any plane.
The New Conformance Bias
Given the human mind is susceptible to cognitive biases and conspiracy biases have become louder following the mysterious origins of the Covid-19 pandemic which has yet to be ascertained after nearly three years, we need to be aware of the opposite of conspiracy cognitive bias.
And that is conformance bias, which is the tendency to believe in the official narrative and the doubling of efforts in official government agencies to shape our perceptions to conform to what they wish us to believe.
Conformance cognitive bias is most closely related to a combination of salience bias, availability bias and herd bias.
Why do people fall victim to conformance bias? That deserves some in-depth research but the intuitive answer is that the official narrative triggers cognitive dissonance in our minds, which describes the discomfort when we experience two incompatible cognitions/narratives. As a result, it is very easy for us to choose the narrative that is the least disturbing or least puzzling.
How to Deal with Cognitive Dissonance
Canadian psychologist and author Jordan Peterson, writes, in his book "12 Rules for Life," that "cognitive dissonance is a powerful motivator" as it can motivate people to change their beliefs or attitudes in order to reduce their discomfort.
Most psychologists suggest that people be aware of their feelings of discomfort first before taking steps to move out of their comfort zone and preconceived ideas.
However, I suggest a more wholistic approach to dealing with cognitive dissonance given my less optimistic view of human nature.
If the inner voice of truth (i.e. our conscience) is not strong & clear enough, it will be drowned out by the voices of those who control the official narrative (in media, academia, finance, business).
Faced with the choice of either consciously seeking the truth ourselves or conforming to whatever information and storyline that is being fed to us, it is human nature to take the intellectually less demanding path (System I thinking in Daniel Kahneman's book: Thinking, Fast and Slow).
So apart from just being self-aware of our cognitive biases, we have to actively take a public stand to tell the truth and expose the lies and half-truths that are being promoted by mainstream media, corporations and the government.
