Know your conspiracies

Mike from Paraparaumu

In these times of fake news, misinformation and disinformation, I think it is important to know the difference between a conspiracy theory and a conspiracy. Simply put, conspiracies leak and conspiracy theories don't. It's impossible to conspire without exchanging information and in today's tech world that's a major vulnerability. Genuine conspiracies are discovered through whistleblowers leaking that information.The Edward Snowden papers and the Cambridge Analytica scandal are examples. The Panama Papers conspiracy [to hide wealth] alone featured eleven and a half million leaked emails. The most famous conspiracy of all only involved fifteen plotters who met in the Duck and Drake pub in London, yet it was was betrayed unintentionally by a leaked letter. The Guy Fawkes Gunpowder Plot to assassinate King James I and the English parliament was thwarted and we still celebrate that over four hundred years later. So, no leaks no conspiracy, just a theory...and anyone can make one of those up.