Conspiracy Theories

Conspiracy theories are something that come with the territory of our internet-saturated world. These crazy beliefs usually start with one person making claims about someone or something, and after making a post online their idea can spread like wildfire to scores of many more people.
Although some conspiracy theories are truly wild and crazy and clearly stretch the truth to make them seem more believable, I do believe that there can often be some truth behind many theories that exist. Lately I've been interested in doing research surrounding some seemingly unimaginable conspiracy theories floating around the internet, and lets just say that many are not as far-fetched as you would think.
Most people seem to laugh off conspiracy theories as bogus claims that have no scientific basis whatsoever, catering to a completely ignorant and uneducated audience. But this is far from the truth, and if more people began to even scratch the surface of them they might be surprised by the amount of fact that is to be found. Why do so many people simply allow the media to spoon-feed them information that could be completely false, yet the minute a conspiracy theorist makes a statement it's ignored?
My personal belief is that as a society, we all need to start questioning everything that is told to us. Don't agree with everything that CNN is reporting, and also don't laugh at every conspiracy theory you hear. We need to start approaching news events from a very unbiased position, taking in every bit of information we can find from every resource available: news websites, YouTube videos, blogs, eyewitness reports, etc. Only then can we make an educated guess as to the truth surrounding these events.
To conclude, I'll say that it is pretty much impossible to obtain a completely unbiased account of the news unless you personally experience an event. What other people tell us is not always the truth. The next time you find yourself shaking your head at the absurdity of a conspiracy theory, ask yourself why you have this mindset. Does the conspiracy theory in question truly have no factual basis, or are your preconceived notions just getting in the way? We need to stop relying completely on news corporations to receive the events of the world and open up our minds to a larger spectrum of information.