“Conspiracy Theory.”

The meme redefines “conspiracy” as “delusory”. And “theory” is twisted into a synonym of “baseless”.

The epithet has been running up against demonstrably true allegations more often lately. It bears some examination, because it still retains considerable rhetorical cache as a quick and easy way to discredit.

The Etymology?

Conspire:

14c: aspire or plan maliciously, agree together to commit a criminal or >reprehensible act...Latin conspirare “to agree, unite, plot,” literally >“to breathe together,”

The suspect psychological principle is our tendency to schematize events within a theory of mind. “substantive rationality, rather than formal rationality” carrying the coordination towards an articulable goal. The sense of “to breath together” connotes an actual conference. Hence, publicly known concerts such as the bilderburg conferences, meetings of the CFR attract particular attention as the axis of power. Eustace Mullins:

This is the technique of the World Order, to be masked in mystery, with its hierarchy protected by their anonymity and their masks, so that those who revolt will strike out against the wrong targets, insignificant officials who are expendable.

Theory

16c, “conception, mental scheme,” “principles or methods (rather than its practice) 17c “an intelligible explanation based on observation and reasoning

The tinfoil hat, I presume, denotes a deracinated connection to reality. A mental scheme. The theme being the mentality of the individual. This is how Conspiracy Theory is used epithet: It is the wikipedia epistemology: The source determines the validity of the proposition. If a person uses a mental model to represent the events, their account can be discounted. The 17th century rendition of the word is, I think, much more instructive in its contrast with the epithet “Conspiracy Theory”. The basis of the explanation on observation and reasoning are summarily dismissed.

The essence of the meme is that it can be applied interchangeably to delusory narratives as well as inconvenient lines of enquiry. There are many occasions to deploy the “Conspiracy Theory” meme as a weapon, It is one of those ill defined concepts which is readily on hand, can be deployed almost autonomously, since the original meaning of the words has been stripped, the thing speaks for itself as a single unit: a meme. Rumor holds it that this phrase was originated by the CIA in order to wave off doubts about the official explanations about JFK's assassination. I have no particular interest in JFK, but the links between the intelligence community and media are long-standing. The consanguinity between spy agencies and mass media reared its ugly head in in the laughable FBI leaks to newspapers – upon which they justified the continuation of their fishing expedition against Donald Trump and everyone associated with him.

In this vein, the power of the term is multiplied where the observation and reasoning behind the hypothesis are hemmed out or censored. Where the mass media/technology platforms can construct a particular narrative, the public is unable to construe “theory” in its proper sense, and is left exclusively with the meme's connotation of a fabricated conception of reality. Censorship is the natural habitat of “conspiracy theory”. Thus, we would expect to see it arise more frequently in venues which hold a quasi monopoly on information, and where consumers are unlikely to look further than what they are presented:

This, in turn, provides a pretext to quash information that does not suit their narrative. Nobody will notice the absence of a Counter-Currents or The Occidental Observer if the judeo-media tradition gravely posits that white supremacy is the paramount security concern facing the country.

In more fluid information channels, “Conspiracy Theory” is repatriated to its literal meaning: a theory about coordinated human activities based on experience and observation.

Let the repatriation begin!