"Truth or Hyperreality? Rethinking Conspiracy Theories in the Post-Truth Era"

In contemporary discourse, terms such as "conspiracy theory", "conspiracy narrative" (Chlup 2023) and "conspiracy ideology" (Jaśkiewicz 2024) (amongst various others) are frequently employed, but the terms often suffer from conceptual ambiguity, often leading to tautological reasoning and intellectual imprecision (Pigden 2024). This ambiguity not only hinders our understanding of conspiracy phenomena but also risks overgeneralizing heterodox knowledge (e.g. Bourdieu 1976:330–34)or alternative epistemic frameworks. To address this, this paper proposes the development of a better epistemically grounded system of terms that begins with an epistemically neutral definition of conspiracy theories, before distinguishing them from other forms of heterogenic knowledge. This approach allows to critically evaluate self-sealing theories that render themselves immune to scrutiny while avoiding the blanket dismissal of non-mainstream narratives. And avoids the devaluation of marginalized discourses without apologizing harmful ideologies. This effort must be situated within the broader context of post-truth phenomena, characterized by the erosion of trust in institutions, the relativization of truth, and the dominance of emotionally resonant narratives over factual discourse. Conspiracy theories thrive in this post-truth landscape, where traditional epistemic foundations have been destabilized. This article proposes Jean Baudrillard’s (Baudrillard 2019) theory of simulacra and simulation as a promising theoretical framework for understanding and classifying these phenomena: (1) It provides a stable social-diagnosis of society regarding post-truth, emphasizing how representations, media, and symbolic systems have gradually supplanted what was formerly thought of as "stable reality", (2) the stages of simulacra offer a structured way to classify conspiracy phenomena, from those grounded in partial truths to those entirely self-referential, (3) the concept of hyperreality conceptualizes how conspiracy narratives operate within a space where the distinctions between reality and simulation collapse, forming entirely self-referential systems in which signs circulate without connection to an original truth, sustaining their own logic and symbolic appeal independent of factual validation, which (4) explains why measuring conspiracy belief based solely on its truth value is inherently limited. Instead, such narratives should be understood in terms of their functional and symbolic roles within hyperreality. Conspiracy theories may not derive their potency from their adherence to factual truth but from their ability to evoke emotional resonance, construct alternative frameworks of meaning, and fulfill psychological or ideological needs. Their persistence lies in their capacity to provide explanatory coherence in an increasingly fragmented and unstable epistemic environment. Baudrillard, Jean. 2019. Simulacra and Simulation. Ann Arbor, Mich: Univ. of Michigan Press. Bourdieu, Pierre. 1976. Entwurf einer Theorie der Praxis. Auf der ethnologischen Grundlage der kabylischen Gesellschaft. 1. Aufl. Frankfurt am Main: Frankfurt, Suhrkamp, 1976. Chlup, Radek. 2023. ‘Conspiracy Narratives as a Type of Social Myth’. International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society 1–23. doi: 10.1007/s10767-023-09454-1. Jaśkiewicz, Michał. 2024. ‘Acceptance of Gay and Lesbian People among Polish Teachers: The Roles of Intergroup Contact and Belief in LGBT Conspiracy Ideology’. Teachers and Teaching 1–16. doi: 10.1080/13540602.2024.2308903. Pigden, Charles. 2024. ‘“Conspiracy Theory” as a Tonkish Term: Some Runabout Inference-Tickets from Truth to Falsehood’. in The Philosophy of Conspiracy Theories. Routledge.