## The Draw of Conspiracy Theories is in its simplicity
Conspiracy theories provide many benefits for believers.  They provide an overly simplistic view of complex problems by assigning blame and an easy to understand motive for problems of the world.  For example, there are several factors that led to the 2008 financial crisis, but this complexity doesn't give any comfort to those that were impacted by the losses.  Instead, the causes of the crisis were simplified to greed by certain actors or groups of people, a simple to understand narrative that people can use to drive actions and potentially fuel hatred.  

## Conspiracies allow those in power to change the truth
When people are susceptible to conspiracy theories, it allows for those in power to reinvent the truth for their own aims. Hurricane Helene is one such example, where a natural disaster causes immense pain for those in the path of the storm.  There are a whole host of complications that arise during a storm of this magnitude and the people on the ground are suffering.  This provided a hotbed of conspiracies, one of the most notable ones being that the Democrats created the hurricane to impact Republican areas.  Suddenly a natural disaster that should drive all people together becomes a divisive political issue.

## Never in history has countries been able to influence the people of another country
Thanks to the Internet and social media, we're now able to connect with people anywhere on the planet.  Unfortunately, this has allowed foreign governments to directly influence people in other countries to advance their own interests.  

## Fighting Back
In an online conversation, all too often people are trying to correct each and every lie. While its important to correct the record, its equally important to question the credibility of the people that are lying. We need to hold MAGA accountable for all of these lies. We need to ask why they believe all of them. By flipping this script back on them, we can make MAGA look like the crazy ones defending positions that together aren't based in reality.

MAGA is Conspiracy

By telling and embracing lies, those in power can create their own truths