Conspiracy是名词，解a secret plan by a group to do something unlawful or harmful，密谋、阴谋活动。 Conspire是动词，解make secret plans jointly to commit an unlawful or harmful act，密谋从事非法或具伤害性的行动。
A conspiracy to overthrow the government是阴谋推翻政府。一个地方局势动荡，才会出现政变的conspiracy。太平盛世，被怀疑密谋的一方多是政府或其他有权有势的大机构。怀疑某事情背后有阴谋的想法或说法，就是conspiracy theory，即a belief that some covert(隐蔽的、暗地的、隐藏的) but influential organization is responsible for an unexplained event，阴谋论。
常听见的、历久不衰、“解”之不散的流行阴谋论有不少，moon landing hoax是其中之一。 Hoax解骗局，moon landing hoax是认为美国太空人登陆月球是个骗局。
他们的主要理据是：
For one thing, they argue, the flag the crew planted seemed to flutter(飘动) in videos, which shouldn’t happen since there’s no wind on the moon. Besides, wouldn’t mini-meteors(迷你陨星) have killed the astronauts the moment they ventured outside?
纾解疑虑
《华盛顿邮报》文章”Why do people believe the moon landing hoax or other conspiracy theories?”指出，市民相信conspiracy theories并非无关痛痒︰
(T)he theories should be taken seriously for their effects on political and social discourse(辩论、谈话) – and research suggests that, under the right circumstances, many people are susceptible(易受影响的) to their allure(诱惑力) .
为什么看来荒谬的conspiracy theories会有人相信，是否有些组别的人特别容易相信conspiracy theories等，都成为不少研究的课题。 Vrije University社会心理学家Jan-Willem van Prooijen说：
While people’s attraction to conspiracy theories might seem illogical(不合逻辑的), it stems from a very logical(合逻辑的) desire to make sense of the world. Assigning meaning to what happens has helped humans to thrive as a species, and conspiracy theories are internally cohesive(有纹有路的) stories that help us to understand the unknown whenever things happen that are fearful or unexpected.
相信conspiracy theories可让人纾解疑虑，使令人混淆的局面好像变得清晰，这心理的好处，比所信的是否事实真相重要。
有学者认为，教育程度较低，又或对现状不满的人，特别容易相信conspiracy theories。但事情是否那么简单？教育程度较高的人较懂得搜集和分析资料，但这样一来，他们可能会看到更多的疑点，成为conspiracy theories的制造者。
资讯发达，对查探conspiracy theories是真是假会有帮助，但fake news和misinformation的数量亦增加，散布面无限扩大，散播速度加快，造就更多conspiracy theories。
掌权掌势的人和机构欺骗大众的勾当源源不绝。但Mick West在Escaping the Rabbit Hole: How to Debunk Conspiracy Theories Using Facts, Logic, and Respect中就提醒大家要懂得分辨：
Conspiracies are real, but with every one of these very real conspiracies and plausible(似合理的) potential conspiracy there’s a slew of(大量) false conspiracy theories.
