The Truth Is Out There: Citizen Sleuths from the Kennedy Assassination to the 9/11 Truth Movement1

Conspiracy Theories in Political Science and Political Theory

“…Among this category are Alex Jones, an American radio personality who hosts the website Infowars; Lyndon LaRouche, the former leader of a cult organisation who ran eight times for the U.S. presidency (Giry 2015b(Giry , 2018a; Louis Farrakhan, the leader of Nation of Islam, a black supremacist organisation; or Alain Soral, a French self-proclaimed national-socialist activist. Distinct from such leaders, is a second category, 'citizen sleuths' (Olmsted 2011). Like fictional detectives (Boltanski 2012), they are ordinary people who progressively come to promote a conspiracy theory focused on a specific event (the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the 9/11 attacks, the Charlie Hebdo massacre, etc.).…”

Le conspirationnisme. Archéologie et morphologie d’un mythe politique

“…Pour agir, ces mythes doivent en premier lieu désigner des boucs émissaires. Ceux-ci n'existent que par la volonté d'autrui : des leaders conspirationnistes tels Lyndon LaRouche, Alex Jones ou Alain Soral, c'est-à-dire des entrepreneurs politiques du complot global, des acteurs collectifs comme le 9/11 Truth Movement ou le Réseau Voltaire, ou bien encore de simples « citoyens enquêteurs » (Olmsted 2011). Ces boucs émissaires sont à la fois victimes et responsables.…”

Conspiracism: Archaeology and morphology of a political myth

“…In order to function, in the first instance, these myths need to designate scapegoats. Such scapegoats exist only through the intent of others: leading conspiracists like Lyndon LaRouche, Alex Jones or Alain Soral, that is to say, political purveyors of the idea of the global plot, those collectively involved in promoting conspiracy theories like the 9/11 Truth Movement or the Réseau Voltaire, or even just simple 'citizen sleuths' (Olmsted, 2011). The scapegoats identified are at once victims and perpetrators.…”