AIDS conspiracy claims persisted word-for-word across two decades in focus groups.

Evidence

AIDS conspiracies in black America are so entrenched that one researcher, Jacob Heller, found people in focus groups making virtually the same claims in 2012 as were made in 1992. “To find a rumor faithfully repeated after two decades demonstrates remarkable durability,” he wrote. Heller pointed out that even respected celebrities repeated beliefs in conspiracy theories, sometimes intentionally and sometimes perhaps not: comedian Bill Cosby, in 1991, and actor Will Smith, in 1999, both suggested HIV could have been manmade, while Obama’s onetime preacher, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, stated it outright. “The government lied about inventing the HIV virus as a means of genocide against people of color,” he roared during a 2003 sermon. “Governments lie!” — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 182

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Refuted conspiracy theories persist for decades after being debunked — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 240; Marginalized groups retain conspiracy theories longer than groups with variable fortunes. — Joseph E. Uscinski and Joseph M. Parent, American Conspiracy Theories, 107; Conspiracy theory visibility spikes during times of social upheaval — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 107

Broader Connections

• Refuted conspiracy theories persist for decades after being debunked #exemplifies (0.88) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 240
• Marginalized groups retain conspiracy theories longer than groups with variable fortunes. #expands (0.72) — Joseph E. Uscinski and Joseph M. Parent, American Conspiracy Theories, 107
• Conspiracy theory visibility spikes during times of social upheaval #exemplifies (0.72) — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 107