Conspiracies refer to actual events while conspiracy theories are unverified accusations.

Evidence

While “conspiracy” refers to events that have occurred or are occurring, “conspiracy theory” refers to accusatory perceptions that may or may not be true. Telling the difference between the two turns on the evidentiary threshold, of which more in the following sections. — Joseph E. Uscinski and Joseph M. Parent, American Conspiracy Theories, 170

Categorization

• DEFINE: The conceptual split between conspiracy and conspiracy theory restated as evidentiary threshold.
• XREF: connects to: Successful conspiracies go unnoticed and are hard to estimate. — Joseph E. Uscinski and Joseph M. Parent, American Conspiracy Theories, 198; Neutral terminology enables study of conspiracy theories without adjudication. — Joseph E. Uscinski and Joseph M. Parent, American Conspiracy Theories, 161; Conspiracy theories are often more complex than official accounts. — Joseph E. Uscinski and Joseph M. Parent, American Conspiracy Theories, 194 (+1 more)