Conspiracist logic makes denial itself confirm the conspiracy

Evidence

The political theorist Eric Nelson sums all this up succinctly: “A tiny tax on tea is never simply a tiny tax on tea” but a “fatal precedent,” “the thin edge of the wedge.” And as Bailyn argues, the logic of conspiracism was self-validating: “Once assumed, [the picture] could not be easily dispelled; denial only confirmed it, since what conspirators profess is not what they believe, the ostensible is not the real, and the real is deliberately malign.” — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 56

Categorization

• DEFINE: Explains the self-validating epistemic mechanism that defines conspiratorial thinking.
• XREF: connects to: Conspiracy promoters deny fake news while accusing mainstream media of it — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 105; Superiority claims generate conspiracy theories to explain past defeats — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist…, 203; Superconspiracy logic makes conspiracy theory unfalsifiable and turns theorists against each other — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic…, 360 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Conspiracy theorists reinterpret absence of proof and challenges as confirming evidence #epitomizes (0.95) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 216