Conspiracy theorists reinterpret absence of proof and challenges as confirming evidence

Evidence

Unfortunately, conspiracy theorists are often entirely Immune to evidence. I know I said earlier that almost nobody is immune to evidence – but conspiracy theorists might just be the exception. When you ask why there is no proof for the conspiracy, they will usually say that’s because the conspirators did such a good job of covering it up. What’s more, challenging the conspiracy is just further evidence that you must be part of it all. — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 216

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to debates about motivated reasoning and confirmation bias; the ironic inversion where challenge becomes evidence parallels inoculations in this same book. — connects to: Believers treat absence of evidence as proof of sophisticated concealment — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 243; Conspiracy belief compounds and tolerates flagrant logical contradictions — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 94; Weak suppression evidence reinforces rather than weakens conspiracy belief. — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic…, 433 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Conspiracy theories become unfalsifiable by dismissing skeptic evidence as planted #corroborates (0.88)
• Epistemic closure makes conspiracists unable to be true skeptics #expands (0.75) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 272