The term conspiracy theory acquired its stigmatizing connotation partly through Hofstadter’s essay.

Evidence

Finally, a word about the term “conspiracy theory” itself. Taken on its own, the phrase doesn’t necessarily pronounce whether the theories themselves are true or false. But there’s no doubt that it has taken on a negative cast, evoking a frenzied paranoiac sitting in a basement before a wall of illegible, scribbled notes, his protective tinfoil hat firmly clamped onto his head. Some of that impression comes from Hofstadter, whose essay is incessantly cited and used, in my experience, to promote a mocking and unsympathetic view of people who buy into conspiratorial ideas. — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 95

Categorization

• XREF: Pairs with the vault’s prejudice-psychology claims; Hofstadter’s paranoid-style framework is a touchstone the reader is tracking. — connects to: Hofstadter made ‘paranoid’ a political term despite intending it only metaphorically — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic…, 99

Broader Connections

• Hofstadter made ‘paranoid’ a political term despite intending it only metaphorically #expands (0.90) — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 99