Twentieth-century American conspiracy theories shifted from alien out-groups to the government itself.

Evidence

But as Olmsted points out, something significant changed in the twentieth century. Theories began to focus not on an outside, alien group seizing power, but on the existing power structure, the government itself; the Romans redirecting their attention back to Nero, as it were. — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 75

Categorization

• XREF: This shift from alien-subversion to elite-power-targeting is the pivot linking classic prejudice psychology to modern conspiracy politics the vault already tracks. — connects to: As the world grew more connected, conspiracy theories shifted from local to distant targets. — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 72; American radicals were especially obsessed with financial conspiracies centered on the Rothschilds. — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic…, 288; Millions of Americans in the 1990s believed they had been abducted by aliens. — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic…, 407 (+3 more)