Labeling something a "conspiracy theory" has been a technique to marginalize anything/anyone that questions the official narritive.
I asked AI for a history of the usage of the phrase. 🫠
The term "conspiracy theory" was first used in print in 1909, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, which cites an article in The American Historical Review as the earliest known example.
However, an earlier usage appeared in a letter by Charles Astor Bristed published in The New York Times on January 11, 1863, where he referred to claims of British aristocrats conspiring to weaken the United States during the Civil War.
While the term existed earlier, it entered mainstream American usage more prominently after 1964, following the release of the Warren Commission's report on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Political scientist Lance deHaven-Smith noted that the term gained widespread currency in the United States around this time, with The New York Times publishing five articles using the phrase in 1964 alone.
