Secret Forces, Public Fears: Conspiracy Theories, Truth, and Trust in Modern Society

The suspicion that invisible actors, hidden agendas, and secret deals lurk behind visible events has been embedded in human society and culture for centuries. From fears of secret societies, Freemasons, and Jesuits to anti-Semitic phantasms, Cold War paranoia, rumours of covert government operations, and modern digital mythologies – conspiratorial thinking is not a new phenomenon. What is new, however, is the environment in which it emerges and circulates today: a world of social media, algorithms, information overload, political polarisation, and growing distrust of institutions.

Why do conspiracy theories have such a strong hold on the public sphere today? Why is it becoming increasingly difficult to trust science, the media, or official explanations of events? Where is the line between legitimate scepticism and a paranoid mode of interpreting reality? And who, ultimately, decides what counts as truth, what as propaganda, and what as conspiracy theory?

This series of lectures opens a space for interdisciplinary reflection on one of the most pressing social issues of our time. By examining the anthropological, psychological, philosophical, sociological, religious, political, media, and historical dimensions of conspiracy theories, we seek to understand why they have become such an influential tool for interpreting the world today. We will consider a range of conspiracy narratives – from beliefs in secret elites, global conspiracies, and covert centres of political power to chemtrail theories, flat Earth claims, QAnon, the COVID-19 pandemic, alleged pharmaceutical industry manipulations, and the purported hidden interests of technology corporations. However, the aim of this series is not to verify individual claims, but to understand the social conditions in which such interpretations emerge and gain traction.

Particular attention will be devoted to the question of trust. Conspiracy theories often flourish in contexts where people feel that institutions are not operating transparently, that political elites are withholding information, and that they are subordinating the public interest to private interests. They cannot therefore be understood merely as ignorance or irrationality; rather, they often reflect deeper feelings of insecurity, exclusion, and powerlessness. At the same time, conspiracy thinking also raises a number of serious questions. At what point does critical thinking slip into total distrust? How quickly can simplified explanations of the world lead to the demonisation of certain groups or to political radicalisation? And how do we live in a world in which it is increasingly difficult to distinguish between information, manipulation, and spectacle?

We will shed light on the role of contemporary media and social networks, which no longer function merely as conveyors of information but increasingly as systems of attention and affect. Algorithms prioritise emotional, confrontational, and sensationalist content, thereby eroding the boundaries between fact, interpretation, and propaganda. In a world in which anyone can act as an alternative interpreter of truth, credibility comes to the fore as a key political and cultural issue of our time.

Do conspiracy theories reveal hidden mechanisms of power, or primarily our fears? Are they a symptom of the disintegration of a shared world, or an attempt to rediscover meaning amid the chaos of the modern age? And above all: how are we to conceive of truth today?

Join us for a series of lectures and discussions exploring one of the most controversial, complex, and at the same time defining phenomena of contemporary society.

Dr Aleš Črnič