Those whose judgement becomes skewed by conspiracy theories cannot perceive the real causes of the problems and challenges they face and so have little hope of confronting, solving and overcoming them.

Iranians deserve accurate and relevant information about the world they are living in so as to better themselves and their society. In Islamic Republic of Iran, the regime withholds information and uses conspiracy theories to control how information is interpreted. Over the decades it has resurfaced in many guises, always intending to demonize the Jewish people, and has been pressed into service to achieve many different political ends, including in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Using deep-seated pejorative and hateful stereotypes about Jews, it originated more than 150 years ago and spreads lies about the prominent Rothschild family as symbols of a mythical вЂJewish powerвЂ™, said to be malevolently orchestrating world events and catastrophes. The Rothschild conspiracy theory is one of the oldest and most persistent of these fantasies. If we cannot agree even on what is true in the world, then shared understanding, compromise, and working together to find solutions to our problems is much more difficult. They invite hatred of and even violence against those targeted they prevent those who believe in them from really understanding the world we live in and they spread disinformation and distrust, eroding faith in institutions of knowledge and authoritative sources of information. The вЂsolutionвЂ™ to otherwise overwhelming problems then becomes seductively simple: get rid of the people you believe are secretly causing these problems, and you get rid of the problem.Д¬onspiracy theories are harmful in three ways: to those the claims are made about, to those who believe in them, and to wider society. They appeal to a psychological need for security and stability because their simplistic explanations appearВ to put human beings squarely in control of events: a comforting notion in a frightening world. These could be economic crashes, rapid social change, wars, revolutions and political upheavals, or even pandemics. They often thrive in times of uncertainty, when events over which we have little say or understanding impact our lives. Social media has enabled conspiracy theories to spread faster and wider than ever before.Д¬onspiracy theories areВ attractive because they appear to make sense of a confusing world. Sometimes, they are promoted at both levels at the same time. These ideas can be promoted from the top down, by politicians, spiritual leaders and media personalities who seek to gain support by blaming a scapegoated group for their countryвЂ™s problems, or from the bottom up, by small groups of individuals who may feel isolated, anxious and disempowered. They claim that either discrete historical occurrences, or the world at large, are being manipulated or outright controlled by a secretive and influential group.В Because conspiracy theories allege clandestine plots are being used to wield power, they are, by their very nature, hard to disprove. What are conspiracy theories, and why do they matter?Д¬onspiracy theories are false narratives that simplify highly complex events and processes by reducing them to вЂplotsвЂ™ carried out by powerful people. It continues to be cited today despite having no basis in reality. This widespread fantasy was later imported to Iran and given a local flavour, again to achieve political ends. It has deep antisemitic roots, and over time has been usedВ as a vehicle to promote different forms of hate. The Rothschild conspiracy theory is an age-old myth that a single European Jewish banking family has the power to control world events.

Helm of raedwald theories