Activity: Create Your Own Conspiracy Theory

Wake Up, Sheeple!

Download Lesson Plan Here

Subjects: Science, Language Arts, Digital Media Literacy, Social Studies, Critical Thinking, Logic

Grade Levels: Middle school, High school, College

Lesson Length: 60 minutes (can be shortened or extended)

Overview: This lesson explores conspiracy theories, the belief that a small group of powerful people are secretly working together to control events and hide the truth for nefarious reasons. In this engaging activity, students create their own humorous conspiracy theory and protect it from disproof. By exploring the trap of conspiratorial thinking they learn how to identify (and not fall for) real-world examples.  

Learning Objectives:

• Students will identify common techniques used in conspiracy theories. 
• Students will compare the characteristics of conspiratorial thinking with critical thinking.

Materials:

• Instructional videos: Overview; Birds Aren’t Real; Conspiracy Theories
• Handouts
  • Conspiracy Theories Video Guided Questions
  • Activity: Wake Up Sheeple
• Useful Resources: Conspiracy Theory Handbook; Conspiracy Test

Procedure:

• Introduction (20 minutes)
  • Get students thinking: Birds aren’t real!
    • Have students watch Awakening the Blind at Walmart. 
    • Ask the class what’s going on in the video. Guide them to recognize how the conspiracy theorists twist evidence to support their narrative. 
    • Notes:
      • This section can be skipped if time is short.
      • Birds Aren’t Real is a satirical conspiracy theory that claims the government killed all birds and replaced them with surveillance drones. By finding a way to fit all evidence into their narrative, bird truthers demonstrate how conspiracy theories work. Plus it’s funny!
  • Exploring the techniques of conspiracy theories
    • Have students watch the Conspiracy Theories Video and complete the worksheet.
  • Option: Ask students about conspiracy theories they encounter in everyday life (e.g., news, online, advertising, etc.). Are they convincing? Why or why not?
    
    
• Part 1: Creating a Conspiracy (15 minutes)
  • Have students create their very own conspiracy theory. Encourage them to let their imagination run wild and be as silly as possible, while keeping in mind they will need to convince others of their narrative.
  • Either independently or in small groups, allow students time to craft their conspiracy. Encourage creativity and humor. 
  • Make sure they include the following:
    • Who are the conspirators?: Every conspiracy needs a powerful person or group of people behind it. Are they in the government? Industry? Famous celebrities? Cats? Aliens?!?!
    • What did they do?: They’re up to no good, of course. But what specific events or chain of events did they cause?
    • Why did they do it?: Their motivations are obviously evil. Is it power? Money? Control? World domination?
    • What is the reasoning?: Why do they believe in the conspiracy, and why should others? Construct a convincing narrative and make the conspiracy “believable”.
      • Option: Students can do their “own research” and find evidence to support their conspiracy. Conspiracy theorists don’t limit themselves to reliable sources, so students don’t need to either. That’s for sheeple. 
      • Option: Online tools like 666 Generator and Inge’s Anagram Generator can help students find silly patterns.
  • Option: If you’re short on time, consider using a chatbot such as Chat GPT for ideas, but be sure to specify that the conspiracy should be fun and/or satirical.
    
    
• Part 2: Whatever you do, don’t change your mind! (15 minutes)
  • This is where students really experience how conspiratorial thinking works. Conspiracy theories are immune to evidence (i.e., all evidence is interpreted to support the conspiracy), so the goal is to make excuses, twist and cherry-pick evidence, move the goalposts, etc. to protect their narrative from disproof. 
  • Put student groups together to share their conspiracies. One group should try to “wake up” their classmates by convincing them of the truth of their conspiratorial narrative. The other group attempts to disprove the conspiracy by pointing out flaws in the evidence or reasoning. But the conspiracy theorists know “the truth”, so students should do whatever they need to do to avoid changing their minds!
  • When the class is ready to move on, switch roles so that all groups pretend to be conspiracy theorists. 
  • Optional classroom activity: Have a group share their conspiracy to the class. Assign other students to either defend or disprove the conspiracy. 

• Discussion and Debrief (10 minutes): Critical thinking vs conspiratorial thinking
  • Highlight some of the most common techniques used in conspiracy theories. 
  • Discuss the importance of being able to recognize these techniques in the real world, and the potential consequences of being persuaded by them.
  • Conspiracy theorists often think of themselves as the real critical thinkers, unlike the sheeple who don’t question official sources. Ask students to compare critical thinking and conspiratorial thinking. Which of the two is more likely to uncover real conspiracies, and why?

Optional Extension: Analyze current conspiracy theories, by identifying the characteristics of the conspiracies as well as their techniques.

Special Thanks: This lesson was produced in collaboration with the Mental Immunity Project.