How did the term "conspiracy theory" originate and how has it been used to influence public discourse?

The term "conspiracy theory" originated from CIA Director Allen Dulles following the assassination of JFK, when he instructed media contacts to use this label to discredit alternative narratives. This strategic deployment of language was designed to shut down conversations by making people fear being labeled as foolish or irrational for questioning official accounts. The effectiveness of this tactic is demonstrated by how it suppressed legitimate inquiry and debate. When the term "conspiracy" became too associated with these negative connotations, political discourse shifted to using "collusion" instead, as seen in discussions about Trump and Russia. This linguistic manipulation shows how powerful institutions can shape public perception and control narrative boundaries through carefully chosen terminology.