Yes, their theories are inevitably wrong, but why do they keep cropping up?
I suspect it's because their theories tend to be more comforting to them than the truth.
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I think you nailed it.
As I stated in another thread, I used to believe that conspiracy theorists -- although wrong -- were optimists. By definition a conspiracy means that "somebody" or "somebodies" are in control. Then I actually met a comspiracy theorist and they were so annoying they wiped away any good feelings I had about them. I mean, this guy was REALLY annoying. Really, really annoying.