Includes bibliographical references (pages 317-348) and index.

Prologue: The Conspiracy Effect: Why Smart People Believe Blatantly Wrong Things for Apparently Rational Reasons -- WHY PEOPLE BELIEVE IN CONSPIRACY THEORIES: Conspiracies and Conspiracy Theories: The Difference in Thinking and the Difference It Makes -- A Brief History of Conspiracy Theories and Conspiracists: Toward a Science of Conspiracism -- Proxy and Tribal Conspiracism: How Conspiratorial Beliefs Are Reinforced as Truths -- Constructive Conspiracism: Paranoia, Pessimism, and the Evolutionary Origins of Conspiracy Cognition -- A Case Study in Conspiracism: The Sovereign Citizens Conspiracy Theory --HOW TO DETERMINE WHICH CONSPIRACY THEORIES ARE REAL: The Conspiracy Detection Kit: How to Tell If a Conspiracy Theory Is True or False -- Truthers and Birthers: The 9/11 and Obama Conspiracy Theories -- JFK Blown Away: The Mother of All Conspiracy Theories -- Real Conspiracies: What If They Really Are Out to Get You? -- The Deadliest Conspiracy in History: The Trigger of World War I and How Conspiracies Really Work -- Real and Imagined Enemies: Conspiracies in Reality and in Our Imaginations -- TALKING TO CONSPIRACISTS AND REBUILDING TRUST IN TRUTH: How to Talk to Conspiracy Theorists: Engaging with People with Whom We Disagree -- How to Rebuild Trust in Truth: Reason, Rationality, and Empiricism in Reality-Based Communities -- Coda: What People Believe About Conspiracy Theories and Why: Results of the Skeptic Research Center Survey.