Let’s be clear: i’m not saying conspiracies doesn’t exist. By conspiracy theories, i mean the plots whose existence is at best highly unlikely, at worst totally senseless, notably if:
-They are breaking the laws of physics.
-They are too costly (logistically and/or financially) to be profitable.
-They are defended by untrustworthy sources (populist or cult leaders, random people, celebrities without expertise in the concerned domain, parodies taken seriously,…).
-They are often involving far-right’s scapegoats.
-They are involving a large amount of people.
-They reject science by principle.
-The interests of the supposed conspirators are unclear or incoherent.
-Their so-called proofs are incoherent, manipulated or are proving nothing at all.
-They would be funny if they were published as parodies in The Onion.
The military-industrial complex doesn’t need to cover up weapons testing with little green men conspiracy theories, because people susceptible to crackpot alien theories pose no threat or obstacle to them. I think those theories are largely self-inflicted.