Minor nitpick: I'd like us to get away from using "conspiracy theorist" as an always-negative term. The truth is, many conspiracy theories have turned out true (people do, after all, conspire in secret to do evil). Additionally, there are conspiracy theorists who are reasonable and who have changed their opinions when corrected.
What crosses the line into "truther" territory is generally a fantastically organized coverup as explanation for a lack of corroborating evidence.
Conspiracy theories usually can't be disproven (almost nothing can, when you get down to it). They usually aren't completely fictional, lacking any shred of possible evidence. Their hallmark trait is the fact that they aren't driven by an even-handed search for truth, but by fear, anger, and paranoia. We like to think that truth-seeking is immune to these emotions, but it really isn't. Emotion keeps theories going even when they're wildly unreasonable, because they're still impossible to totally disprove.
How frequently do theories that are widely labeled as "conspiracy theories" turn out to be true?
Could you please reference the documented theories proposed by people of this era or soon after regarding the conspiracy? If not then all you have are examples of secret programs that would not pass a modern review board and nothing that suggests modern conspiracy theories are anything more than the ravings of people with rather obvious mental illnesses.
Exactly! It's clear that the CIA found the frozen corpse before the expedition and extracted the bacteria to put into the ticks in the first place. [edit]/s[/edit]
I do somewhat appreciate the explanation the person used as it showed conviction versus moving the goalposts when confronted with new evidence; something that most nutty conspiracy theorists seem to do.
"Conspiracy enthusiast" perhaps?