SA professor reveals why terrorism conspiracy theories won't die IT took less than an hour for conspiracy theories about the Boston Marathon bombing to spread via social media. Theories raged that US government orchestrated the attack to strip citizens of their civil rights. University of Western Australia Professor Stephan Lewandowsky said conspiracy theories often took root because people had a need to explain terrible events in order to feel safe. "Postulating an evil conspiracy gives people a better sense of control than to acknowledge something as a random attack," the cognitive scientist said. Prof Lewandowsky said that people, paradoxically, found it comforting to have an enemy because it made the world less chaotic. "It seems absurd the marathon bombers would be acting on behalf of the CIA or US government," he said. But it's certainly the case that any time there is a terrorist attack, the American government, not to mention other governments, in order to pacify the public need for action, will pass laws that erode our civil liberties. I would agree with that, it is true terror attacks over time lead to erosion of rights. That's one of the things underlying most conspiracy theories - that there is some background of truth. It was the element of truth that Prof Lewandowsky said made conspiracy theories easier to believe. "I would be tempted to say `yes' there are more conspiracy theories around today because they are more accessible because of the Internet, which has also made it easier for like-minded people to connect," he said. Prof Lewandowsky said it was hard to tell if the theories about the Boston Marathon bombing would have any lasting consequences but that some theories, such as President Obama not being born in America, had proven persistent. If you look at 9/11 it gave rise to all sorts of theories about the US government being behind the attacks but that theory shrivelled up and died from view and has no public relevance. I suspect the same thing will happen with anything around the marathon bombings. But I think two years ago, half of registered primary voters for the Republican party in the US believed President Obama was not born in the US - obviously that is completely false. To my mind that's a serious problem because it's not just a marginal part of society believes these theories in some cases. That's pretty relevant and should be of concern when democracy relies on people being well-informed.