Conspiracy theory. I don’t understand how people don’t know what the word “theory” means. Conspiracies are real, conspiracy theories are unproven hence why it’s a theory. That’s why there is doubt. Even the tweet in OP uses the wrong word.
When people say "that's a conspiracy" they often mean "that's a conspiracy theory." It isn't because they are stupid, it is an idiom that is used when the meaning is obvious from the context. You're just being autistic. Actually going further they mean "that's an untrue conspiracy theory" because being a theory doesn't imply correctness, so if you're going to be pedantic at least go all the way.
It's always a conspiracy™ until it's a good thing®.
Conspiracy theory. I don’t understand how people don’t know what the word “theory” means. Conspiracies are real, conspiracy theories are unproven hence why it’s a theory. That’s why there is doubt. Even the tweet in OP uses the wrong word.
Or maybe it's just in informal situations when the context is obvious people often use "conspiracy" for "conspiracy theory."
They aren’t interchangeable, they mean different things things.
When people say "that's a conspiracy" they often mean "that's a conspiracy theory." It isn't because they are stupid, it is an idiom that is used when the meaning is obvious from the context. You're just being autistic. Actually going further they mean "that's an untrue conspiracy theory" because being a theory doesn't imply correctness, so if you're going to be pedantic at least go all the way.