Derek Arnold seems to be another one of these academics who get a lot of attention for writing mainstream rebuttals to conspiracism. Good to know that he's an expert on crisis management and mitigation for politicians and corporations. Definitely trust this guy to tell you the truth.
Why Princess Diana conspiracy theories refuse to die
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/princess-diana-conspi...
As political scientist Michael Barkun details in his book "A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America," conspiracy theories usually hinge on three core beliefs:
Nothing happens by accident. For this reason, the horrible machinations of "evil" conspirators become more believable than a fluke or an accident.
Nothing is as it seems. Successful conspirators hide their identities and actions; we must, therefore, always be wary, even when there's little reason for suspicion.
Dots can always be connected. Though conspirators attempt to hide their actions, patterns exist everywhere.
Yet many conspiracy theories routinely contradict Occam's razor, a philosophical principle based on the idea that the more assumptions needed to explain something – whether it's a scientific law or a conspiracy theory – the less reliable the explanation.
https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/media/faculty...
The highly charged areas of business and political scandal -- how they evolve, how they are covered by the news media, and how their destructive effects can be mitigated through crisis management and communication -- are Professor Arnold's specialty. He is also a good source for discussions on conspiracy theories -- how they are formulated and how to defend against them.