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  • The author pitches the claim directly to the media or to organizations of nonhistorians, for pay.
  • The author says that a powerful establishment is trying to suppress his or her work.
  • The sources that verify the new interpretation of history are obscure; if they involve a famous person, the sources are not those usually relied on by historians.
  • Evidence for the history is anecdotal.
  • The author says a belief is credible because it has endured for some time, or because many people believe it to be true.
  • The author has worked in isolation.
  • The author must propose a new interpretation of history to explain an observation.

 

But don’t go overboard. Suspicion of bogosity is not proof. Sam Smith, one of the first alternative journalists and a Clinton skeptic from way back, offers “A Thinker’s Guide to Conspiracy Theories,” that is, theories about major events on which important facts are still missing. Key quote: