Thesis (Ph.D.) - Indiana University, Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology, 2017Conspiracy theories and their socio-cultural impact have been analyzed with great interest by numerous folklorists. Heretofore, these studies have examined conspiracy theory as a specific type of rumor or legend. This includes folklore research that examines conspiracy theories surrounding the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States. Through in-depth interviews and interactions with 9/11 Truth Movement activists, this study explores structural characteristics, content, socio-political functions, and folk beliefs that undergird conspiracy theories and inform their creation. This study concludes that a conspiracy theory is a genre of folkloric behavior. Therefore, methodologies used to study rumor and legend, as well as debunking approaches which carry implicit biases and contextualization, greatly limit the identification and understanding of what a conspiracy theory attempts to communicate and the process by which it informs behavioral responses.