It is important to distinguish between two kinds of conspiracy theories:
1. Conspiracies where there is evidence of a conspiracy (like sworn testimony from conspirators)
2. Conspiracies where there is no evidence of a conspiracy, i.e. the hypothesis is that it is a successful conspiracy.
Type 2 conspiracy theories are are like invisible pink unicorns: by design they are unfalsifiable, and hence unscientific, and so can be dismissed on those grounds alone.
Contrary to popular opinion, extraordinary claims do not require extraordinary evidence to merit serious consideration, they merely require some evidence that cannot be accounted for by more mundane explanations. Weird video artifacts don't qualify.
1. Conspiracies where there is evidence of a conspiracy (like sworn testimony from conspirators)
2. Conspiracies where there is no evidence of a conspiracy, i.e. the hypothesis is that it is a successful conspiracy.
Type 2 conspiracy theories are are like invisible pink unicorns: by design they are unfalsifiable, and hence unscientific, and so can be dismissed on those grounds alone.
Contrary to popular opinion, extraordinary claims do not require extraordinary evidence to merit serious consideration, they merely require some evidence that cannot be accounted for by more mundane explanations. Weird video artifacts don't qualify.