[QUOTE=David Rosado;89829]I mean, they jump to conclusions with far less evidence then a lot of conspiracy theories have.QUOTE]
The difference between scientific investigation and conspiracy theory is the quality of evidence. Conspiracy theorists most often violate a couple of fundamental tenets of science not the least of which is: you must prove the accepted theory wrong. Science progresses by falsifiability; that is, nothing can EVER be proven true. A theory is only convenient or useful and it is ALWAYS subject to revision as new evidence becomes available. It is also only accepted as scientifically valid if it is testable and falsifiable. Rarely is this true of a conspiracy theory. Often, it is the LACK of evidence that is used to "support" the idea of a conspiracy. While that may be comforting to the conspiracy theorists, those of us a little more inclined towards skepticism recognize that a lack of proof is just that -- no proof at all. There is also a bad tendency to forget that truth of the statement that the plural of "anecdote" is "anecdotes", not "data". Last but not least, plausibility is not truth. Plausibility is not data. Just because a thing seems likely or "makes sense" does not make it true. The sun going around the earth made so much sense to so many people that the guy who said it ain't so was imprisoned for it (to be fair, the Vatican pardoned Galileo in 1992 for demonstrating the Copernican truth).
Having said all of that, there absolutely are people in positions of power who will do what they can, when they can to maintain or otherwise consolidate that power. Governments and corporations have a vested interest in keeping as much of their doings private as they possibly can -- because we simply wouldn't stand for that shit if it were public. I do believe there are some awful conspiracies and we have to be diligent abuot seeking them out. But in the process, we can't throw out critical thinking.