Conspiracy Theory Jargon

adjective a term used to describe something of doubtful authenticity or credibility; often used to refer to a story or text of questionable origin

• The scholar dismissed the apocryphal text as lacking historical evidence.
• I heard an apocryphal story about a haunted house in the neighborhood.
• Don't believe everything you hear, most of it is just apocryphal.
• The politician's promises turned out to be apocryphal, just empty words with no substance.

verb to deceive or trick someone

adjective deceived or tricked by someone

• The con artist hoodwinked the elderly couple out of their life savings.
• I can't believe he hoodwinked us into buying that old car.
• She thought she could hoodwink her way out of trouble, but she got caught.
• The magician hoodwinked the audience with his sleight of hand tricks.