grassy knollism
n. A tendency to formulate conspiracy theories, despite facts to the contrary or a lack of evidence.
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Examples
1992
Oh, we've put the occasional knock on "JFK" here and there. But nothing much, nothing with real enthusiasm. No, the real "JFK" knocking business is as firmly fixed along the Eastern seaboard as the computer trade is fixed in Silicon Valley.
Why, you say? Glad you asked. Because that is the core of today's inquiry. Let's start with a recap of the knocking industry's beefs against "JFK." As you probably know, the industry accuses director Stone of making a movie that displays wanton grassy knollism.
—Robert A. Jones, “Coast Letter: Mr. Stone's no so fine advantage,” Los Angeles Times, January 12, 1992
1990 (earliest)
Tonight, in random country clubs or Elks lodges, a fellow at the end of the bar will offer meticulous detail on how FDR planned the attack on Pearl Harbor and how Harry Hopkins, if not in the lead Zero, helped plan the attack in Tokyo. Freud said that men cannot change the past. True, but men keep trying. Harry Hopkins would have been at home in the land of grassy-knollism.
—“Conspiracy-colored glasses,” The Boston Globe, August 17, 1990
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