At a recent National Prayer Breakfast, President Obama did something extraordinary. While speaking about the need for greater civility in political discourse, he made a point of acknowledging conspiracy theorists.

"Surely you can question my policies without questioning my faith or, for that matter, my citizenship," he said in a speech to lawmakers, foreign dignitaries and religious leaders. The president was referring, of course, to the right-wing "birther" movement and those who continue to believe he is a Muslim.

What would make a president of the United States decide that crazy ideas like these are worth mentioning? Well, start with the fact that they are not going away. 

Last year the Pew Research Center found that, several months into Obama's presidency, 11% of Americans thought he practiced the Muslim faith. And, at the recent Tea Party convention in Nashville, Joseph Farah, founder of WorldNetDaily.com, claimed that Obama has yet to prove he was born in the United States. Farah - who once erected a billboard asking, "Where's the birth certificate?" - was greeted by enthusiastic applause.

But these aren't the only conspiracy theories making the rounds.  In Texas, for instance, gubernatorial hopeful Debra Medina suggested in a sit-down with Fox's Glenn Beck that "there were some very good arguments" to indicate that the U.S. government was involved in the 9/11 attacks. In fact, the belief that the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Virginia were an inside job has become so widespread that Amazon.com lists nearly two-dozen books on the topic.

Why do so many people believe this stuff?

British journalist David Aaronovitch tackles the subject in a new book, Voodoo Histories: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History.  In researching many so-called conspiracies ranging from Pearl Harbor to JFK's assassination, he began to spot patterns. Conspiracy peddlers often attempt to make their theories more credible by tying them to questionable academic sources, for instance, or by suggesting believers are part of an elite group that understands the "real truth."

Believers tend to be the disenfranchised or disenchanted: the ones who are frustrated by life and want easy answers to difficult questions. During times of great uncertainty and economic hardship - like now - they look for villains to blame for their troubles.

The Internet, with its global reach, allows like-minded conspiracy theorists to find one another and hype their beliefs to an ever-expanding audience. "We always had this problem to a degree, but what the Internet has done is revolutionize the amount of information," Aaronovitch said in an interview in Salon.com. "We know that Google operates on an algorithm that tells you what's popular, but it seems to be telling you what's authoritative."

Our conspiracy-minded world has made life more challenging for those who work in business or public policy. The financial crisis has created a Wall Street Conspiracy, a Banking Conspiracy, a Big Oil Conspiracy and at least two or three Health Care Conspiracies. Public distrust has been transformed into a pervading suspicion that someone Big and Evil must be behind our too-hard-to-understand economic mess.  

This is not to say that business and political leaders didn't make huge mistakes in the years preceding the crisis. But it's hard to make a fact-based argument that the recession was intentional or that Goldman Sachs actually runs the U.S. Treasury.

Nevertheless, conspiracists tend to be a passionate bunch, which means they make a disproportionate amount of noise. Their ideas, or fragments of their ideas, seep into the news media and popular culture. Despite some of their outlandish claims, you can't completely ignore them. As for public affairs strategies, here is what companies, trade groups, government agencies and other large institutions can do:

• Build strong relationships with and earn the trust of key stakeholders. This is why public affairs and communications are so important.
• Don't act conspiratorial. Become more transparent in all aspects of your business and seek candid feedback from everyone.
• Act quickly - no matter what the cost - to deal with crises and scandals.
• Engage your critics; but that doesn't mean you have to agree with them.
• Talk about ethics - a lot.
• Prepare to be blamed for things you didn't do. Some companies have a knack for over-reacting and turning small complaints into big problems. Don't be one of them.

When the economy improves, the frustration and anger that now permeate Middle America will likely fade a bit, but our world is now wired to feed conspiratorial thinking. People self-select their news and information, and they pick and choose the communities with whom they share their opinions and values. That means when times get tough again, it won't take long for the next wave of urban legends to take hold.

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"But haven't you forgotten something?" you ask. "What about political conspiracies? They happen all the time, right?"

While I hate to disappoint fans of The Lost Symbol and The Manchurian Candidate, the irony is that in the nation's capital there are very few actual conspiracies. That's because a good conspiracy requires people to do two things: (1) work together and (2) keep secrets. Since when has Washington been good at either?

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