I've never understood why it is controversial to say that some people seek fame, power, and money using dubious methods, and that those people might form social

I've never understood why it is controversial to say that some people seek fame, power, and money using dubious methods, and that those people might form social clubs to do it together. They might even not want to publish it because they know most people would think poorly of their methods... And I think that has been going on for a long time, at all sorts of levels. I guess that would be a "conspiracy", even if it isn't little green aliens body-snatching. I think having a reasonable conversation about it isn't impossible. We just have to avoid both extremes, the "little green aliens" theorists and the "nope, nothing to see here, move along" crowd.