Not that we need another hat in the ring, but I always felt that the obvious was that Conspiracy Theories are unproven, or not widely accepted as having been proven-- once proven/accepted as proven they are simply Conspiracies.

Of course, proven have always been conspiracies, and sometimes it makes sense to refer to them as conspiracy theories, such as in this context in which you may want to highlight that this slice of reality was widely treated with the derision often cast on unproven conspiracy theories. So, yeah, language is complicated-- but I'm with MMM here: digging in your heals on the definitions of words is to everyone's detriment. Try to take people's meaning as they mean it, if there's confusion and you can't agree on the usage of words, simply clarify your use, and in response to their use spell out your understanding of their use-- if this is untenable, then end the exchange.


That said, COINTELPRO is an example of a conspiracy theory that was widely disseminated (mostly in the black community in the US) prior to being proven/widely accepted as proven.