tinhat

plural tinhats

1. alternativeAlternative form of tin hat (“a tinfoil hat”).
2. derogatoryslanglifestyleOne who promotes a conspiracy theory within a fandom space, especially with regard to shipping or a speculated celebrity relationship.

   A year later, some "Domlijah" shippers became convinced that the dream relationship between Dominic Monaghan and Elijah Wood wasn't fiction after all, but an elaborately covered-up tragedy. They became the very first "tinhats."

   2022, Kaitlyn Tiffany, Everything I Need I Get from You: How Fangirls Created the Internet as We Know It, unnumbered page

   2 more examples

   It is the conspiracy theory aspect of this caricature that is most important here: the LOTRPS tinhats believe in a complex conspiracy in which the stars of the trilogy were being forced by PR to hide their relationships, but the stars in question would find ways to communicate the "truth" to their fans.

   2014, Anna Martin, "Writing the Star: Stardom, Fandom and Real Person Fanfiction", thesis submitted to Lancaster University, page 94

   Two people do reply, and the second is noteworthy: "I seriously doubt very many people here legitimately believe any of the boys – okay, with the possible exception of Brendon *facepalm* – is actually gay. Those that do are teenies and tinhats."

   2020, Judith May Fathallah, Emo: How Fans Defined a Subculture, page 59

   Synonyms: tinhatter