"Conspiracy theory" is actually a derogatory term. It is used to describe thoughts that are made about something, usually surrounding an event or organization, that is unwarrented or lacks logical evidence, and that the thing they believe is happening is illegal or is malevolent. "Conspiracy" is often used as a shortened form of "conspiracy theory," which means "theory that there is a conspiracy," conspiracy meaning a plot that causes harm. In that sense of the word, anything that is a plot to do harm is a "real conspiracy." If I had planned to shred someone's lines for a play so that they can't practice their audition, that would be my conspiracy, though when one hears the word "conspiracy" they usually think of more larger scale ones. If a conspiracy theory turned out to actually be true, then it would no longer be considered a "conspiracy theory" as it's a derogatory term for theories of conspiracies that are irrational. The whole term "conspiracy theory" implies it's an untrue theory, so real conspiracies and fake ones have it's own term used to detonate false ones.
