Why are the freemasons often the target of conspiracy theories?

In 1738 the Pope forbid all Catholics from joining a Masonic lodge (open to men of any religion, and secretive, no doubt to avoid Inquisition), and called them 'depraved and perverted' (unlike the Church, of course). No doubt the faithful kept the rumor-mills turning.

Because conspiracists are lazy. They can't even get past the flat earth stuff.

From what I've come across, it's from a combination of their secrecy (historically to the point of death, read about Hiram Abiff William Morgan who was mobbed to death by Freemasons just North of where I used to live), their links to the upper class, their place in the spiritual sphere (they have Anglican/Templar associations, which is why the pope forbids joining, and these put their links to the British crown into perspective, as well as the fact they have their very own equivalent to the Vatican Secret Archives, which is a common theme, with the more gender-inclusive and Knights-Hospitaller-sprung Sovereign Military Order of Malta being their strictest rivals), their feud with what has come to be known as the LDS church (Joseph Smith was said to have been a Freemason who took off with their secret "ideas" to make the Book of Mormon), the fact they have historically looked down on those who leave or operate from other societies such as the Oddfellows, and some of their practices, such as the fact they used to be unwilling to testify against each other in court (I don't know if this is still true, but to put that into perspective, the United States recently reprimanded Scientology for the same reason), how "expensive" it is to actually be a member, their overlapping with what would today be called Gnosticism (oddly the G symbol does not stand for Gnosticism, though one cannot deny what comes across as some very sectarian observations/tendencies), and how it's 2025 and they still don't allow women to join (they also used to not allow people of color to join either, up until recently, and they still require someone to have a spiritual upbringing), which is why I am not one (I could join the Eastern Star, but it's almost knock-off-esque compared to the actual thing, which actually used to frown upon the Eastern Star as "missing the point", plus they wouldn't take kindly to my upbringing since my details would fall outside their range of knowledge).

In a way, it's comparable to how we might critique a British megachurch, if that megachurch was formatted like a university fraternity club. I had known many Freemasons, which is the norm where I used to live because there is a high enough Masonic presence in the area that they built the streets (arranging the sidewalk in a literal square and compass design), with family members of my friends participating in the group. I have nothing against them on their own, but with their sense of superiority and duty (especially with foreign entities involved) that often gets stereotypically mixed in with their demeanor, they can be as overbearing as sand here (coarse and rough and irritating and getting everywhere), which for a long time has not just led me to speculate myself but also forced my hand in a way. When you combine an obsolete sense of self with extreme exclusivity, well, there you go.

Because once upon a time, the lodges were where literal important historical figures worked out the details on their conspiracies.

Lots of important and influential people were members and used their private little club to conduct business and make plans. That planning and business got called “conspiracy” because it happened behind secretive closed doors and involved rituals even though that same planning and dealing continued on outside the Masons when the club was no longer as popular among the well heeled.

They never shook off the image of importance even though the club is nowhere near the numbers it used to be.

My great grandad was a Mason all his adult life (~16 until his death at 99), as were my father and grandfather. None made it to the 33rd degree, which I'm not sure how much study, effort and money they put fourth, in effort. I know it irked me father and grandfather they had to pay the Masons $300 to perform "Amazing Grace" on bagpipes, at my great grand's funeral, which was his dying wish, so they walked away from the society.

Lon Milo Duquette speaks about the Masons, a bit, in some of his talks, but I've not delved deeply into their customs. I think there's quite a bit available, online, if one is interested enough to research. I'd think they are like any other organization: differing beliefs and political orientation among individuals, but I could be wrong.

TL;DR: because conspiracy theorists are people too scared to dive themselves into what they consider "forbidden" knowledge. They're scared of trying to understand it. They fear some kind of "divine punishment", but it's just themselves.

I was once a conspiracy theorist and Christian. Not exactly Christian, as I didn't engage with any church or Christian denomination. I was once someone who was vocal about how freemasonry "pacts with the devil" and "hides secrets". The symbols, the hand gestures... It seemed like a "evil" thing to me.

However... Deep inside... I always felt some attraction to the mysterious. Deep inside, I wanted to eat the forbidden fruit... and, the destiny is a funny thing, I did, I proved it, I opened myself, and it all made sense to me.

Today I know, there's no such thing as "evil" or "good" when we consider the grand scheme of the Cosmos. Good and evil are human constructs, while cosmic forces are capable of both "evil" and "good". Ordo ab chao is a beautiful concept when you allow yourself. Chaos seems like a scary word for those who didn't gaze into the abyss: She got beautiful eyes... Scary, but beautiful. It can feel painful sometimes, it can feel lonely to get to understand, but it's the only purposeful thing I'm aware. The cosmic chaos. From that, the somethingness emerges: the order, which unfolds into chaos again, like a fractal, a recursive identity of itself, as above so below. Chaos emerges order, order emerges chaos. Throughout the eternity, they unfold. It as "simple" as that. A cosmic dance, Yin and Yang, Darkness and Light, Goddess and God, Asherah and Yahweh, Lilith and Lucifer, Matter and Energy. Dancing as The Oneness. The Cosmos.

I'm probably "profane" in the eyes of Freemasons, because nowadays I openly advocate that anybody should be allowed to know the knowledge and even practice it. After all, we're all the Cosmos experiencing itself, so why not? I know they see this knowledge through a different lens, a different from that of, to exemplify, Luciferianism and Chaos Magick. They're not related, yet they grasp the same cosmic knowledge. A knowledge that, in order to be understood, needs an open mind and an open soul. It needs Eve and Adam to eat the fruit so to see what Lilith and Lucifer were naturally emerged to see: the beauty within the cosmic dance of darkness and chaos.

Conspiracy theorists use a scapegoat or analogue. Example: https://odysee.com/@QuantumRhino:9/The-Secret-Rulers-of-the-World---David-Icke-The-Lizards-and-The-Jews:7