I remember after the Snowden NSA revelations, I was talking to some dipshit about bass lessons and I said we should avoid Skype because of the spying, and he made a joke about a tinfoil hat. Never talked to him again. I guess I’m just saying you gotta be careful not to swing the other way.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspiracy_theory
Conspiracy theorists see themselves as having privileged access to socially persecuted knowledge or a stigmatized mode of thought that separates them from the masses who believe the official account.
https://www.rochester.edu/newscenter/how-do-conspiracy-theories-work-explainer-653052/
By their very nature, conspiracy theories cater powerfully to basic human psychological needs. According to the self-determination theory of human motivation, developed by Rochester psychologists Richard Ryan and Ed Deci, these include the need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness.
Conspiracies exploit our fundamental desire to belong to a social group and feel connected to others. They often divide the world into “us” (the ones who know the truth) and “them” (the powerful elites who are hiding the truth). This division creates a sense of belonging and solidarity—that is, relatedness—with others who share similar beliefs.
Similarly, believing in conspiracy theories can help create a sense of autonomy, or a feeling of control over one’s actions and choices so that a person is no longer powerless in the face of unknown forces. Buying into conspiratorial thinking may also feel rewarding because it fosters a sense of moral or intellectual superiority for knowing the “real” truth.
Beyond appealing to these basic needs, conspiracism activates our innate cognitive biases—mental processes that can lead to illogical and irrational decisions by providing seductively simple answers and seemingly reassuring explanations for our complex and often chaotic world. One example is confirmation bias, in which people tend to favor information that supports their pre-existing beliefs. A conspiracy entrepreneur can exploit these natural tendencies to sow conspiratorial thinking in the audience. Furthermore, we are wired to detect patterns, even where none exist, a phenomenon referred to as illusory pattern perception. This skewed perception may make random events appear the result of deliberate, secret plots.
Always fun to see it written out in academically correct language,
That allows people to feel smug about 5G murder hornets theories while nodding at the Epstein files. It’s finally all out in the open which means it has never been a conspiracy.
And by “that” I assume you mean verifiable evidence?
Ok but what about the conspiracy theories which are the truth
There are a handful, but they’re either too mundane for the typical conspiracy guy, or actually invalidate certain conspiracies.
Like climate change deniers. They believe that climate change is created by scientists to make more money or by shadow government to keep people in line with fear, or some combination of both.
The real conspiracy is, however, that Exxon Mobile knew about climate change 11 years before scientists at large discovered it and spent all that time creating the climate denying talking points we all know and love.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/exxon-knew-about-climate-change-almost-40-years-ago/
Right, but a conspiracy theory would be to go back to before climate change was a widely accepted thing and then claiming that Exxon were sitting on information that could ultimately lead to the end of human civilisation.
Many people make such claims about things that are currently happening, and are all lumped in together as insane people that should not be trusted.
Who are you to say there “are a handful” of legitimate conspiracy theories? Have you yourself looked into them yourself, or are you just saying what the majority would?
Just with the Trump administration itself, I would say there are hundreds of conspiracies going on there. Whilst many of them are out in the open, there are others we can theorise on.
Conspiracy theories are all bollocks. Real conspiracies don’t even bother to hide because they have the power and who’s going to stop them anyway?
[Redacted]
Example?
NSA spying, Epstein, diamond engagement rings, are some examples of conspiracy theories widely established to be real.
Auto companies buying up and shutting down public transit
As far as ones with solid supporting documentation: The various COINTELPRO operations, the Bay of Pigs fiasco, the attempts by the FBI to blackmail MLK, Watergate and its coverup, the Teapot Dome scandal, Iran/Contra, Nixon’s sabotage of the Vietnam peace talks, the coordinated campaign of lies that led up to the Iraq war, the Brooks Brothers Riot, the catholic church protecting pedo priests, the baptist church protecting pedo clergy, Soviet coverups of things like Lake Karachay and the first few days after Chernobyl before it became undeniable. And of course, the assassination of Julius Caesar.
Just because there are conspiracy theorists doesn’t mean conspiracies don’t happen.
Conversely, just because conspiracies happen doesn’t mean everything’s a conspiracy.
As Noam Chomsky used to say, that was basically the only legitimate conspiracy theory out there!
Considering how Chomsky was involved with Epstein, I can understand why he would want people to believe that.
Chomsky knew lots of people. He wasn’t “involved” with Epstein. And he was right lol
And yet, pizza gate, school shooting crisis actors, “Bush did 9/11”, fake moon landing, firmament, HAARP weather control, JFK killed by the CIA, et. al (to name a few) are all ephemeral bunk with no conclusive evidence to back them up.
Yes, and countless crackpots reference Galileo when shouting out their latest thing that scientists don’t want you to know about. The one doesn’t automatically give even the slightest credence to the other.
Sure, but it works the other way around too; you can’t automatically rule out conspiracy theories as false just because they fall into the category of conspiracy theories. This is itself a plausible conspiracy theory; that the trope of conspiracy theories being associated with crazy idiots, and the prevalence of very stupid conspiracy theories, is supported and encouraged to provide additional cover for the real ones.
You can until they provide evidence. Because the onus of proof is on the claimant.
Acquire proof.
I would argue that even before the point where the conspiracies I mentioned were conclusively proven and accepted as common knowledge, it still made sense to seriously consider the possibility and not dismiss people doing so only because they were engaging in conspiracy theories (which absolutely happened). That mindset just helps them get away with it.
5G causing murder hornets is a pretty good one.
I think there’s proof that whales really don’t like Sonar, that’s why they attck boats.
that’s why they attck boats
That part is on you. The proof is only of the first part.
There’s some weak evidence it’s not, and the stuff in your article doesn’t apply at all to the ones that are doing it. But we mostly have no idea.
To clarify, I don’t own a boat, and didn’t write the article (it’s not “mine”).
Geez brah, why ya gotta be spreading misinformation like that.
It’s funny because it’s true, as they say.
One of my friends is super liberal and keeps saying this about any criticism of capitalism. Just vote, bro.
Sorry I don’t follow, what does he say about any criticism of capitalism? Does he believe that any competing idea constitutes a conspiracy?
He thinks that any criticism of capitalism is a conspiracy theory, and is thus not accurate. For example if you think the legislature obeys the rich and not the public.
Libertarians of any stripe love their macroeconomics despite its independence of how society as a whole is doing.
Beautiful.
Earth is… In a way a chemical trail.
Oh, no. The Deep State and Big Psych have gotten to the webcomic artists!
