Conspiracy Theories....

[Ride-sleep-repeat]

Why do some people succumb to or buy into Conspiracy Theories and is there a 'specific type' of person who does so?

A very good friend of mine has fallen into one to the point where his rants/tweets on Twitter are becoming quite worrying.He's always hated people using Facebook/IG/Twitter for Political posts and he used to say "if any of my friends posts Political cr@p on FB I deleted them.Facebook should be about fluffy kittens and puppies doing silly things".He's now gone the opposite direction and his Twitter feed is all Political rants and re-tweeting some quite frankly bizarre claims!
He's usually an intelligent chap,a little off the wall at times,and his rants seemed to appear over night in May.Myself and a few other friends have tried to talk to him but he writes us off as not being clever enough to see what is happening!This to us is like a re-run of a Business mistake he made about 10 years ago that all consumed him despite warnings from everyone,including his parents,that it was a non-starter.He finally gave up on it after just under 10 years of nothing and this has all the hallmarks of that.

Are certain people perceptible to certain things I wonder?Is it pre-set in some folk that they will always 'see' what others don't however misjudged their 'sight' is?

[kwackers]

Are certain people perceptible to certain things I wonder?Is it pre-set in some folk that they will always 'see' what others don't however misjudged their 'sight' is?

All the evidence suggests there are many factors.

Interestingly being "intelligent" doesn't protect you, it turns out intelligent people are actually quite susceptible because they use their intelligence to "prove" their beliefs (they're also more likely to think they understand something when in fact they don't).

Subscribing to one conspiracy does make you more likely to subscribe to others.
Once you've decided that "experts" haven't a clue then the skies the limit to what you can believe.

Lack of education is another factor, particularly with some of the wilder 'flat earth' style conspiracies.

A feeling that you're out of control is another common thing, conspiracy theories help to give people a feeling of being in control, they "know" what's going on unlike all the "sheeple".


Overall though we all harbour our little conspiracies, it's just for most of us they never get out of hand. Understanding this is probably the biggest thing you can do to prevent getting sucked in - that and doing proper research, trusting experts and listening to them etc etc.

[DevonDamo]

I went to a talk on flat-earthers last year, and there were a variety of reasons highlighted, ranging from frustrated narcissism (i.e. desperately wanting to show the world that you're privy to secret knowledge) to a desire to feel part of a community. One strong underlying theme is the constant, relentless whispering campaign, primarily via social media, against experts and the 'scientific method.' The average man in the street doesn't understand that the scientific method is the nearest we'll ever get to absolute truth, because it ensures our knowledge is constantly evolving by adapting and reacting and testing itself against evidence. Therefore, a few regularly-repeated lies, e.g. the link between autism and the MMR vaccine, can have devastating effects - persuading the man in the street to believe that the scientists are corrupt and/or incompetent.

I wanted to raise this point in the thread about moderation, but decided against it as it would be interpreted as sour grapes. However, there is an important point to be made here - this site is no different to any other social media, where lies and half-truths can be posted without any fear of consequences. Even our current Government have acknowledged that this is a massive problem which needs to be tackled with regards to the flood of Covid19 misinformation. (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/social-media-giants-agree-package-of-measures-with-uk-government-to-tackle-vaccine-disinformation) The big players like Twitter and Facebook are attempting to do something - e.g. highlighting when content is either contested or just plain wrong. Unfortunately, this site continues to adopt a clumsy 'politeness at all costs' policy, which has resulted in non-offensive, non-threatening, ridicule of Covid19 misinformation being deleted, whilst the misinformation is allowed to stay put. I think every forum ought to understand that if it's not being part of the solution, then it's part of the problem - the misinformation spreaders have a much easier job than the experts because they can just keep repeating increasingly emotive falsehoods until the man in the street caves in and believes them.

[thirdcrank]

I'd always assumed that a conspiracy theory involved a belief that there was a group of people - the conspirators - who were working together secretly - conspiring to carry out some sort of plot. Assassinating Julius Caesar seems to have been one and the Gunpowder Plot was another.

More recently, I thought there was a belief in some quarters that the news of the American Moon Landings was fake news as it's now called, but produced as part of a conspiracy plot with trick photography etc.

The conspiracy plot with the MMR vaccine was big pharmaceutical companies accused of conspiring to hide the truth. On that basis, a proven conspiracy was all the American tobacco barons conspiring to lie to the US Congress about the damage to health caused by cancer.

Has conspiracy theories come to mean people who peddle daft ideas?

[DevonDamo]

Has conspiracy theories come to mean people who peddle daft ideas?

No. The flat-earthers believe that there are (a variety of) shadowy, powerful, authorities that are conspiring to hide the true shape of the Earth from us. There are so many of these theories that I won't bother going into any of the detail - Google it if you're interested.

As for the Covid tin-foil hat brigade, they have a few targets. Two of the more prominent ones are 5G networks and/or Bill Gates. Then you've got Trump pointing his fingers at the Chinese. Then you've got the idiots that meet up at Trafalgar square protesting that the lockdown is the beginning of a dictatorship.

They definitely are daft ideas, but there's always some accusation of 'them' doing it to pull the wool over the eyes of the 'sheeple' and take over the planet.

[horizon]

Has conspiracy theories come to mean people who peddle daft ideas?

I've noticed some muddle recently as to who the theorist is and who is participating in the conspiracy. I get the impression that people who believe there is a conspiracy afoot are now regarded as conspiring to create a (false) theory. Personally I don't believe in the idea of a conspiracy: if the rich get together to exploit the poor, that isn't a conspiracy (even if at times secret), that's just life and reasonably explained by class theory etc etc. If scientists get together with Big Pharma then it's because they both want to make drugs - that isn't a conspiracy. It's a bit like saying that getting your chimney swept involves a conspiracy with the sweep.

[pwa]

Maybe to some extent this is a modern alternative to the fringe religious zealots who used to be quite a common feature in our society, but who are now less common. People with that disposition now find other fringe world views to bang on about. I'm sure it is a response to some sort of internal crisis, but beyond that I don't understand it.

[thirdcrank]

Perhaps all that's different then, is that a soap box at Speakers' Corner or enough dosh to own a newspaper is no longer the only way to try to get your message out to a wider audience.

Perhaps the growth of media studies courses is somehow related.

[roubaixtuesday]

Conspiracy theories are nonsense.

They're deliberately planted by a secret group led by George Soros and Bill Gates in order to deflect attention from their attempt to run the world from their undersea volcano.

The Chinese government through their control of 5G make our minds more susceptible to this by beaming radiation which weakens our logical cortex.

Donald Trump through his indefatigable fight against a secret paedophile underground deep state marxist fake news china virus campaign is our last hope. Donate now to save the world*

*Donald Trump has accrued nearly $200million from his supporters since losing to fight the good fight ie fund his retirement. Who's the idiot here?

[mercalia]

Conspiracy theories are nonsense.

They're deliberately planted by a secret group led by George Soros and Bill Gates in order to deflect attention from their attempt to run the world from their undersea volcano.

The Chinese government through their control of 5G make our minds more susceptible to this by beaming radiation which weakens our logical cortex.

Donald Trump through his indefatigable fight against a secret paedophile underground deep state marxist fake news china virus campaign is our last hope. Donate now to save the world*

*Donald Trump has accrued nearly $200million from his supporters since losing to fight the good fight ie fund his retirement. Who's the idiot here?

you have fotgotten that the vaccine is really about implanting a small transmitter so that Putin or XI can indoctrinate when you are asleep with messages like "vote for Trump" or "contribute to Trumps fight back fund" or ...

[pwa]

Someone or something has got at Trump. Don't try to tell me that the guff he spouts is the product of a human brain.

[reohn2]

Why do some people succumb to or buy into Conspiracy Theories and is there a 'specific type' of person who does so?

A very good friend of mine has fallen into one to the point where his rants/tweets on Twitter are becoming quite worrying.He's always hated people using Facebook/IG/Twitter for Political posts and he used to say "if any of my friends posts Political cr@p on FB I deleted them.Facebook should be about fluffy kittens and puppies doing silly things".He's now gone the opposite direction and his Twitter feed is all Political rants and re-tweeting some quite frankly bizarre claims!
He's usually an intelligent chap,a little off the wall at times,and his rants seemed to appear over night in May.Myself and a few other friends have tried to talk to him but he writes us off as not being clever enough to see what is happening!This to us is like a re-run of a Business mistake he made about 10 years ago that all consumed him despite warnings from everyone,including his parents,that it was a non-starter.He finally gave up on it after just under 10 years of nothing and this has all the hallmarks of that.

Are certain people perceptible to certain things I wonder?Is it pre-set in some folk that they will always 'see' what others don't however misjudged their 'sight' is?

That story(other than the Twitter account),practically mirrors an ex friend of mine who we used to be quite close,his new business plan was flawed and he didn't like me telling him why.
His beliefs in Muslims or brown skinned people taking over the UK,his belief that anything written in "my paper"(Daily Mail) was the truth,the whole truth and nothing but the truth,along with an extreme rightwinf political stance and a string of bad investments and weird theories thta he had that he simply couldn't take the truth about when faced with it.
Over a period of five or more years,I watched this very intelligent man(Grammar School educated/civil engineering degrees coming out of his ears),who I'd known for 20 years,get worse and worse.I tried to point out what was happening to him,he just became more and more bitter and twisted,personal and pointed,untiI I could stand it no longer from him and walked away from our friendship.

[reohn2]

Someone or something has got at Trump. Don't try to tell me that the guff he spouts is the product of a human brain.

He's being what he's always been,a conman,a prosperity preacher who conspired with others who were really going profit(the rich and upper middle classes)from his presidency,to fool some of the people for some of the time,now just like those who were fooled by any other prosperity teaching the fools can't admit they were fooled because their pride won'tlet them.
Religion has been a classic example of this,you must believe in this god/saviour/prophet/method or you won't get your reward when you die.All the other gods/saviours/prophets/methods are false so to believe in them will result in an eternal damnation.

One thing is for sure and that is there are some very rich and powerful people at work to keep the status quo.

[thirdcrank]

... there are some very rich and powerful people at work to keep the status quo. ....

And they are all conspiring .....

That's probably the one I find easiest to believe. (But note horizon's comment about class above.)

[reohn2]

... there are some very rich and powerful people at work to keep the status quo. ....

And they are all conspiring .....

In a word,no.But enough are to influence elections in their favour.