5 Theories About Conspiracy Theories

[Newest Reality]

Conspiracy theories are becoming more mainstream than ever and our influencing our politics even more than ever. I think that's a sign of deeper factors in our culture, but it is also something to be more aware of as a factor in our discussions and debates. Of course, we have an IMPOTUS who is capitalizing on this trend, as well, and his FAKE REALITY has foundations in that kind of thinking.

So, file this one under contextual must reads because I strongly feel it will give us more clarity and understanding as we fall face first into this brave new territory. Their is multi-faceted and diverse, and there is chaotic, fractured and divisive. We might want to know the difference and why it matters on so many levels of society.

It took almost no time from the delay in reporting the results of the Iowa Caucus for the online conspiracy theorizing engine to start up. Employees for the companies responsible for the app that seemed to have caused the Iowa failure were quickly linked to Pete Buttigieg’s 2020 campaign and Hillary Clinton’s 2016 effort; Twitter threads were spun out based on FEC records showing that Buttigieg’s campaign had paid the app developer. And, come on, the company that made that app was called Shadow, Inc. Was “Masonic Unmarked Helicopters, LLC” already trademarked?

Just as quickly as the conspiracy theories, of course, came the debunkings, fact-checking, and sanctimonious tut-tutting over their proliferation. (Also in the mix: Republicans like Trump’s campaign manager trying to play up the conspiracy theories to discredit the Democratic Party, not that it needed much help.) But what was the point?

Even liberals who once fretted over the increased visibility of conspiracy theories on the right have recently turned toward conspiracy thinking themselves — about Trump’s tax returns, or his relationship to Russia — as a mode of political engagement. Every faction in American politics now has a series of pet conspiracy theories believed by a significant portion of its supporters. We live in the age of red yarn and corkboard, of YouTube hypothesis and Twitter-thread investigation. No one seems able to avoid falling back into conspiracy-theory logic when explaining geopolitical events.

Why, though? There is, fittingly, no easy explanation for the appeal or spread of conspiracy thinking. Instead, there are many, well, theories — some overlapping and reinforcing, some contradictory, all of them useful in understanding the shadowy power of the conspiracy theory in the 21st century.

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/02/why-do-people-believe-in-conspiracy-theories.html

[Backseat Driver]

1. Well, I got a few of my own silly CTs:

One is called "Failed AI Project"; the other: "All About the Emails" (think about where they were located).