The conspiracy theory is a favorite for the paranoid. It is a convenient answer when the numbers just don't add up. It takes no real proof, and often the absence of proof is just proof it exists! They all just KNOW they have "The Truth" and are uninterested in anything that might challenge that belief. Science doesn't matter. Evidence doesn't matter. Reason itself doesn't matter. None of that matters, other than how they can be twisted to reach the desired conclusions, and any scientific evidence conflicting with that belief system must to them be the result of a coverup. This is all just like a cult, where, the more evidence is presented to members that they are in a cult, the more tightly they cling to their cultish beliefs.
Karen Douglas On Conspiracy Theories:
Jamie Bartlett and Carl Miller on 'Truth And The Net':
Michael Specter: The danger of science denial:
Denialism: Media in the Age of Disinformation - Michael Specter, Chris Mooney, Shannon Brownlee, Shankar Vedantam
Chris Mooney and Dr. Ben Santer on Communicating Climate Change (can be applied to almost any form of denialism):
Contrary to what grand conspiracy theorists believe, the sky isn't falling.
In the last 100 years the human lifespan has increased by over 35 years. 100 years ago the average lifespan was only 45 years. Now it's almost 80. And that number is increasing every year. If it keeps increasing at that same rate, the average lifespan of a child born in 2008 will be 98 years old.
Teen pregnancy, smoke, and drug use have all decreased significantly since the 1990s.
Rates of cancer have decreased steadily in the U.S. for 20 years and it's not just because people aren't smoking as much, though that's certainly part of it. It's also because new screening techniques that can detect pre-cancerous lesions in the colon and also because of the HPV vaccine which prevents the virus that causes cervical cancer.
Small Pox once killed millions of people per year; now it has been completely eradicated. It literally does not exist anymore.
Since 1990, global poverty rates have decreased by more than 30%. And they're on-track to have decreas 40% by 2015.
Divorce rates are much lower than people assume, and have consistently dropped since the 1970's in America. Only 20% of people who got married in the 1980s got divorced.
Violent crime rates dropped 5% between 2007 and 2008. And violent crime rates have been dropping consistently every year since 1993
The Red Cross collects 15 million blood donations per year. No one is compensated for those donations, except with cookies and juice. People just like helping other people.
In 1970 there were only 400 breeding pairs of Bald Eagles left in America, but the Endangered Species Act effectively saved the species. There are now more than 10,000 breeding pairs. During the same time Whooping Cranes returned from a much more serious 50 birds total in the entire world. There are now over 500. "5 Complaints About Modern Life (That Are Statistically B.S.)" By Mark M., M. Asher Cantrell
How government agencies and the media REALLY respond when pharmaceutical companies misbehave. (Notice the total lack of collusion): “Contractor Questions Order to Remove Motrin From Shelves" by Dr. RICHARD BESSER and BRINDA ADHIKARI
For a great primer on debunking many of the popular grand conspiracy theories, check out the podcast, "The Conspiracy Skeptic here.
"I have ranted against Alex Jones as many of you already know. I believe he seriously distracts and drains resources from legitimate issues. Here are some of the reasons I do not support his agenda: * Spreads erroneous, discredited information * Elevates rumors and conspiracy theories to the status of facts; rarely provides sources for outrageous statements * Misinterprets and/or misrepresents news items, legislation, government documents, etc., to bring them in line with his belief that the world's elite are carrying out systematic repression against all people in preparation for the installation of a "New World Order" * Uses this misinformation to instill fear, anger, and panic in his audience * Provides a forum for guests who hold pseudo-..historical and pseudo-..scientific views * Provides a forum for guests who hold anti-Semitic views * Provides a forum for guests who offer bogus medical treatments and cures * Appeals to emotionality in lieu of logic/..rationality * Fosters an "Us vs. Them" siege mentality * Encourages fear and distrust of all officials, law enforcement personnel, military officers, medical professionals, and educators * Presents deeply flawed analysis of historical events as fact * Retroactively reshapes descriptions of events so that he can claim, "Everything I say comes true!" * Promotes "Satanic panic" (anti-occult hysteria created by misinformation and hoaxes) * Fosters extremely dangerous anti-vaccine hysteria * Exaggerates and distorts information to fit his worldview (a common media tactic, but still unacceptable) * Gives inaccurate health and dietary advice, though he is not a medical professional and does not seem to have a medical adviser * Discourages people from donating to the American Cancer Society and other nonprofit cancer organizations * Inculcates fear and disrespect of law enforcement by exaggerating and harping on isolated instances of police brutality and malfeasance * Provides scientifically inaccurate information about global warming, space exploration, food additives, and sundry other topics of which he has no specialized knowledge" -The Frank Factor Network at: http://thefrankfactorspace.ning.com
Many conspiracy theories revolve around perpetual warnings of doom not unlike the Jehovah's Witnesses:
HOW GOVERNMENT COVERT OPERATIVES WORK IN THE REAL WORLD:
"Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions."
— Thomas Jefferson
BAD CONSPIRICISTS:
The following are perfect examples of REAL grand conspiracy thinking but applied to theories so absurd that everyone should be able to see the fallacies. This is the very definition of Poe's Law:
What's the harm in conspiracy theories?
60 Minutes - Who are "sovereign citizens"?
For information on 9/11 conspiracy theories specifically, click here.
For more information on anti-vaccination conspiracy theories or autism denialism, click here.
For information on Holocaust Denial, click here.
For information on HIV Denialism, visit our Medical Quackery page here.
