this post was submitted on 16 Sep 2023
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[–] [email protected] 62 points 1 year ago (5 children)

It's amazing how none of the conspiracy morons care about real shit like the Panama papers etc.

[–] [email protected] 52 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

They would rather believe in a made up, shadowy group of super wealthy and connected people that rule the world, as opposed to the very public group of super wealthy and connected people that rule the world.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago

I honestly think the Panama papers were too much evidence for conspiracy theorists. They need something more edgy and attractive. Not something obvious that everyone else is on board with. It's all about being against the grain

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago

You sheep! Can't you see that the very public and obvious group of wealthy people that rule the world are just a front!!??!? A front for the real secret group of wealthy people that rule the world, like... Bill Gates, and... Jeffery Bezos, and...

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Yeah, that's not a conspiracy theory, it's a conspiracy fact.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago (1 children)

So, I have a private theory that there is a deliberate effort by government and industry to spread obviously outlandish conspiracy theories, to discredit people who are threatening government and industry's operations by talking about the actual conspiracies that happen.

  • US sprays biological weapons from the air onto Americans -> people find out and get upset -> weird chemtrails conspiracy theories -> helps discredit people trying to report the initial kernel of truth
  • Lots of rich people are sex criminals -> people find out and start listing specific names -> QAnon -> helps discredit people talking about pedophilia by the powerful

 

I think a related thing happens in protest organizations, with part of the affected industry's multi-million-dollar effort to combat their opposition, e.g.:

  • Factory farming exists -> people find out how bad it is and get upset -> ag industry infiltrates PETA with people who say outlandish things -> people think PETA is crazy -> helps discredit opponents of factory farming
  • Climate crisis -> people do protests to try to stop it -> energy industry infiltrates protest organizations and advocates for protest methods that are guaranteed to piss people off -> helps discredit climate protests

 

Ironically enough, I have precisely 0 shred of evidence or indication that any of this is happening. But, it makes so much sense that I believe it to be true.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

My impression is these things are always multifaceted, right? I'm sure different "think-tanks" with "armies of online trolls" plant seeds / stem the flames of whatever is convenient, but likewise a lot of people are biased to not want to believe whatever has "mainstream" evidence, whether it's a conspiracy or anything else. In sum it's a cooking pot for something with a lot of pull

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Conspiracists cling to complicated conspiracies because it provides them a clear story about how the world runs.

These people are intellectually incapable of understanding that the world is mostly random.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Same with a lot of if not most religious people, they literally need to believe the world is orderly and under control because the reality of random chance is too scary

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

They believe in conspiracies not because they truly believe the earth is flat or whatever, they might, but they are attracted to fringe beliefs for the desire for community. Or to make sense of the randomness of the world. For an uncomplicated answer for complicated problems. It's a lot more complicated that people being kinda dumb.