Conspiracy theories have been around for decades, with some sticking around and developing more than others. In recent years, particularly with the inauguration of Joe Biden, there are very few proven ways to pull them out. People believe false conspiracy theories for a wide range of reasons, including the fact that there are real conspiracies like efforts by the Sackler family to profit by concealing the truth.
There are plenty of conspiracy theories out there that fuel the imaginations of the truly paranoid, such as NASA faked the moon landing, Paul McCartney has been dead since 1967, 9/11 was an inside job, and more. The genius of conspiracy theories is that you can’t prove them wrong, and this is true for two reasons.
Conspiration theories often incorporate elements from pseudoscience, such as employing scientific terms or referring to data, research, sources, and more. An outlandish idea that President Biden was dead or nearly dead was quickly refuted, and few of the accounts that had spread it online recanted. Everyone is susceptible to misinformation or being led astray online.
A new review finds that only some methods to counteract conspiracy beliefs are effective. There is a running debate among philosophers, psychologists, and other experts about what works and what doesn’t. It is essential to know when to follow intuition or look for more facts when dealing with conspiracy theories.
📹 Top 10 Conspiracy Theories That Turned Out to Be True
The truth is stranger than fiction. For this list, we’ll be going over the strangest and most famous conspiracy theories that were …
📹 Why You Can Never Argue with Conspiracy Theorists | Argument Clinic | WIRED
Alex Jones is not the only guy making a career out of conspiracy theories. They are everywhere on the internet and here’s why …
It’s not exactly that Newton’s theory of gravity or Darwin’s theory of evolution could one day be proven wrong, it’s more accurate to say that one day a better theory could emerge that better explains reality. It’s about developing a theory that is MORE accurate in explaining reality. Doesn’t mean Newton’s theory isn’t correct in explaining certain aspects of reality, it means that newer theories better account for reality.
Here’s the thing. The term “conspiracy theorist” is a quite useful tool for gaslighting those who question something they shouldn’t question. And the louder the-Earth-is-flat-birds-arent-real types of “conspiracy theorists” become, the easier it is to label literally anything as a “conspiracy” and dismiss people who look into it as “crazy conspiracy lovers”. Yeah, there are a lot of people who see patterns that are not actually there, but there are also a lot of people who dismiss anything that threaten their peace of mind. And I would argue the second type is even more dangerous than those who we usually call “conspiracy theorists”.
I use to be one of these deluded people. I had a real self righteous almost arrogant attitude. I wouldn’t listen to people. My beliefs at the time could be easily debunked. I finally saw the light so to speak abit embarrassing. Its important to listen and show empathy to these people. Good to have some good sources you can correct them with listen to people with expertise etc it’s pretty simple not some guy in a shed!
I’m a survivor of conspiracy theorist thinking. For 8 years I was hard core believing it, and spreading it (successfully) Then one day I felt honour bound to watch a 9/11 inside job debunking article. Despite my growing insecurity I watch it, and never felt to stupid and smart in my life. The fact they claim it fell at free fall speed when you can actually see other objects not connected to the tower, FALLING FASTER THAN THE TOWER. Those objects are falling at free fall acceleration, and the building is falling slower than that. One of there main arguments destroyed by merely looking at the article and knowing a tiny little bit of physics. It’s scary how many times I watched that footage thinking i was seeing a free fall collapse, when the evidence disproving it was also in the article. I didn’t see it ofcourse because 1) no conspiracy articles mentioned this and 2) deep down I didn’t wanna be wrong and know I’ve wasted 8 years. But I’ll say wasting 8 years believing in BS is better than wasting 9.
Is it just me or has Anyone noticed that YouTube stopped endorsing conspiracy theories. Like if I type in conspiracy theories, u dont get that much shane dawson articles, u just get titles that say ” top ten most ridiculous conspiracy theories” or the “psychology of conspiracy theorist” or “conspiracy theories debunked”. They want us to stop questioning and wondering lol . I mean just think about it ever since the area 51 meme got viral, articles on youtube just seem to make a joke of conspiracy theories. Idk its just a thought 🤔🤔🤷♀️👽👽
Why do you characterize people like this? This is dangerous. Everyone in general questions narratives every single day. Some people just choose to question big ideas, theories, etc. Only a few people actually have mental disorders in conjunction with conspiracies. But, you are characterizing everyone and anyone who questions things we define as ‘normal truths’ as nut jobs.
I’m a conspiracy theorist and I have no problem with people questioning my views; what I hate is when they dismiss things outright without even allowing a chance for debate. And I’m not one of those people who thinks reptilians are taking over the world. I just like to entertain ideas that are somewhat outlandish but fun to think about. It annoys me when people act like my ideas aren’t valid, yet they are too close-minded to give them a chance. I don’t see how thinking this way is illogical.
I would argue that evolution has not disproven its opponents, but silenced them. When was the last time you did not call someone nieve or uninformed when they said they do not believe in evolution? Try it. Next time, do not slam the person for going against your theory, thank them for the help testing your theory. Then listen to what they have to say, because who knows, Einstein might be right and the world was created, not evolved.
“oh look there’s this evidence that supports my conspiracy theory!” what to reply: “ok I’ll use your own argument against you then. How can you prove the validity of your source?” or if you want you can just slide down into a very simple evidence (takes some thinking to realise it): there is one thing in the universe that is undeniable: your own existence. Everything else might just be your senses fooling you.
“If a theory is not falsifiable it’s not worth debating” – While I agree with this statement in a scientific setting, there are still topics where this does not necessarily apply, for instance religion or philosophy. Great article by the way, some nice ammunition to combat conspiracy theorists, or at least know when it’s time to just stop arguing with them.
This article can be summed up with “believe everything the government tells you”. It worked so well before right? The problem is most theories have some shred of truth in them, yes there are some stupid theories but the fact remains they wouldn’t even exist if there wasn’t a fragment of truth that the government wants you so badly to believe is completely impossible that should make anyone think twice. A thinking person evaluates a subject and comes to a conclusion, they don’t need to berate or force an opinion on you. I get scared when I see people so openly take a broad brush and call everyone crazy. Crazy is dismissive they don’t want you even considering it. That’s where you should be afraid that someone has spent so much time and effort to make you dismiss things that have logical questions. This is not the America you were taught it is.
This guy lost all credibility when he brought up how the theory of evolution has grown stronger. New scientific evidence in the fields of chemistry and molecular genetics actually show common descent through gradual change, natural selection and random mutations plus deep, deep time to be impossible.
I’m sorry that Wired has decided to take this path. Younger generations are researching for themselves the issues/events/ideas addressed in this article and are themselves discovering the deceptions. Rather than being dismissive we all are benefited when marginalized ideas are given a fair hearing. I am very happy that our culture has begun to fact-check history and current events. The outdated ‘authorities’ are quickly losing their influence and this is a positive for us all.
I’m a survivor of conspiracy theorist thinking. For 8 years I was hard core believing it, and spreading it (successfully) Then one day I felt honour bound to watch a 9/11 inside job debunking article. Despite my growing insecurity I watch it, and never felt to stupid and smart in my life. The fact they claim it fell at free fall speed when you can actually see other objects not connected to the tower, FALLING FASTER THAN THE TOWER. Those objects are falling at free fall acceleration, and the building is falling slower than that. One of there main arguments destroyed by merely looking at the article and knowing a tiny little bit of physics. It’s scary how many times I watched that footage thinking i was seeing a free fall collapse, when the evidence disproving it was also in the article. I didn’t see it ofcourse because 1) no conspiracy articles mentioned this and 2) deep down I didn’t wanna be wrong and know I’ve wasted 8 years.
Another problem though is that conspiracy theorists either won’t or can’t engage in the level of logic that you use in this article, they can’t admit they’re wrong lots of times, goes back to their narcissism, which I think explains why Trump had such a huge following of conspiracy theorits, he was the biggest narcissism i’ve ever seen.
Hm, as someone currently preparing a lecture on media manipulation, and as a debating competition judge with over a decade of experience, a few points. There are whole fields of scientific study like the aforementioned psychoanalysis, or political science, which is what I have a degree in and which technically includes Marxism, that aren’t about predicting phenomena. To say that something is a waste of time debating and doesn’t belong into science just because it isn’t exclusively made out of predictive falsifiable statements is, well, incredibly reductive. Furthermore, to mention subjects like these in the same breath as the flat Earth or Moon landing hoax conspiracies is at best bad argumentation, at worst manipulative argumentation. Clearly, “theories” can be untrue, illogical, or otherwise unreliable or impractical in degrees. The truth is that validity and practical truth value of statements is about more in real life than what we can fully explain and predict. If you for example read a book called The Black Swan by the statistician Nassim Nicholas Taleb, you’ll discover that there are these things called unknown unknowns that one still has to deal with somehow. This article is a good example of the type of attitude and behavior toward knowledge that Taleb calls epistemic arrogance – overestimating how much you know and can predict or explain. For example, while the roundness of Earth or the effectiveness and (relative) safeness of vaccines are well established facts, assuming (and in the case of such manipulative argumentation implying) that organizations like NASA or CIA are not lying about anything is, frankly, ill-informed.
The problem with arguing with conspiracy theorists is that any evidence you present that directly contradicts the conspiracy theory is seen as further proof of the conspiracy. This makes the conspiracy theory an unfalsifiable theory which means that trying to argue with a conspiracy theorist is a hopeless endeavor. Conspiracy theorists do not care about the truth, they care about their egos and having knowledge or insight that the average person doesn’t have whether that knowledge or insight is fraudulent or not.
…and the reason they don’t know what a theory is, is that they just didn’t pay attention in school, and the reason you can’t teach them what a theory actually is still to this day is because they don’t actually want to listen or learn, they’re quite content being the paranoid and delusional narcissists they are while rambling on about how they’re right about everything despite what anyone else has to say about, though some of us are unaware of this, what’s essentially their condition. Ya simply can’t help those who don’t want to be helped.
Conspiracy people call others sheep while they copy the same arguments and repeat them as though they’re original self generated ideas. They all just essentially copy each other and yet they call us sheep because it’s inconceivable to them that a person can independently, rationally and honestly reject their interpretations in favour of a more traditional mainstream explanation of events. The lack of self awareness is so extreme you can’t help but feel sorry for them. Personally I think conspiracy people believe what they do (consciously or subconsciously) because it’s emotionally satisfying for them. 1) It makes them think that they’re smart and brave enough to see a truth everyone else is blind too, especially attractive to self conscious insecure underachievers. 2) for some people conspiracy theories are fun and exciting and make a sad boring event more interesting. 3) some people are attention hungry and thusly will be contrarian. 4) they’re afraid of how unsafe and random the world is so they come up with a reason why it would happen. Like 9/11, the idea that a government would tells lies and kill people to increase their power makes sense and is predictable. It’s part of the plan, even if the plan is horrifying. But the idea that 19 guys with box cutters can pull it off against the strongest country on earth, well then everybody loses their mind. If the government did it then they’re powerful and clever beyond understanding, but if the terrorists done that then the government are vulnerable and stupid.
My friend…its a good thing we are not the derogatory term (Conspiracy theorists ) the CIA made up for critical thinkers during the JFK cover up, we are critical thinkers…. definition of “critical = involving the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgement “…. “thinker =a person who thinks deeply and seriously,a person with highly developed intellectual powers, especially one whose profession involves intellectual activity… nuff said
Look at the doublethink. Most of the article is on falsifiable claims and the willingness to accept contradictory evidence, yet the description tells you that “you have no choice but to ignore” “conspiracy theories”. AND actual acknowledged entities and events are rattled off as conspiracy theories. This article is sloppy, take the time to make it longer and explain exactly what you’re referring to as conspiracy theories at least.
Ya know….I’m a conspiracy theorist, but I’m also a direct descendant of Reverend George Wightman (Baptist Encyclopedia), brother of Reverend Valentine Wightman (Baptist Encyclopedia) who married Susannah Holmes, daughter of Mary Holmes, daughter of Mary Sayles, daughter of Roger Williams (Encycloopedia 1636). Roger Williams was a Puritan like those Puritans that crossed on The Mayflower whom were also called “Separatists” after The Reformation of Denominations (Reformation – Encyclopedia Britiannica). Baptists, Amish, Puritans, along with many other denominations falls under Protestantism (Encyclopedia Britannica). Roger Williams also came out with The Separation of Church & State that transcended down into our 1st Amendment through Thomas Jefferson. Try taking me on as a conspiracy theorist.
I used to be a little inclined to believe in ‘conspiracy theories’, but I learned about biases and was cured. Then I was the victim of an actual, evidenced conspiracy, but do you think anyone will believe me? It isn’t always incompetence, sometimes people conspire to cover up their blunders, or maleficence. You gotta laugh…
Possibly is a reply writtenly texted to article uploader presented..a supposed unknown needed estimated voidantly usually amount of time hopefully a reasonable presentedness is displayed with factual convincive evidence with an ability to have readers or viewers be able to partly at least recognize a matchitive supposed connective hinter either literally or worldly or verbally for recognition to do a personal sparking for a possible addedness for a conversation to be initiated continuously and possible group discussions…Depopulate
Umm Issac Newton was right tho quantum physics and physics and 2 totally different subjects I’ve studied both so Newton was right not wrong also I hate when people use a image to argue flat earthers are wrong I believe they are but it’s a 2D image not sure if u understand what 2D is but maybe go look it up but even with that I don’t belive the earth is flat just saying you need to take all variables in to consideration good luck
People tend to forget that Conspiracy is a part of American culture . The things that happens after WW2 causes people into distrust of everything the gov said,which is pretty understandable. However, when that distrust combine with ignorance of science and the inability to identify which source is reliable or not, the Conspiracies only grow stronger. I used to think why so many American are into these stupid and anti-science stuff, then I realize that those Americans really think that the whole world depend on them, that they are the only country with the Truth and the only country that GOD cares about. It’s all about the culture and the arrogant+ignorance in it which make them not to accept that they’re wrong or even try to listen to other people’s point of views since they are the most important people in the world.
Also, I get why falsifiability is important, but basically what we’re talking about here is the difference between facts and opinions. The key difference is that there is only one set of facts which we should all agree on, but there is no right or wrong opinion. The problem is that opinions are important, too. Most of the problems in society are political – they are all about contentious claims, vested interests, messy compromises, and the head-on collision of ideology and reality. It’s not easy to make progress in such a hotly contested arena, not to mention one so full of mutual resentment, but if you refuse to even discuss the topic, you’ll never make any progress. So, say for example, you (miraculously) got everyone in the developed world to accept the scientific quasi-truth that global warming is both real and anthropogenic. That information on its own is useless. You need a plan to deal with it. And that, unfortunately, is built on those tricky things called opinions. Do we enforce rationing of fossil fuels? How would that even be legally enforceable? Wouldn’t raising oil taxes disproportionately hit the poorest? Should countries do this unilaterally or try to co-ordinate their reductions on a global scale? Is it fair to ask the developing world to cut its emissions when today’s first world countries didn’t have that restriction during their development? Is it possible that technology can save us? If so, how much money should be put into R&D? Should nation states or tech companies pay for it?
Just hung up and cut off multiple people for wanting to argue all these stupid conspiracy theories yet every time you identify them as conspiracy theorist they’ll tell you it’s the truth I swear they are so annoying and unaware of how exhausting it is to be around those types of people Just cut them off
Same reason you can’t argue with religious people. Same reason you can’t argue with people that believe there exist no conspiracy EVER when there are actual signs that there, AT LEAST, COULD be one. Yes, some are unproven or even ridiculous. But it became too easy to mock people for being “conspirationists” when all they do is ask questions where questions should be asked.
Conspiracy deniers are allergic to scientific research. For example, read the recently published book “The Contagion Myth” by Thomas Cowan MD and Sally Fallon Morell. My guess is that you, as a conspiracy denier, will likely dismiss the book outright in knee-jerk fashion rather than actually reading it and following up its extensive citations.
No knowledge is conclusive. It’s a product of observation and is always subject to further expansion on further observation. My problem with conspiracy theorists as well as people who have problem with conspiracy theorists is that they both lie to themselves that their knowledge is conclusive. I am scared by such minds.
It’s absolutely amazing how they constantly change the goal posts so you can never nail their argument, and how so many of their arguments cling onto some form of leap of faith. Who funds this, who funds that, like people worth billions actually care about changing the world in some nefarious way or that the government is in any way competent enough to perfectly execute some kind of sinister plan.
i mean other than stuff like flat earthers, u usually eventually get to an unanswerable question, at which point its anyones guess. I mean look at some of the things that happen in space, aliens is often the more logical and least weird explanation, and what is actually happening is much weirder than life existing on other planets/ space
“You can never argue with conspiracy theorists” Sure you can. Can you change their mind? No probably not. Why are people so triggered by conspiracy theorists? So they believe in something you don’t… Most are probably dumb as well. Oh well, why does that bother you all so much? Does everyone on this earth need identical beliefs and views of the world? I don’t think so..
At least some of us can admit there’s no way of a single individual to know, ultimately you’re relying on others for information that have the means resources Etc. So really you can reject all conspiracies categorically or you can be honest and say based on what I’m told. It’s all a conspiracy man. Ha
could someone tell me what to do to get someone out of the conspiracy mindset?? my boyfriend is way too far down the rabbit hole and impossible to reason with and i have no idea what to do. it caused a legitimate big argument which was resolved but seeing him still feed into it still causes a lot of stress. i’ve even held off getting the vaccine because i’m scared of what his reaction would be if i get it. sorry if this is a lot but this is kind of a cry for help in a way and will take any advice (except telling me to leave him because i genuinely love him and our relationship is going very well besides that stressor)
Your condescending attitude is borderline funny. As if your evidence was: “here’s a photo by the ones pushing the story”, “he’s a report by the ones pushing the story”, “here’s some studies by the ones that push the story”. You’re too oblivious to even critically analysis another perspective. You believe you are right and there’s no talking to people like you. Stop projecting. Things are falsifiable, unfortunately the things you want to believe in are not, so you’ve created a premise “Daddy government wouldn’t lie” and anything that goes against that is wrong. For example you claimed scientists spend more time trying to disprove than prove. If that were the case Pfizer wouldn’t have unblinded their study after 6 months.