Was 9/11 an inside job? Who really killed JFK? Was the moon landing faked? Are aliens manipulating our DNA? Did the Royal Family murder Princess Diana? What really happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School? With the help of TV’s The X-Files, and mantras like “The truth is out there” and “I want to believe”, there is no end to the all-too-human need for conspiracy theories.
Believers in these theories are privy to special knowledge that most of humanity is ignorant of. All is not as it seems as shadowy figures are secretly working behind the scenes to orchestrate all manner of nefarious schemes. A covert network of sinister elite is manipulating world media and brainwashing mankind to perceive and believe fiendish fabrications and dangerous illusions. Theorists are smarter than a sleepy public who will one day awaken to terrible truths that theorists knew all along.
The internet has facilitated the proliferation of
self-proclaimed pundits claiming to expose secret plots. We’re living in the “Age
of Misinformation”. One political scientist correctly asserted: “as the global
networks of the information age become increasingly entangled, many of us are
overwhelmed and undermined by an all-pervasive uncertainty.”
Many conspiracy theorists are so paranoid they believe
the CIA has secretly “planted” the more outrageous media conspiracy pundits to
make the movement look foolish and their beliefs ridiculous. In other words,
the ones trying to expose the cover-up are actually part of the cover-up.
Astrophysicist and UFOlogist Jacques Vallée contends this
is happening in the UFO community: “It would be easier to discredit conspiracy
movements from within, by actively
spreading ever more convoluted, implausible, absurd theories, thereby
manufacturing an atmosphere in which conspiracy theorists are invariably seen
as unhinged wack-jobs who aren’t worth paying attention to.”
The tragic Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on
December 14, 2012 is a good example of the work of conspiracy theorists. During
the initial chaotic minutes and hours, it took investigators time to correctly piece
together exactly what happened in order to properly inform the public. In the
meantime the media was scrambling for any morsel of information and broadcast several
rumors that were later retracted. As falsely reported, there was no second
gunman, no man in military fatigues was seen nearby, and the gunman’s shocked
brother was not the killer. He was working in Manhattan desperately declaring
his innocence on Facebook!
Conspiracy theorists immediately seized on the confusion
and chaos at the school. Their social media accounts and web sites asserted
that:
--- This was a US Government false-flag operation. (This
is a term that “describes covert operations that are designed to deceive in
such a way that the operations appear as though they are being carried out by
entities, groups, or nations other than those who actually planned and executed
them.”)
--- There was more than one gunman.
--- They were under the CIA’s mind control methods.
--- The parents of the victims were “crisis actors”.
--- President Obama faked his tears on TV.
--- The media’s numerous retractions proves the cover-up.
--- The CIA coerced the media into telling the public
what the Government wanted the American people to know.
On the behavior of many theorists, one passionate
commentator observed: “Like hungry wolves stalking wounded prey, these saliva-drippers
feast on human misfortune to satisfy their insatiable, multi-fangled appetites
for secrecy, intrigue and conspiracy.”
The April 15, 2013 Boston Marathon bombings provide
another typical example. Writing in Suspicious
Minds: Why We Believe Conspiracy Theories, science writer Rob Brotherton describes
the same day and ensuing conspiracy activity:
“Online, thousands of people trawled through
close-circuit TV images, news footage, amateur photos and videos, and
eyewitness accounts from the scene of the explosions looking for anomalies. A
widely circulated picture taken the moment one of the bombs exploded captured a
guy apparently striding across the roof of a nearby building, leading to
suggestions that the man had had something to do with the explosions. Another
image captured two shady-looking men wearing hats and backpacks, presumed to be
military contractors who had secretly orchestrated the attack. Another pointed
out the resemblance between an injured man and a soldier who lost both his legs
in Afghanistan two years earlier, which was passed around as evidence that the
bombing had been staged, the victims merely acting.”
The weather is not immune to conspiracies. In August 2005
Hurricane Katrina killed at least 1,800 people in New Orleans and surrounding
areas. Theorists were typically quick to pounce: “Some merely allege that the
levees were deliberately destroyed in an act of profiteering or ethnic
cleansing; others claim that the hurricane was conjured up out of thin air by the
Bush government using powerful secret military weather manipulation
technology.”
Many genuinely believe that “shape-shifting reptilian
people control our world by taking on human form and gaining political power to
manipulate our societies.”
Simple logic affirms that information must first be
gathered and then conclusions drawn. Conspiracy theorists do it in reverse.
Conclusions are immediately and confidently asserted and then “facts” are
desperately searched for in order to provide “evidence” for their beliefs.
It doesn’t take much to validate a conspiracy theory.
Beliefs are endlessly intricate, convoluted and rooted firmly in paranoia.
Observers of theorists have noted: “If mainstream sources of information are
part of the conspiracy, then the very fact that an idea has been rejected by
scientists, academia, or the media can be taken as evidence of its
validity.”
Conspiracy theorists are an eclectic group with a wide
range of beliefs. Psychologists and science writers have met with many of them
and discovered some interesting characteristics. Brotherton summarizes the
research:
“Not only are conspiracy theorists more likely to accept
pseudo-science such as astrology and alternative medicine, but they’re more
likely to reject mainstream science and its products, such as vaccines and
genetically modified foods … Someone who believes conspiracy theories is more
likely to be into New Age spiritualism – which includes all manner of
metaphysical notions, such as karma, reincarnation, astral projection, energy
healing, and the idea that the whole cosmos is some kind of unbroken living
whole.”
One of conspiracy theorists’ most devious methods is to
cherry-pick information to back their beliefs and ignore all contradictory
evidence. Let’s say there is a significant event that theorists want to
exploit. There are 100 generally agreed upon facts concerning the event.
Theorists will meticulously look for 5 to 10 facts that seem to have a loose
correlation or connection to each other and to previous suspicious events. They
will seize on those and delete the 90 to 95 that may raise questions concerning
their assertions. They will then present their theories to their followers and
say: “You see! Look at the connections! What did I tell you?!”
There are numerous motives
and reasons for these unconventional beliefs. One of them is the appeal to the
need for psychological pleasure in making momentous “discoveries”.
Neuroscientists explain that dopamine, a neurotransmitter that helps control
the brain's reward and pleasure centers, "...rewards us for noting
patterns and finding meaning in sometimes insignificant events." For an
overview see 21 Quick & Undeniable Facts Exposing Conspiracy Theorists http://www.mybestbuddymedia.com/2013/12/conspiracy-theories.html
Primary Source
Rob Brotherton, Suspicious Minds: Why We Believe Conspiracy Theories, Bloomsbury Sigma Publishers, 2015
Photo: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ronda-lee/sandy-hook-three-years-la_b_8704116.html CC
Jerry De Luca is a Christian freelance writer who loves perusing dozens of interesting and informative publications. When he finds any useful info he summarizes it, taking the main points, and creates a (hopefully) helpful blog post.
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