One of the biggest successes of the Conservative Propaganda Machine is that while sowing insane conspiracy theories, they have simultaneously made people dismiss conspiracy theories in general. That allows them to get away with ACTUAL conspiracies, and silence critics by disparaging them for spreading “conspiracy theories.”
Some conspiracies do exist, and those who are part of them ALWAYS deny them.
People already dismissed conspiracy theories in general. I’m old enough to remember a time when conspiracism was a fringe belief system back in the 90’s and 2000’s when I was a kid.
The right-wing infosphere has normalized conspiracism. Fox News got people to believe there was a conspiracy where there was none so the Republicans could enact the equivalent of a conspiracy in broad daylight. TDS, Trump derangement syndrome, is the go to accusation for the MAGA movement against their opposition. Calling people conspiracy theorists would probably cause a bit of cognitive dissonance for Republican voters.
Some conspiracies do exist, and those who are part of them ALWAYS deny them.
All kinds of people deny conspiracy theories usually because of the lack of evidence and attempts at grifting. Trump never denies involvement in Jan 6th, he mostly lies about the nature of the attack on the capital. He intentionally mischaracterizes the attack as peaceful despite the deaths.
Iran-Contra was an actual conspiracy, and it truly happened. I once explained it to someone younger who had never heard of it, and when I was finished explaining they asked “Did that really happen?”
How long ago was that? If you did that to someone younger now, who hasn’t heard of it, they would probably believe you without asking if it was real. The fact Iran-Contra is real is neither here nor there. What’s changed is how people engage with conspiracy theories. We should want people to think critically and ask for evidence.
One of the biggest successes of the Conservative Propaganda Machine is that while sowing insane conspiracy theories, they have simultaneously made people dismiss conspiracy theories in general. That allows them to get away with ACTUAL conspiracies, and silence critics by disparaging them for spreading “conspiracy theories.”
Some conspiracies do exist, and those who are part of them ALWAYS deny them.
People already dismissed conspiracy theories in general. I’m old enough to remember a time when conspiracism was a fringe belief system back in the 90’s and 2000’s when I was a kid.
The right-wing infosphere has normalized conspiracism. Fox News got people to believe there was a conspiracy where there was none so the Republicans could enact the equivalent of a conspiracy in broad daylight. TDS, Trump derangement syndrome, is the go to accusation for the MAGA movement against their opposition. Calling people conspiracy theorists would probably cause a bit of cognitive dissonance for Republican voters.
All kinds of people deny conspiracy theories usually because of the lack of evidence and attempts at grifting. Trump never denies involvement in Jan 6th, he mostly lies about the nature of the attack on the capital. He intentionally mischaracterizes the attack as peaceful despite the deaths.
Iran-Contra was an actual conspiracy, and it truly happened. I once explained it to someone younger who had never heard of it, and when I was finished explaining they asked “Did that really happen?”
How long ago was that? If you did that to someone younger now, who hasn’t heard of it, they would probably believe you without asking if it was real. The fact Iran-Contra is real is neither here nor there. What’s changed is how people engage with conspiracy theories. We should want people to think critically and ask for evidence.