#conspiracism

[creature-wizard]

Check your conspiracy theory. Does it sound anything like this?

There is an ancient global conspiracy plotting to create a one world government.

The one world government will be headed by a single leader.

The conspiracy intends to make everyone follow a religion it created.

The conspiracy is trying to destroy all true religion/spirituality.

The conspiracy deliberately stirs up conflict and starts wars.

The conspiracy deliberately does whatever it can to confuse, exhaust, and demoralize the people.

The conspiracy creates and/or manipulates art and entertainment to control and brainwash the masses.

The conspiracy uses mind-altering substances to manipulate and control people.

Liberal politics (EG, religious tolerance, equality) are part of the conspiracy.

Communism and collectivism are part of the conspiracy.

The conspiracy manipulates the economy to our detriment.

The conspiracy wants to do away with the gold standard.

The conspiracy wants to do away with the free market.

The conspiracy intends to tax the rich, which is bad because taxes are just legal theft.

Teaching people about the mistakes and atrocities committed by governments is part of the conspiracy.

The conspiracy creates new religions and spiritual movements to further their agendas.

All secret societies (EG, Freemasonry) are part of the conspiracy.

Presidents are manipulated puppets of the conspiracy.

The conspiracy manipulates anyone with a high political position.

The conspiracy grooms world leaders.

Agents of the conspiracy are planted everywhere, in all levels of society.

The conspiracy kills anyone who might expose their plans in ways that no one would suspect are actually murder.

The conspiracy follows/uses the Kabbalah.

Literally all of these were claimed in The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, an antisemitic hoax used by the Okhrana to justify violence against Russian Jews. It was used by Nazi Germany to justify the Holocaust, and today it still serves as the blueprint for most conspiracy theories - even if modern conspiracy theorists try to hide it, downplay it, or rationalize it with another, equally absurd conspiracy theory.

#conspiracy theory #conspiracy theories #conspiracism #nwo #new world order #one world government #antisemitism #the protocols of the learned elders of zion #illuminati #the illuminati #great reset #the great reset

[worldwillhatethis]

Conspiritia

A 'Map of Conspiracy Theories' from 2016. Wild how much this has altered/expanded since then. (I do not endorse any of this stuff, I think it should be obvious).

#fantasy maps #map #map illustration #illustration #conspiracism #conspiracy theories

[zenosanalytic]

This is Supremely Grim

Plz watch it u_u u_u

#Folding Ideas #Video Essays #Meme Stocks #Gambling Addiction #Conspiracism #Self Delusion #Cults #informative reblogs #appreciative reblogs #Youtube

[anticonspiracist]

Hi,

I would come of anon, cause I like an open dialogue, but I’m kinda afraid I’m going to get harassed because of my ask… so anon it is. I’m a Larrie, have been for a while now. I came across your blog and I’m kinda interested in your reasons for not believing in Larry. I couldn’t find those easily. Do you just not see what we see in their bodylanguage, the way they were different from all the other boys? And if it is because of Louis’s denials, do you not believe in closeting in general or just not for Louis and Harry?

First of all, thank you for the questions. If anything I write here needs more clarification for you, feel free to come off anon and send me a DM.

I’ve answered all of these questions multiple times before, but since my first anti-conspiracist blog, shit-larries-say, got nuked, a lot of my answers to these questions are gone as well so I’ll answer them again without hesitation. 

I entered fandom in early April of 2016 by clicking on the Buzzfeed picspam called “There’s A Wild Conspiracy Theory That Louis Tomlinson’s Baby Is Fake.” Much of that picspam was incomprehensible to me as far as evidence goes – when I’m instructed to look at what’s circled, or to read the text added by a larrie pointing out what they believe to be an obvious tell, I’m just not seeing what they expect me to see. Initially I thought this was just because I didn’t know the “players,” but it’s been six years now and I know the actual reason: it genuinely doesn’t mean anything.

When I say that I entered fandom through reading this picspam, I’ve left out why I even clicked on the link that showed up on my Twitter timeline as a retweet from someone I met at a baseball game the previous spring. I’ve been a political junkie on and off my entire life (okay, from the time I was 6) and at around that same time it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that Trump was going to win the Republican nomination for President. Only about a month later he’d be named the presumptive nominee. I’d noticed a rise in political conspiracy theories that paired with his rise in influence, and people I thought I knew from my life were posting more and more unhinged screeds on Facebook. I was alarmed and trying to figure out what the fuck was happening. When that link made it to my Twitter feed, I saw an opportunity for myself to figure it out. Something I knew already from my first forays into reading the literature was that regardless of the subject of a conspiracy theory, people who believed in them followed the same thought patterns. Lower stakes than the future of American democracy was this boyband baby situation, so it would be less infuriating to dig into and understand. And if I could understand why someone believed in this absurdity, I could formulate possible procedures for convincing them not to believe in it, and then that could be applied to other, more pressing conspiracy theories and their believers.

(Spoiler alert: I now know that while it is possible to turn a person away from their conspiratorial beliefs, it is not possible to do so on a wider scale than the individual, so basically we’re fucked there.)

Okay, so that’s my background of how I came to be here, which actually answers most of your questions neatly: I don’t believe in Larry because I don’t believe in conspiracy theories generally. There isn’t anything special about Larry that, to someone who recognizes the inherent harm in the conspiracy mindset, is any different from QAnon, or people who believe JFK wasn’t assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald, or Flat Earth, or David Icke’s lizard overlords, or any of Alex Jones’s host of conspiratorial beliefs. Simply, “They” are hiding the truth because “They” don’t want us to know it, and “They” are evil for this while “we” are enlightened and on the “right” side and in time the world will know that “we” were right. And all of this relies on underlying antisemitic canards. NOT GOOD. [If you find yourself wanting to say to me, "But some conspiracy theories turn out to be true!" don't bother. I know. But I am also aware that mathematically it's nearly impossible for this one to be true.

Outside of that, I’m a high school teacher. I’ve taught ages 12-19 in my career and this coming school year will be my 10th at the HS level. Every day at work I interact with teenage boys the same age that 1D were when they were thrown together. What you see as irrefutable proof that two teenage boys are in a committed romantic and sexual relationship is what I see on a daily basis: boys being boys. In my summer life I travel overseas and teach this same age group about leadership. I have seen boys from different continents and cultures, five minutes after meeting, wear a sweatshirt together (yes, imagine how that happened) because they were both cold and only one was prepared. This means nothing about their sexualities.

Furthermore, regarding your point that Harry and Louis’s body language toward each other was different from the other boys? No, it wasn’t. It will seem that way to you because of confirmation bias – you’ll see what you want to see – and because there’s simply not as many slowed-down gifs of all the other boys interacting with each other. There isn’t as much lore about these alternate pairings packaged and passed down from “dinosaur larries” to new recruits. 

Regarding closeting, I know it exists but I also know it has not ever existed the way larries claim it does and require it to in order for your conspiracy theory to “work.” For instance, Lance Bass is brought up by larries all the time and my friend and co-host and Lance superfan @back-to-louis will always push back on it. Lance did have girlfriends in his past, whom he loved, and who did not know he was gay. His bandmates did not know he was gay. He was not required by a contract to keep his sexuality a secret. He made that choice himself due to the political and social climate of the time. Furthermore, coming out was not his choice although he outed himself. He had a very limited amount of time to take control of his story before it was out of his hands and he wanted his family to know from him and not from scurrilous gossip on the internet. 

If larries want to point to Lance Bass as an example that proves their conspiracy theory, they also have to ask themselves why they continue to engage in this kind of gossip which would wrench Harry and Louis’s control of their own narratives from their hands. If the larrie conspiracy theory were reality, larries are not the good guys. Look up Ian Thorpe and his contentious relationship with the Australian press regarding his sexuality. Did he previously deny being gay before eventually coming out? Certainly. He came out when he was ready. The only thing you can do, as a fan of Louis and/or Harry, is to respect what they’ve said regarding their sexuality, until and unless they tell you something else. Louis has said he’s straight. He hasn’t ever contradicted that. A good fan and person accepts that as his truth. Harry has been intentionally non-committal about his own sexuality while maintaining romantic relationships with women. Proceeding to label him with one or another is disrespectful. Until and unless he says something else, it’s your responsibility not only as a fan but as a good person to respect what he’s said. Will Harry ever see your blog? No. But there are plenty of queer people reading it, I’m sure, and when a queer person reads a larrie’s blog what they see is that their own words are to be ignored. It’s awful.

Judy Garland wasn’t paid to beard, neither were the women who loved Elton John and Freddie Mercury. There were no contracts involved. These were true love stories, or a friend doing a favor for a friend. THAT is what “bearding” is, not this convoluted contractual process that larries believe it is. And here’s another bone to pick: If the larrie belief of beard contracts were true, why the hell aren’t Harry or Louis EVER blamed for this harmful practice? Why is it only, in effect, their employee who gets the brunt of the internet hate from largely other women? How could you believe in this practice and just excuse Harry and Louis? Don’t you see that they’d be perpetuating a harmful practice? I can hear the defense now – “Oh, but it’s not their choice! They have to do this!” Well, bullshit. They are white millionaires with complete control over their lives. They hire their managers. No one is forcing them to sign contracts they don’t want to sign.

To sum up: I don’t believe in Larry because it is a conspiracy theory (this is not a pejorative use: it definitively checks all the boxes of a conspiracy theory) and I do not engage in conspiracism for multiple reasons, chief among them being that all conspiracy theories which rely on a shadowy sinister force hiding the “truth” are inherently antisemitic. I don’t fuck with that. Larrie belief isn’t a fandom, it’s conspiracism. Conspiracism is harmful to the fabric of our human society, the proof of which is out there for your perusal and embodied in the Trump Administration and also COVID denial at large. All conspiracy theorists rely on the same flawed thought processes, and so claiming that larry is just about “two boys in love” and therefore harmless is bullshit.

Again, feel free to DM me if you have any further questions.

#larry stylinson #louis tomlinson #harry styles #why skye is not a conspiracy theorist #conspiracy theory #conspiracy mindset #conspiracism #all conspiracy theories are the same #all conspiracy theorists are the same

[nando161mando]

fuck there's some wild tinfoil hatter stories getting around on the maui fires being a "direct energy attack" whilst these idiots are happy to live in denial about climate change...

#maui hawaii #maui wildfires #maui fires #maui #hawaiian #hawaii #ecological #econotego #ecosystem #ecology #conspiracy theory of the day #conspiracy theorists claim #conspiracy theories #conspiracies #conspiracy #conspiracism #conspiracist #conspiracy theory tw #climate activists ‘may try to wreck the rollout of voter id measures at the local elections’ #climate justice #climate leaders #climate science #climate emergency #climate change #climate crisis #climate action #climate and environment #environmetalists #environmentalism #enviroment art

[miracleeye]

+ the Baghdad Battery drink recipe made by Newport, RI Foodie (source)

#Awful Archaeology #Miniminuteman #Baghdad Battery #Pseudoscience #Pseudoarchaeology #Conspiracy Fantasy #Conspiracism #Youtube Video #Debunks #CW Alcohol #Recipes #The Dendera Light #Electroplating

[coolmachetefacts]

Personally, if it was me, if I had a fully evolved neocortex, I would maybe be guarded against my base instincts and view capitalism as a network of perverse incentives and profit motives rather than a minoritarian cabal of secretive masterminds working together to control the world and oppress the underclasses at every turn.

Because, yes, it's true to say the seeking of profit creates strange and temporary lines of allegiance and even systems that look like (but are not) solidarity, but the former is a leftist critique of capitalism and the latter is just the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

So, you know, when someone comes along and says, "They are all working together to plot against you, to control you, all this AI stuff, all these economic systems, they're systems of control to oppress you," and they have a very compelling narrative, but no actual foundational theory behind it other than an us-versus-them narrative, you should maybe interrogate that.

That is doubly the case because there are some very small, specific areas where specific, intentional, ideologically-driven collusion outside of a profit motive with a long-term strategy is a real factor among a subset of the wealthy elite. That does not change the fact it is absolutely not an overarching factor. The more vague one is with that narrative, the more one lurches into conspiracism.

At its core, the need to "explain" or otherwise "solve" the world they observe with imagined narratives is the base drive behind conspiracist thinking and it is why so many conspiracies, at their core, are just the Protocols.

#conspiracy #conspiracy theories #conspiracism #extremism

[athousandrabbitholes]

Significantly, climate rejecters often accuse scientific truth-tellers of constituting a 'doomsday cult,' which could be partially a form of psychological projection but also an expression of repressed awareness of their own relation to a potential doomsday. In any case, climate change rejecters are likely to become an increasingly beleaguered group involving cultist gurus and followers.

Robert Jay Lifton, Losing Reality, 172

#Climate Change #Cult #Cultism #Losing Reality #Robert Jay Lifton #Denialism #Doomsday #Conspiracism

[twtsc]

A Deep Dive into Joe Biden's Economic Strategy and Exploring the Intricate Realm of RFK Jr.

By: Copeland Jacobs, Staff Writer During this last week of 2023, the year where nobody liked anything, we begin our look at the prospective candidates and their respective platforms, beginning with Joe Biden, and a look at the mixed-up world of RFK Jr.  Formerly Known as Bidenomics I’ve ventured to the White House website to see what Joe Biden’s 2024 economic approach will be, as explained by…

View On WordPress

#2023 Wrap Up #AntiEstablishment #Bidenomics #Bipartisan Trends #Conspiracism #Dystopian Views #EconomicAnalysis #Political Insights #presidential election #RFKJr #Year In Review

[disso-nanza]

Esselunga - La Pesca (spot)

L'Esselunga è stata tra le prime catene di supermarket in europa. Creato negli anni '50 (del secolo scorso) con fondi americani tramite il noto imprenditore Rockefeller.

Cioè in un periodo, dove quello che poi si è definito come Nuovo Ordine Mondiale (NWO), ha iniziato a indirizzare il mondo verso il loro determinato pensiero. Anche se potremmo definire solamente come Ordine Occidentale, dato che non è stato mai capace di influenzare l'intero globo, ma soltato quella parte terrestre che fa capo agli USA/UK con l'Europa e altre nazioni affini.

Questi stessi che negli ultimi anni ci stanno proponendo (anzi obbligando) il pensiero LBGTQVKHSPPRRRRRRRRR... e altre cosuccie...

Quindi, la questione è: questi (il famigerato Ordine Occidentale) stanno cambiando direzione?

Le aziende/imprenditori sostenuti dall'Ordine Occidentale si stanno staccando non credendo più nella forza di tale movimento?

Oppure, come più probabile, visto che il pensiero che ci vogliono infondere non sta facendo progressi, ma la maggioranza ha ancora una visione tradizionale (che poi è quella più naturale), provano a mettere il piede in 2 staffe... così per pararsi il culo!

#esselunga #spot #pubblicità #pesca #nwo #new world order #conspiracy #conspiracy theory #conspiracism #one world government #illuminati #great reset #globalization #nuovo ordine mondiale #ordine occidentale #cospirazione #politics #politica #massoneria #masonry #Youtube

[j-august]

When they were alone, Pelorat said, 'But that's mad. Nothing has happened that could not have happened naturally. Once you get it into your head that somebody is controlling events, you can interpret everything in that light and find no reasonable certainty anywhere. Come on, old fellow, it's all circumstantial and a matter of interpretation. Don't yield to paranoia.'

Isaac Asimov, Foundation's Edge

#quote #quotation #Isaac Asimov #Foundation's Edge #Janov Pelorat #paranoia #control #circumstantial #certainty #conspiracism #(sadly the conspiracy theory is ALWAYS correct here)

[creature-wizard]

Priority time, folks: TikTok witches being kinda shallow with their craft is a threat to no one. TikTok witches spreading recycled Satanic Panic/NWO conspiracy theories is a threat to everyone.

#witchtok #witchblr #witchcraft #conspiracy theories #conspiracy theory #conspiracism

[cosmologicalhedgehogephemera]

Cited from the article: “What is remarkable fifty years later is the extent to which the real world has disappeared from our discussions of conspiracy theories. We have replaced social and economic conditions with cognitive deficiencies, ancient mythologies with logical fallacies, history with atavistic biases. It is not just that we have projected the causes of conspiracism deep into the recesses of the human brain; we assume that these depths are easier to know than the world that surrounds us and more amenable to reform. The champions of debunking and the new information vigilantes are not interested in entertaining the possibility that the root cause of conspiracy theories may be located outside the mind and may require a reexamination of our economic and social arrangements. For them, the world is fine as it is; it is all a matter of bringing people in alignment with a reality which they fail to appreciate. Steven Pinker, one of the paladins of truth and rationality, suggests implementing nothing less than “debiasing” programs that would help individuals see that there is nothing wrong with the world and that everything will be okay if we let those in charge take care of it. The imperative is to adapt to a world given a free pass and avoid the temptation of meddling with it. Debunking ultimately turns out to be a defense of the status quo—not because conspiracy theories may be true, but because it uses them to further restrict the space for politics. “ This puts in such great language the reason why Steven Pinker is so immensely annoying. Recommended read!

#Bad Information #Boston Review #Nicolas Guilhot #conspiracism #politics

[zenosanalytic]

Got suggested this by Youtube:

It's a pretty good debunking of all the ~Nostradamus~ crank out there. Ole Michel doesn't have the profile now that he did in the 80s and 90s(when evangelicals could still delude themselves about the end of the 20th century bringing The End Times and confirming their faux-literalism), but I still enjoyed this breakdown of how useless his "Prophecies" are, and I figured I'd share it.

#Sean Munger #Video #History #Michel de Nostradame #Debunking #Woo #Crank #Conspiracism #Conservative Christianity #Apocalypticism #informative reblogs #Youtube

[anticonspiracist]

Since I’m more on your blog reading the stuff you post about there’s some questions i have that might be very stupid to ask. But what is the difference between conspiracy theories and religion? And what is the difference between conspiracy theorists and members of a cult? Are conspiracy theorists always part of something that could be defined as a cult while members of a cult aren’t always conspiracy theorists? I just wanna understand when something can be defined as a conspiracy theory and when that term isn’t accurate. Sorry all of this probably sounds dumb haha.

Not stupid questions at all! The first one is the one that I get asked most often IRL when I'm talking about the subject. A conspiracy theory is a belief that there is a secret group of people acting in concert in order to enact sinister plans. Religion is belief in a supernatural being. In the definitions, there's certainly a difference.

Sometimes, conspiracists treat their beliefs like a religion (larries do this a lot), but that doesn't make the CT a religion. Some conspiracists believe alone, or casually. Most Americans at least doubt SOME part of the official narrative of JFK's assassination, but they don't DO anything about it. But there is at least one guy who basically lives at Dealy Plaza and yells about a coverup to anyone who will give him a listen.

People join cults for lots of the same reasons people start to believe in conspiracy theories. They're seeking community, explanations, to feel special. But a cult has a charismatic leader, and conspiracy theories require people to "think for themselves." Sure, there are some conspiracy theories that are synonymous with cults -- I'm thinking of the Negative 48 QAnon group that follows Michael Protzman (sp?) as they await the second coming of JFK and/or JFK Jr. But a charismatic leader isn't a necessary part of a CT like it is for a cult.

Hope this helps!

#conspiracism #conspiracy theories #cults #religion

[nando161mando]

"This is still amongst the best pieces written on how to confront conspiracy theories, and it doesn't do so by backing away from the radicalism necessary to take on the issues that motivate the desire to locate answers through conspiracism."

https://bird.makeup/users/shane_burley1/statuses/1689001506878656514

#confront #conspiracy theory of the day #conspiracy theorists claim #conspiracy theories #how to #fyi #psa #conspiracist #conspiracism #conspiracies #conspiracy #conspiracy theory tw #fringe science #science #pro science #critical thinking #ausgov #politas #auspol #tasgov #taspol #neoliberal capitalism #australia #fuck neoliberals #anthony albanese #albanese government #working class #class warfare #class war #classism