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Danger of Conspiracy Theories

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Comments

  • #32
    Carlowgirl
    Registered Users Posts: 296 ✭✭Carlowgirl


    I think I know someone caught up in this


  • #33
    McGinniesta
    Registered Users Posts: 4,402 ✭✭✭McGinniesta


    King Mob wrote: »
    This is kinda just false equivalence though.

    It isn't equally as likely that there's a big giant secret satanist pedophile ring controlling the world as it is that that's just not true.

    Claims about unfounded vaccine dangers aren't as supported as the mountains of evidence for their safety.

    It isn't a 50/50 toss up about whether or not the Earth is flat.

    For most popular conspiracy theories, to even sit on the fence about them, you have to assume things like it's possible that there's a giant global conspiracy and that the vast majority of experts in a field are involved in that conspiracy.
    This is already a massive leap in logic to take just to consider the possibility.

    By the same token, what do you have to assume is possible for the conspiracy theory to be wrong?
    That some anonymous person on the internet is talking out of their arse.
    That's not exactly a stretch of the imagination.

    And in my experience, if you scratch under the surface of any of the popular conspiracy theories here, even a little bit, they tend to fall apart.

    A lot of conspiracy theory will either be false, exaggerated or false. That's is a given.

    At the same time, you'd be a fool to believe that every mainstream media is absolutely correct every time.

    A healthy dose of skepticism either or both ways might be the safest approach


  • #34
    Dohnjoe
    Registered Users Posts: 17,765 ✭✭✭✭Dohnjoe


    McGinniesta wrote: »
    A lot of conspiracy theory will either be false, exaggerated or false. That's is a given.

    At the same time, you'd be a fool to believe that every mainstream media is absolutely correct every time.

    A healthy dose of skepticism either or both ways might be the safest approach

    True, but I wouldn't even be comparing the two

    You'll struggle to find an original conspiracy theory presented here that has a single grain of truth to it

    There's no comparison between that and responsible journalism, science, academia

    Modern populist conspiracy theory-mongering is the art of casting doubt on facts in order to insert lies. Simple as. And they prey on uninformed people with low critical thinking to evangelise those lies.


  • #35
    King Mob
    Registered Users Posts: 25,226 ✭✭✭✭King Mob


    McGinniesta wrote: »
    A lot of conspiracy theory will either be false, exaggerated or false. That's is a given.

    At the same time, you'd be a fool to believe that every mainstream media is absolutely correct every time.

    A healthy dose of skepticism either or both ways might be the safest approach
    But again, this is a false equivalence.

    Media organisations are held to standards, conspiracy theory outlets are not.

    I'm not arguing that all real media outlets are perfectly correct 100% of the time.
    But again, it's not a 50-50 toss up between these outlets and conspiracy theories.


  • #36
    Fighting Tao
    Registered Users Posts: 6,482 ✭✭✭Fighting Tao


    Conspiracy theorists often latch onto facts changing in reporting. However, they fail to grasp that a breaking news story will often have updates, and corrections as more is learned about the situation. It is one of the reasons they claim media outlets can’t be trusted.


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  • #37
    Gorgonzaga
    Registered Users Posts: 8 ✭Gorgonzaga


    hawley wrote: »

    My partner’s defence usually came in three forms: freedom of speech for when he was rattling off racist, misogynistic, homophobic, transphobic and other prejudiced theories; libertarian “whataboutery” based on circumstantial evidence to the point where nothing said could be true or untrue; and projection, when I was deemed the intolerant one.

    That pretty much sums it up.


  • #38
    The Nal
    Registered Users Posts: 12,437 ✭✭✭✭The Nal


    OK we've offically passed batsh1t. The 5G crew are buying this up.

    https://emfclothing.com/en/7-electromagnetic-protective-clothing



  • #39
    ohnonotgmail
    Registered Users Posts: 40,122 ✭✭✭✭ohnonotgmail


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117908653#Comment_117908653

    Not a proper tinfoil hat in sight. very disappointed. I shall have to continue making my own.



  • #40
    nj27
    Registered Users Posts: 467 ✭✭nj27


    I would say there is a danger that a certain very serious conspiracy theorists could start to lose touch with reality and assume everything is staged or part of some grand plan. That could be pretty damaging to their state of mind, and might lead to outright paranoia.



  • #41
    ohnonotgmail
    Registered Users Posts: 40,122 ✭✭✭✭ohnonotgmail


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118047267#Comment_118047267

    i think that time has already passed for some.



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  • #42
    The Nal
    Registered Users Posts: 12,437 ✭✭✭✭The Nal


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118047388#Comment_118047388

    Certainly has for this cretin.

    https://twitter.com/culladgh/status/1452240888239906822?t=U5tAuydv6fCsPLrrZ3iFpQ&s=19



  • #43
    Fighting Tao
    Registered Users Posts: 6,482 ✭✭✭Fighting Tao


    With that drivel she could be a poster from here.



  • #44
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 3,801 ✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    The thing I notice is about conspiracy theories is the government sponsered ones - like the Trump Russian conspiracy theory - tend to be accepted.

    the US is pushing the Wuhan lab leak theory as well



  • #45
    Dohnjoe
    Registered Users Posts: 17,765 ✭✭✭✭Dohnjoe


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118067513#Comment_118067513

    Gross simplification though. The "US" isn't some homogenuous entity. Some politicians there have supported conspiracies that are fake or have been exposed as baseless, yet have had relatively large support among the public. For the lab leak, it's a hypothesis, we don't 100% know where Covid originated from. For the Russia investigation, there were 34 indictments or guilty plea's, and confirmed extensive Russian meddling in the 2016 US election.



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