Conspiracy theories, their roots and appeal
 

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a conspiracy theory as;

"A theory that explains an event or set of circumstances as the result of a secret plot by usually powerful conspirators; A theory asserting that a secret of great importance is being kept from the public."

(https://www.merriam-webster.com/dict...iracy%20theory)


But of course, this is a vast over-simplification of something quite psychologically complex. If we want to understand the thinking of the conspiracy theorist, there are a multitude of factors to consider. I've been hobby-reading around this for a couple of weeks and it's actually quite fascinating, and HUGELY relevant in understanding the social and political psychology of the world as we find it in 2021 (US elections, Covid, Climate change etc.). The below is a very good read for those who have the time and inclination. I will warn though it's a very long paper. The excerpt I'm including here believe it or not ( :hehe: ) is only a small section.

The full paper takes a much deeper dive into each area of study.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/...111/pops.12568

I'm sure the likelihood of a couple of these theories being true is strong but they get buried so deep with false ones then it's impossible to sound rational if you believe one of them. I think the Jeffrey Epstein stuff though proves that, it sounds like a massive conspiracy that the FBI were covering up a child sex trafficking ring to protect rich and powerful people but it turned out to be true, not to mention his "suicide" :suspect:

Next you should read up on and study the principles of Joseph Goebbels propaganda. You'll realise that a lot of that is going on in 2021.

cough

*Madeline McCann*

That's hardly a conspiracy theory, that's an unsolved crime and an opinion on what actually happened. Statistically in fact it's more likely for a parent/relative/friend to have something to do with harming a child than a stranger. One could argue that the abduction is in fact the conspiracy :shrug:

Madeleine McCann being kidnapped by a predatory paedophile (sometimes the theory is a criminal child sex trafficking group) is, in this case, actually the conspiracy theory. There is no evidence of either scenario. Certainly, the theory that her parents were involved in covering up her disappearance is also largely hypothetical but statistically more likely than the other offered theories.

The actual bare facts of the McCann case is that she is missing, presumed dead, and the circumstances are unknown. "She was kidnapped" is simply not established fact or even an explanation with any supporting evidence whatsoever.

half this forum thinks her parents killed her by accident and are covering it up

and that they know better than the detectives who have worked on the case for years


:umm2:

bang on conspiracy theory of the worst kind

It makes people feel special if they believe they’re part of a small group of people who ‘know’ something the majority don’t, I feel sorry for them really, because it must take a personal with a big mental vulnerability to be able to be groomed by these conspiracy groups, to believe these often insane and easily debunked theories

This is actually a great time in history to be alive, we're at the beginning of a new age. The battle for who rules the new World is happening all around us.

I actually think we're in wartime right now, but it's a new kind of warfare. I think Covid is an act of war, I just don't know who's behind it. What I do know is that the people are gradually rising up all over the World.

Some say it's the information wars.

Specifically control through fear / generating "fear of the other" to distract from totalitarian goals? I don't necessarily disagree but these principles hardly originate with Goebbels, they're as old as civilisation itself.

What I would say though, is that current conspiracy peddling is a symptom of that. 2021 (mainly US-based) conspiracies (US election fraud, COVID is a hoax, Climate change isn't real, 5G is Chinese spies etc.) are tools designed to promote and further division and tribalism, dressed up as truth, and sold to gullible people with poor critical reasoning skills.

Religion was invented to make large groups of people achieve common goals and not kill each other

I don't really care anymore if I'm called a conspiracy theorist to me it's just my opinion on what I've seen. What I think I am is a truth seeking theorist.

Naz on LBC does
he cut a caller off fast
after the caller called him that

Largely to unite disparate warring tribes under one banner, yes. To achieve larger goals I agree with - I wouldn't necessarily call them "common goals", they'd more accurately be described as the goals that best benefit the leadership. The other part... I don't personally believe that having them not kill each other was ever part of the motivation.

The emergence of "quasireligion" in the late 20th/early 21st centuries is fascinating (from a sociopsychological perspective). Terrifying from a "person who actually has to live in this world" perspective :joker:.

And actually there is some evidence to suggest that the parents were involved if you take the Dogs into consideration

The case was shelved in Portugal with the parents as people of interest, it's only the UK Police who hadn't considered them suspects and I'm not sure they even looked into that possibility which seems a bit irresponsible, surely every angle should be looked into

It is no more of a conspiracy theory than the theory that she was taken by a stranger or group. The case is unsolved.

yes but there isnt tons of youtube videos, websites, facebook groups all dedicated to that possibility

unlike the "the parents did it coz they is posh and rich" brigade

Here is an actual professional detective who has worked on the case and seen all the evidence

Worth pointing out at this point; a hypothetical discussion of possibilities is NOT a conspiracy theory; an important part of that transition is the level of certainty of those holding the theory and how specific they are in those beliefs. That is, an insistance on "what is the case" rather than "what is within the realms of possibility".

:think: There are entire feature-length+ professional documentaries.

And the actual Lead detective in Portugal thinks they're guilty :shrug:

His job is not to think people are guilty its to prove with evidence

He may also believe there is an invisible man in the sky who made the world

He had evidence from the dogs and suspicious behaviour from the McCanns such as not answering straight forward questions, doing the opposite of what the Police advised in their appeals such as revealing her unusual eye marking

as for your second paragraph, pretty hyperbolic

So the professional who has seen all the evidence months after it was collected and agrees with your train of thought is credible but the professional who worked the case as it happened isn't credible and could believe in God? Riiigghht :laugh:

Seems about right.....