Am I the only one who thinks that people who believe in conspiracy theories are dangerous?

[Julie4]

[Lliam]

The term "conspiracy theory" was coined by the CIA after the JFK assassination. The purpose was to silence those who questioned the official story of the lone gunman.

People have been brainwashed into believing that asking questions and doing research, instead of simply accepting what corporate news tells them, is crazy.

I consider "conspiracy theorists" to be "fact checkers." They do what journalists are supposed to do in a world where true journalists are banned, blocked, censored, prevented from publishing, and even arrested.

If an official story is factual, it should be able to stand up to scrutiny. People who bring conflicting facts to the table should not be punished as they are in totalitarian societies.

So, no, I don't think "conspiracy theorists" are dangerous. I think they are essential. Many, many theories that were initially branded "conspiracy" theories have turned out to actually be true. If not for the so-called conspiracy theorists, the truth would never have been discovered.

What I think is dangerous are attempts to prevent research, critical thinking and the exchange of information. And people who passively believe government and corporate media are also dangerous. They are told what to think, now how to think critically. And they become pawns of the true conspirators in high places.

"Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence." - Leonardo da Vinci

"I was bold in the pursuit of knowledge, never fearing to follow truth and reason to whatever results they led, and bearding every authority which stood in their way." -Thomas Jefferson

"The ultimate authority must always rest with the individual's own reason and critical analysis." - Dalai Lama

[DJB72]

If they believe it without doing any research themselves then they're about as dangerous as people who blindly believe anything the media tells them without fact checking it.

For example:

In 2020 I almost died of Covid. 3 months in a coma and needed CPR to restart my heart after I died in front of a nurse.

Six months and an amputation later I'm instructed to have a Covid "vaccine". I went to the hospital as instructed knowing as a survivor of the original strain I'm immune to any weaker strain naturally. They're about to give me the shot when I turn and tell them I'm a Covid survivor and ask how this vaccine could improve the immunity I have.

I've never seen medical personnel so flustered - and I'm married to a doctor and worked with her 17 years at that point.

They told me it's the law and I have to have it.

I declined, telling them having survived it once I'd take my chances with the immunity God gave me.

"Conspiracy theories" at the time suggested the vaccine 1) wasn't safe and 2) wasn't effective.

All the major players have now admitted the mRNA "vaccines" were 1) not safe and 2) not effective.

Don't be so keen to dismiss ideas that don't follow the official narrative out of hand.

[abc3643]

Of course most media populated by journalists usually perform to journalistic standards including fact and source checking otherwise they'd be out of a job.

I am glad you pulled through!

[DJB72]

Thanks.

The media aren't what they were fifty years ago. Every major journalist said the same thing: "vaccine safe, unvaccinated bad". The opposite was true.

Look at the current "climate emergency". All the major news outlets are saying the same thing: "CO² bad. Must use electric cars" but no country on earth can sustain a population where the same number of vehicles currently on the road are all replaced by electric cars. The grid simply can't handle it, even if the technology was reliable in all climates and temperatures - which Tesla owners in Colorado have found they aren't.

CO² is related to planetary warming. It precedes it. Every time for millennia. It's also essential to plant life, and by natural extension, our life. If we reduce CO² by 0.02% all plant life will die. The Paris accords, followed through, are very bad for our future.

And if you want to know what's producing more CO², spend a night in a closed garage with three cows. Spend the next night in a closed garage with a running diesel engine...

[purplepoppy]

A conspiracy theorist is like a blind man with a machine gun spraying bullets everywhere, the moment one hits the target he claims to be a marksman.

What makes these people dangerous isn't their beliefs, it's that they think they're smarter than everyone else. People like to feel special, to be the ones privy to special information only a select few know, it makes them feel powerful in a world they have zero control over.

One time they ranted in pubs to anyone who'd listen and would be largely ignored, but now the Internet has given them a platform they can spread their bullshit with the same authority as a mainstream news channel.

[LordMadara]

🖕🏽 middle finger for your support off gun ownership

[MicahRaine]

@LordMadara lol what?

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

I don’t find them “dangerous” as much as just afraid. They’re people who are scared, looking for explanations as to why bad things happened. They just want a sense of control. Now, can they go a little nuts with it? Sure, but murderous conspiracy crack heads are a lot rarer than you’d think

[patois]

Nope, I’m pretty sure all people involved in the criminal conspiracy see “conspiracy theorists” as dangerous as well. Fear is a normal human emotion. When you are involved in a criminal conspiracy, you don’t want to be discovered because it could lead to your arrest and prosecution. Therefore people that would research your criminal activities, compile evidence of your crimes, and expose those crimes to the general public are a threat to people like you. They are dangerous for people like you, because they are diligent, unrelenting, and they believe in justice. There is a reckoning coming... You should be scared.

[NamerOfStars]

With a definition of "conspiracy theory", yes. I mean, the declassified documents from last year show that yes, the US government basically assassinated a sitting US President; the "conspiracy theorists" who believed that were (essentially) correct.

And the people who claim Area 51 existed were likewise totally right- it does. Those who claim they have preserved alien bodies from a wrecked spacecraft probably aren't, but they believe that crash happened because that's what Air Force officials told the press at the time. In reality, it was probably just an experimental airplane that crashed, and they didn't want to give anything away to the Soviets, so spouted the first words that came to their mind.

The Zimmerman telegram that helped push the US into WWI was likewise perfectly real (though essentially meaningless, since Mexico, in the middle of a revolution of its own, was no more a threat to the US than Bolivia would've been).

[Friendlybro79]

@NamerOfStars I think that's why it's hard to talk about with people. Of course conspiracies can exist but with extreme views in some, they think if anything doesn't go their way it's a conspiracy and for some reason they're so easily able to say things like well look it's obvious... etc and anything online saying they're view is right is good enough "evidence"

[NamerOfStars]

@Friendlybro79 Very true.

[MicahRaine]

Not really? Like most people are saying in the comments, "conspiracy theorists" are just confused and are looking for answers.

95% of the time, their "theory" is totally bonkers and totally false, and then nothing comes of it and no one else is really affected. But 5% of the time they're spot on.

Either way, they provide no real threat to society.

Personally, I think politicians are more dangerous. Politics is just a bunch of people patting backs with knives in their hands. Basically a bunch of clowns trying to make things better.

[strateguy632]

clowns *pretending to make things better

[RebelinSteel]

In the modern era with internet and gullible people all over the place, these people know if they get enough people saying some bollox, more will listen and believe them. They will happily have zero evidence for anything they say or if there is something, it’s related to some other fuckwit. You then have more gullible people believing this very tenuous often factually incorrect ‘evidence’, with the internet you now have not just a handfull but a complete stadium size full of fuckwits.

[Anonymous]

Some of what people call conspiracy theories have evidence behind them but people won't even listen or consider it because they are blindly devoted to one side or the other. That didn't used to happen in the past when people were taught reason and logic and to think critically and evaluate both sides of an issue and make up their own mind. Now people are just told what to think.

You see these things on TV where they ask someone their opinion then they ask why they think that and they can't give an answer.

[Kaneki05]

Beliefs are dangerous, thinking is not.
If one believes a conspiracy theory and won't hear any argument against it that's dangerous.
If one just thinks a conspiracy maybe true based on some evidence but is open to been wrong that's not dangerous.

[DryGermanGuy]

Absolutely. We don't even have to go as far as the January 6th insurrection, just look at these poor idiots falling for the Qanon/Pizzagate dreck:

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/06/22/533941689/pizzagate-gunman-sentenced-to-4-years-in-prison

[Telekinetic-Potato]

My issue is where do you draw the line? There are some stupid people out there on both sides of this equation and I don’t really trust almost anyone to tell me anything in full detail.

Nine times out of ten, things aren’t what they’re made out to be. Are they dangerous? Yea a little bit I I think it’s way more dangerous to not have them.

A fire is dangerous but without one you’re going to have a hard time cooking your food.

[BetaBucks]

Everyone believes in conspiracy theories. It's not like everything we all believe has been personally validated. It's just that mainstream information gods have blessd certain stories as being true and permissable to discuss.

But the ones you're talking about, the political extremists, are largely benign. They're just too wrapped up in their ideological worship to be able to objectively evaluate information. 99% of them won't hurt a fly.

[KostasKouvalis]

Probably not. But it depends on the conspiracy theory and how much they push it. Most conspiracy theorists are more stupid then dangerous and people usually don't believe them. Also, some conspiracy theories have turned out to be true. I believe in a few myself, and I'm not dangerous. I've never seen a flat earther or a fake moon landinger harm anyone. And so many people believe the moon landing is fake. Are they all dangerous?

[Julie4]

No, because some conspiracy theories are more clownish than dangerous, but still it's not reassuring lol

[KostasKouvalis]

This guy in my neighborhood genuinely believes Joe Biden died a long time ago and the person we're seeing is a body double

[avery58]

If they're obsessed with conspiracy theories, maybe. But just someone who believes in one or some of them? No.

Epstein island sounds like a conspiracy theory, but it was very real.

[KostasKouvalis]

This guy in my neighborhood genuinely believes Joe Biden died a long time ago and the person we're seeing is a body double

[avery58]

@KostasKouvalis what makes him think that? His behavior? That's just cause he's old

[KostasKouvalis]

He follows some Facebook group called the "1776ers", and they allegedly have proof

[genericname85]

you know that a good chunk of the "conspiracy theories" end up being true? I think it's a good mechanism to find problems in a society. tho I guess it should go without saying that these theories should still be considered with a grain of salt and not be assumed to be true before they have been shown to be true.

[abc3643]

No. You are correct. Most people like this are easily fooled and do not do their due diligence or are rigorous in their thinking.

[menina]

You're not, I agree with you. People who believe in conspiracy theories can get to the point of killing someone or sending someone to jail.
That's one of the reasons why social media should be more controlled and why AI is dangerous.

[normalice]

Yes. Our anchor to reality is what allows us to be reasonable. Drop someone's anchor in fantasy, instead, and what is considered reasonable will recalibrate.

[Anonymous]

I believe there are many conspiracies that have happened, are happening, and will happen. I get angry when they are labeled "theories". NO, they are REAL. And these whistle-blowing people are only dangerous to the wicked people carrying OUT these conspiracies

[Friendlybro79]

I think it's very dangerous when folks think everything is a conspiracy and nothing at all is ever true and always a vicious lie

[strateguy632]

dangerous? danger has meaning. but any belief is just harmless opinion...

unless it is faith in a book that the book is dangerous.

[katiesmuff]

Some are dangerous, however some of the conspiracy theories turn out to be truths as well.

[RyanEC]

I think some conspiracies are true but some people are just crazy or are religious fundamentalists.


Those people give me the creeps.

[KostasKouvalis]

Like this guy in my neighborhood who genuinely believes Joe Biden died a long time ago and the person we're seeing is a body double