I know there's a study out there showing that the more education you have, the greater your susceptibility to conspiracy theories, but I can't find it anywhere. Google is just giving me studies showing the opposite. There's an NPR story I just looked through which says that lower education = greater susceptibility to conspiracy theories, but it obviously does not mention RussiaGate as a conspiracy theory, because that would completely upend their stupid article. RussiaGate is, by definition, a conspiracy theory which large numbers of highly educated liberals (including me) believe or believed in. They also mention JFK's assassination there. I don't think I've met a single person who believes that JFK was shot by a lone gunman. I can even remember my educated, nice, lib high school history teacher talking about how JFK was hit by like eighty bullets flying in eighty different directions at the same time.
It's possible that education actually has nothing to do with it, that living in a dying culture makes you more prone to believing conspiracy theories (and also makes some of these conspiracies real!). Living in Korea for years, I can't recall any Koreans bringing up any conspiracies with me. I asked my Korean wife about this and she couldn't think of any Korean conspiracy theories either. When I was traveling through Turkey like ten years ago, at least one Turk mentioned the term "deep state" to me. That was the first time I'd heard it, and it sounded completely natural to him. Like, in Turkey, it's obvious that the deep state exists because the military has overthrown the government how many times there. But if you talk about the deep state unironically in the USA, people will instantly assume you are a raving lunatic.
After watching the people around me who are most susceptible, it seems like the common thread is resentment, that "I could never speak about my woo before but now people on youtube are normalising it so you will listen to me".
There are a lot of people who will get their information and worldview from just one youtube pseudo expert. They literally will not watch or consider anyone else.
People from some countries have not been exposed to social media to the same extent maybe, the societies aren't as atomised.
It's fucked. I've talked people down from antivax, (you accept the polio vaccine, right?) and two videos later they are right back on the bandwagon.
imo this stuff has always been in society but online has turbo charged it in western societies, particulary in the 2010s.
I will have hour-long struggle sessions with my dad about liberal politics. He will end by agreeing with me about everything. A week later, we’re back where we started.
I had some success talking about vaccination in Cuba and also the history of inoculation going back to China with one anti-vaxxer I know. He was back to his normal anti-vaxx-ness within days. Convincing these people just isn’t enough. Their entire lives have to change in order for their ideas to change.
This misinformation is reinforced every day by the media they consume, or worse, by people they trust at work that evangelize this propaganda. So even people that don't use social media can get sucked into it.
I have only had success with those family members by 1) telling them that Bill Gates is bad, but not for the reasons you think (likewise with other topics) or 2) if your coworker is so smart why do they work at the same job as you?
I have only had success with those family members by 1) telling them that Bill Gates is bad, but not for the reasons you think (likewise with other topics) or 2) if your coworker is so smart why do they work at the same job as you?
Yeah, I've had some success with exactly this type of thing.
Your NPR article probably doesn't mention RussiaGate because in early December 2016, when the article is dated, RussiaGate as we know it now had not really taken off; to illustrate that point, the "Steele Dossier" would not be published by BuzzFeed for another month (Jan. 10, 2017).
I mean, people are obviously doing this. I've run in some local elections where I live, and my friends and I "conspire" to win these elections; i.e., we make secret plans which are meant to benefit ourselves at the expense of our political opponents. It would be weird to think that everything occurs out in the open and that no one has any secrets of any kind.
I considered it kind of an urban legend but I guess it’s a conspiracy theory, although it’s pretty easy to defeat the evil fan manufacturers by cracking a window.
I know there's a study out there showing that the more education you have, the greater your susceptibility to conspiracy theories, but I can't find it anywhere. Google is just giving me studies showing the opposite. There's an NPR story I just looked through which says that lower education = greater susceptibility to conspiracy theories, but it obviously does not mention RussiaGate as a conspiracy theory, because that would completely upend their stupid article. RussiaGate is, by definition, a conspiracy theory which large numbers of highly educated liberals (including me) believe or believed in. They also mention JFK's assassination there. I don't think I've met a single person who believes that JFK was shot by a lone gunman. I can even remember my educated, nice, lib high school history teacher talking about how JFK was hit by like eighty bullets flying in eighty different directions at the same time.
It's possible that education actually has nothing to do with it, that living in a dying culture makes you more prone to believing conspiracy theories (and also makes some of these conspiracies real!). Living in Korea for years, I can't recall any Koreans bringing up any conspiracies with me. I asked my Korean wife about this and she couldn't think of any Korean conspiracy theories either. When I was traveling through Turkey like ten years ago, at least one Turk mentioned the term "deep state" to me. That was the first time I'd heard it, and it sounded completely natural to him. Like, in Turkey, it's obvious that the deep state exists because the military has overthrown the government how many times there. But if you talk about the deep state unironically in the USA, people will instantly assume you are a raving lunatic.
After watching the people around me who are most susceptible, it seems like the common thread is resentment, that "I could never speak about my woo before but now people on youtube are normalising it so you will listen to me".
There are a lot of people who will get their information and worldview from just one youtube pseudo expert. They literally will not watch or consider anyone else.
People from some countries have not been exposed to social media to the same extent maybe, the societies aren't as atomised.
It's fucked. I've talked people down from antivax, (you accept the polio vaccine, right?) and two videos later they are right back on the bandwagon.
imo this stuff has always been in society but online has turbo charged it in western societies, particulary in the 2010s.
I will have hour-long struggle sessions with my dad about liberal politics. He will end by agreeing with me about everything. A week later, we’re back where we started.
I had some success talking about vaccination in Cuba and also the history of inoculation going back to China with one anti-vaxxer I know. He was back to his normal anti-vaxx-ness within days. Convincing these people just isn’t enough. Their entire lives have to change in order for their ideas to change.
This misinformation is reinforced every day by the media they consume, or worse, by people they trust at work that evangelize this propaganda. So even people that don't use social media can get sucked into it.
I have only had success with those family members by 1) telling them that Bill Gates is bad, but not for the reasons you think (likewise with other topics) or 2) if your coworker is so smart why do they work at the same job as you?
Yeah, I've had some success with exactly this type of thing.
Your NPR article probably doesn't mention RussiaGate because in early December 2016, when the article is dated, RussiaGate as we know it now had not really taken off; to illustrate that point, the "Steele Dossier" would not be published by BuzzFeed for another month (Jan. 10, 2017).
Aw shit.
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I mean, people are obviously doing this. I've run in some local elections where I live, and my friends and I "conspire" to win these elections; i.e., we make secret plans which are meant to benefit ourselves at the expense of our political opponents. It would be weird to think that everything occurs out in the open and that no one has any secrets of any kind.
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The whole field of International Relations and Geopolitics is basically actual conspiracy theory.
Fan death is the biggest Korean conspiracy theory
I considered it kind of an urban legend but I guess it’s a conspiracy theory, although it’s pretty easy to defeat the evil fan manufacturers by cracking a window.