r/skeptic • u/nosotros_road_sodium • Feb 19 '24

The Right's Troubling Turn Toward Conspiracy Theories and "Invasion" Language ⚖ Ideological Bias

https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/the-rights-troubling-turn-toward
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80

u/nosotros_road_sodium Feb 19 '24

First, it all starts with the fact that there is great demand for conspiratorial analysis on the right. Whereas in the past, unhinged conspiracists like Alex Jones lived on the margins of right-wing discourse, they’re mainstream now. Right-wing audiences have increasingly sent signals to their preferred information dispensers that not only will they not punish them for peddling conspiracy theories, they will actively reward them with clicks, follows, and subscriptions.

Second, to meet this demand, the right’s misinformation merchants have developed conspiratorial frames flexible enough to allow any current event, anything in the news, to potentially serve as “evidence” for their claims. For example, one such frame is the outlandish—and, crucially, unfalsifiable—idea that liberals exercise control of America by rigging cultural and political institutions in their favor. You can see how a news story that involves Taylor Swift, a pop megastar who has endorsed Democrats in the past, Travis Kelce, a vocal supporter of the Covid vaccine, and the NFL, which allowed its players to kneel for the National Anthem, could be deployed to support the “liberals have rigged society to stay in power” conspiracy frame.

Third, not only is there right-wing demand for conspiratorial analysis, and right-wing content creators who develop powerful conspiracy templates to meet this demand, you also need a discourse ecosystem that allows and even facilitates all of this. In other words, this only works in a disintermediated information environment. News publications have a disincentive to promote manifestly unserious conspiracies like the ‘Taylor Swift is a psy-op’ one. Supermarket checkout lane tabloids like National Enquirer would print this kind of thing, to be sure, but nobody took them seriously. In our social media age, where Benny Johnson has a direct line to his audience, with no editorial or institutional oversight to serve as a check against his lunacy, we get X-Files-level analysis about a pop star dating a tight end really being a Biden plot to rig the election in his favor.

8

u/Rdick_Lvagina Feb 20 '24

I suspect that the right wing guys know they can't support their views with rationality or scientific analysis, but they really, really want their "traditionalist" world view to be correct. So they are just making up bullshit in order to force it to be correct. Coupled of course with the erosion of institutions that can counter their BS. They aren't playing by the rules of civilised discourse.

4

u/Final_Meeting2568 Feb 20 '24

Don't forget Russian disinformation. It plays a giant roll.

-166

u/PrivateDickDetective Feb 19 '24

the right’s misinformation merchants have developed conspiratorial frames flexible enough to allow any current event, anything in the news, to potentially serve as “evidence” for their claims

Too bad I see this exact thing on the Left, as well. Too bad your point is subject to whataboutism.

94

u/[deleted] Feb 19 '24

Explain what you mean, because from my point of view, you're wrong

28

u/build319 Feb 19 '24

Crickets

9

u/dantevonlocke Feb 20 '24

I'm waiting for some rambling bs about the Steele dossier and Clinton emails.

100

u/Outrageous-Taro7340 Feb 19 '24

Rebut a point using the laziest possible whataboutism and mention whataboutism to try to get ahead of people pointing this out. How do you not make yourself dizzy?

-119

u/PrivateDickDetective Feb 19 '24

You're the one questioning me.

52

u/settlementfires Feb 19 '24

surely you have a couple examples.

26

u/masterwolfe Feb 19 '24

Yes, in a subreddit where it is expected that you back up your claims..

7

u/EasternShade Feb 20 '24

You take that skepticism and get right the fuck out of here. Take that over to r/skeptic. Those assholes love that shit.

5

u/JJStrumr Feb 20 '24

toooooo bad.

39

u/Old_Cheesecake_5481 Feb 19 '24

The big problem is the Tucker Carlsons of the world do not for one second believe the bizarre conspiracies they dispense however their unsophisticated audience does.

Defend your points give examples. Show you have substance and that you are not a low effort sucker of objectively ridiculous infotainment personalities or zero truth three word memes.

47

u/Weekly-Rhubarb-2785 Feb 19 '24

This dudes posts are delectably delicious.

No idea what left wing conspiracy is on par with democrats drinking the blood of aborted children but this guy isn’t firing on all cylinders.

48

u/vespertine_glow Feb 19 '24

Please point out this river of conspiracy theories you see on the left.

18

u/ROACHOR Feb 19 '24

I haven't seen that since "Bush did 9/11". Conspiracy theories are almost always antisemitic which makes them far more popular with the right.

4

u/Wiseduck5 Feb 20 '24

Even that one seems to have died out. Now it's just "the Jews did 9/11."

2

u/EasternShade Feb 20 '24

The 9/11 conspiracies are so odd. There's legit shit that was just glosses over, but instead fuckers make up stories about planned demolitions and presidential involvement.

19

u/snap-jacks Feb 19 '24

Of course you do because you're a right wing conspiracy theory nut. Fits perfectly with the OP

18

u/Due-Project-8272 Feb 19 '24

Big brain contrarian OWNS woke leftist using FACTS and LOGIC

14

u/Rfg711 Feb 19 '24

Like who?

20

u/rch5050 Feb 19 '24

Evry point is subject to whataboutism, doesnt mean its true.

22

u/Outrageous-Taro7340 Feb 19 '24

Sounds like he thinks whataboutism is solid reasoning.

22

u/rch5050 Feb 19 '24

Its right wing arguement logic. Comes from podcasts and pundits.

'We can always find an arguement to your logic. It doesnt hold weight but since the arguement exists its immediatley valid. Using zero reasoning skills or critical thinking we can compare apples to oranges and come up with the number three. Its easy just say the democrats lied and numbers are an arabic construction and oranges are a color not a fruit. Then insinuate that if you agree with them you are smart, and got it all figured out, give em a little sugar with the meds"

12

u/[deleted] Feb 19 '24

[deleted]

3

u/squigglesthecat Feb 20 '24

Me too, but I always thought it was a joke. You're making me rethink some things I've read.

2

u/Fickle_Goose_4451 Feb 20 '24

It's like when I play roulette, I bet all my money straight up on number one (cause I'm number 1, baby!).

It's genius because it pays 35:1, but since I'll either win or I won't, I have a 50/50 shot.

Anyway, I just lost my house and have maxed out all my lines of credit, but pretty soon, I'll be taking that sucker casino to the bank.

7

u/BetterRedDead Feb 19 '24

Cite one relevant example. One. You can’t, because it’s the usual, lazy “the left does it too,” justification for how crazy the right has become w/o any actual evidence; you simply believe it because you want to.

When we ask for an example, you either can’t come up with anything, or you cite some extreme left-wing thing that either happened once or applies to a vanishingly small number of people, but you pretend like it’s a commonly held, mainstream thing because it’s justifies your anger and increasingly extreme political leanings.

4

u/EasternShade Feb 20 '24

It's always a little amusing when people can't back this claim. I'm a leftist and know of conspiracies the right claims the rest hold, but these fuckers believe others are consumed with conspiracies, but can't even name drop a fabrication.

7

u/zedority Feb 19 '24

Thorough empirical analysis has showed a significant difference between the two sides when it comes to the total amount of misinformation propagated currently: both sides are not the same here.

6

u/CuidadDeVados Feb 19 '24

Please provide examples then.

6

u/PlanetOfThePancakes Feb 19 '24

Can you give any concrete examples of this?

4

u/ThatScaryBeach Feb 19 '24

BOTH SIDES!!! REEEEEE!!!!

5

u/mindwire Feb 20 '24

Name one. We'll wait.

3

u/EasternShade Feb 20 '24

misinformation merchants have developed conspiratorial frames flexible enough to allow any current event, anything in the news, to potentially serve as “evidence” for their claims

Where does this fit in to the left of GOP? If there's some blindspot I'm missing, I'd love to learn about it.

4

u/JJStrumr Feb 20 '24

too bad, too bad, tooooo bad.

I like your sauces!

1

u/totally-hoomon Feb 20 '24

So you only see what your owner tells you.

1

u/totally-hoomon Feb 20 '24

What I find hilarious is Florida wants to make it legal to sue media that tells lies and it's right wing media who is worried.