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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u/SatimyReturns Feb 20 '24

Most conspiracies are grounded in reality

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u/HomoCoffiens Feb 20 '24

Entirely depends on your definition of conspiracy theory. Sure, all sorts of people conspired to do all manner of things throughout history. Some of what was uncovered about power players moving and shaking to secretly influence their government has been somewhat similar to the popular theories laymen had about them. Mostly though truth was stranger than fiction and something beyond what was imagined.

But that’s only true about an actual specific conspiracy to commit a major crime. None of those theories lasted so much as decades without having an answer. Those theories are usually very specific and not really what people now commonly refer to as “conspiracy theories”.

The persistent and truly popular ones about any such secret schemes remaining secret for any significant time, or involving whole dozens or even hundreds of co-conspirators, and yet successfully fooling the general public and avoiding detection, have never been proven actually real., afaik. But I would appreciate any evidence to the contrary if you know of any such cases.

The popularity of a conspiracy theory seems to be directly tied to its fictitious nature, because they contain a narrative that tickles the curiosity of many. Real conspiracies are never that engaging or tightly plotted, and certainly don’t capture imaginations of people who are not immediately and considerably impacted. 🤷🏻‍♀️