ngl, it kind of bums me out to see youve jumped off the cryptid train. theyre one of my favorite weird things to discuss with people, because while the probability is they’re not real, the “what if” of it all is super fun. it’s also what introduced me to your work in the first place.
that said, these political conspiracies are not fun, and i agree with you they just keep getting nastier. it’s really disappointing to see people who in your life that you’ve thought of as intelligent getting swept away in things like COVID-19 is made up.
Excellent topic to cover. Dr. Dentith's responses were a delight to read (and I appreciate their very specifically punctuated name)!
I will admit to at least half-heartedly believing in one conspiracy theory, and it concerns the 1996 commercial jet crash of TWA Flight 800. All the official stuff and most of the media coverage tells us that it was an equipment malfunction, and indeed that he plane basically disintegrated midair off of Long Island. But there are those who don't buy that story and insist it was shot down, for reasons unknown. Perhaps in error.
I had a relative on that flight. And for psychological reasons I've never been able to parse out, I know that's why I lean toward the "conspiracy" answer. It's a very Fox Mulder way of thinking. When you lose someone in such a manner, you do feel a fervent need to seek the Truth.
Hey Alex. What a self-aware, smart post. Thank you. And I'm so sorry to hear about your relative on the flight. I can not even imagine. I think your approach makes sense, and is healthy, in a way. You are aware of your own biases, and open to that. I wish more people thought like you do.
this was a really good read, i’ve always been drawn to “harmless” conspiracies, loch ness monster or the existence of aliens, i think it’s fun to think that there’s creatures out there that we haven’t confirmed, that there’s more to this earth than what we know. but then i read conspiracies that are just so mean hearted and have awful real life applications, and they kind of ruin what i thought was a fun hobby or something to discuss at a party. i assume there’s a middle ground but it’s hard to find it because i wouldn’t want your alex jones types to think that i’m siding with them..
thanks again for the emails david, i can’t believe it’s been a month already! :)
As a result of this article/interview I ended up watching a bunch of old clips from V:the series. The nostalgia on that runs deep. Very interesting discussion! Dr. Dentith's perspective on how to handle these conspiracy theories is very refreshing, enlightening and smart! I have to look into his website and podcasts. I also want to read Jess Berentson-Shaw's book "A matter of fact" at some point. Good stuff!
V rules. Iconic stuff. Glad you got into it. Haven't done A Matter of Fact either. You may beat me to it! As for Dentith, he's great. Smart, modest, cool. Can't say enough good words about them.
Hi David, Thanks for delving into this on behalf of civilised society. This was a good read.
I’ve only recently found your “internet pamphlet” (love that term) as a result of trying to find some answers myself.
After lock-down I caught up with an old mate I hadn’t seen in ages. He’s a wee bit older than I am, but our friendship is based on the common interest of old cars and motorbikes. He’s usually a good laugh to hang out with, although I’ve always known that his background is very anti-establishment with an inherent distrust of all governments. He usually has an opinion on something and that was as far as it went. Sometimes it was even quite funny.
However, it sounds like he’s spent the last two months during lock-down down Facebook rabbit holes:
Covid: He kept babbling on about “socialist agendas” and the government pushing their ideologies.
Chch shooter: They’ve used it to remove guns from society and push Islam into the mainstream.
UK: They’re brainwashing kids with trans sexual nonsense and more Islam indoctrination theories.
Nothing was free from some twist of a government hand being behind it somewhere. I managed to ignore it for the most part, but I feel I’m going to lose a mate to the nut jobs. How do I approach this? He admitted to pretty much getting all his news from Facebook, abandoning mainstream media as it’s full of “bias and agendas”. There’s no doubt many of his other mates, both online and IRL, are in the same boat. Therefore, much of his social life is an echo chamber where they all whip themselves into a frenzy of conspiracies. So, from his perspective, I’m likely the ignorant fool blindly being fed bullshit.
Anyway, I didn’t have a point to all this, just wanted to vent a little bit and this seemed like an appropriate place where perhaps I may find some help with trying to pull my friend back from the brink.
I don't mean to be a downer, but it's a bit of a lost cause. I'd argue that you should stay in his life, just so he has some other form of reality.. but it's really sad. It's disturbing to see, as a lot of people being drawn into this stuff are traditionally quite left leaning -- but have became anything but, getting drawn into racist narratives like the Islamophobia you mention. Like, the Anti-5G people in NZ I'd typically class as hippie types - but his extreme distrust of the government and the media has taken them down a very different path. It's a magic truck Donald Trump pulled - this sort of trick that he is anti establishment and for the people. The other thing is that conspiracy theories are often embraced by a very white culture -- but this 5G stuff (at least in NZ) is sinking into poorer, non-white communities. It's super unusual and disheartening to watch.
Thanks for taking the time to reply. Much appreciated. Yeah he's an "alternative lifestyle/hippie" at heart and a genuinely good person. I'll be keeping touch with him and will probably call out his more ridiculous bullshit, but I'm aware there's only so much I can do.
Thanks again. Love your work by the way, and enjoying reading this site.
Gotta love your honesty, always. Just what I needed to read lately, very fun to catch up.
Also imo, I feel like people enjoy conspiracy theories because it kinda makes the world a bit less boring, specially since, you know, we're all stuck inside.
I just want to say that I'm teaching "Lord of the Flies" to my 8th graders and the article you added about the Tongan shipwrecked kids gave me a much needed hopeful closure to the novel. Thanks!!!
I especially loved this newsletter and Dr Dentith had such insightful answers!
I have to admit I sometimes assume conspiracies when weird shit happens in the world 🙈 and honestly with a lot of political issues in general...but M confirmed something that I had started thinking about since reading your posts on these issues...that where you grow up shapes your views. And me, being liberal and living in the U.S....it’s sometimes hard to feel like anything our government here does DOES’T have some ulterior motive! Is that too cynical?
I have so little faith in our system that it basically always seems they are somehow, someway in it for money and power.
(Having said that, I do my part to be a good human...I’ve been staying home and if I have to go out I wear my mask. I don’t hijack trains. Etc. I also don’t think anyone would say I have mental issues...pretty sure at least 🤷🏻♀️)
Anyway, I guess my point in all this was that I wonder if there are higher concentrations of “conspiracy theorists” in populations who just don’t trust their governments or news sources. I know tons of Bernie supporters here who are labeled as such.
It seems nice to live in a place with transparency and trust in your system!
Oh and please don’t think I’m in any way defending these assholes causing destruction or protesting their stupid selfish rights to not have to wear a mask or comply with social distancing...I was just speculating on factors that might cause us to question motives...not condoning idiotic behaviors in reaction to our thoughts
I heard a quote from medieval(?) philosopher Thomas Aquinas yesterday that your article reinforced: ‘that which is received is received according to the condition of the receiver.’ Now I want to read Conspiracy Theory Theories!
I have a friend who has lost other friends in our circle due to his current beliefs (stuff like this, but aldo general right wing lie-based "information"). That and he seems to view social media as some sort of screen, where he behaves differently to what he would otherwise - although it has crept into IRL stand offs etc. I don't want to give up on the friendship, and have always been able to separate the two, however after a recent post, the line has been crossed with me personally. There's no reasoning with him as he's done a LOT of reading so there's always a comeback, no matter how easily debunkable it is. He's I feel like this article is a good step towards knowing how to deal with it. I don't know what I'm going to do at this point, but everything here makes so much sense and as I said it a good start to potentially formulating a "plan". I'd be keen to know if you had any thoughts on how to deal with this situation, but understand if you don't, also :-)
This one helped me out too. Having worked as a cop for nearly 23 years in London, I’d heard (& investigated) some conspiracy theories. Some involved plots to murder others, some involved aliens and a lot of tin foil on windows & one notable one resulted in me being stalked by a defendant with a large knife waiting for me by my car after duty!
I also think there’s room for a lot of research into how be more persuasive without causing harm to others, in other words how do we gently say “no that’s codswallop, shut up”?
I guess critical thinking plays a big part in deciding how to react and come to your own conclusions, and I’m trying to do my bit for future society by instilling the need for critical thinking in my kids.
As an aside - isn’t it nice when somebody as clever as your friend says Trump is precisely what you think he is! It’s like a hug in a paragraph right there 😆
23 years, you must have seen some shit. Jeebus. Thanks for this thoughtful post. And for remaining open-minded and chill after all that time dealing with -- I imagine -- some pretty stressful situations.
pop culture conspiracy theories are my guilty pleasure though:// like remember when everyone was freaking out because a 'pedofile' was watching kids through the talking angela app like wth was that. Or the one about Avril Lavigne dying so they replaced her like who mAKES THIS UP
ngl, it kind of bums me out to see youve jumped off the cryptid train. theyre one of my favorite weird things to discuss with people, because while the probability is they’re not real, the “what if” of it all is super fun. it’s also what introduced me to your work in the first place.
that said, these political conspiracies are not fun, and i agree with you they just keep getting nastier. it’s really disappointing to see people who in your life that you’ve thought of as intelligent getting swept away in things like COVID-19 is made up.
Oh look, I was probably a bit harsh on myself. Bigfoot and Nessie will always have a place in my heart!
happy to hear it!
Excellent topic to cover. Dr. Dentith's responses were a delight to read (and I appreciate their very specifically punctuated name)!
I will admit to at least half-heartedly believing in one conspiracy theory, and it concerns the 1996 commercial jet crash of TWA Flight 800. All the official stuff and most of the media coverage tells us that it was an equipment malfunction, and indeed that he plane basically disintegrated midair off of Long Island. But there are those who don't buy that story and insist it was shot down, for reasons unknown. Perhaps in error.
I had a relative on that flight. And for psychological reasons I've never been able to parse out, I know that's why I lean toward the "conspiracy" answer. It's a very Fox Mulder way of thinking. When you lose someone in such a manner, you do feel a fervent need to seek the Truth.
Anyway great piece, thanks for sharing.
Hey Alex. What a self-aware, smart post. Thank you. And I'm so sorry to hear about your relative on the flight. I can not even imagine. I think your approach makes sense, and is healthy, in a way. You are aware of your own biases, and open to that. I wish more people thought like you do.
Thanks, David, that's very kind of you to say
wow what an interesting job Dr Dentith has!
this was a really good read, i’ve always been drawn to “harmless” conspiracies, loch ness monster or the existence of aliens, i think it’s fun to think that there’s creatures out there that we haven’t confirmed, that there’s more to this earth than what we know. but then i read conspiracies that are just so mean hearted and have awful real life applications, and they kind of ruin what i thought was a fun hobby or something to discuss at a party. i assume there’s a middle ground but it’s hard to find it because i wouldn’t want your alex jones types to think that i’m siding with them..
thanks again for the emails david, i can’t believe it’s been a month already! :)
Thanks Bella. I'm still enjoying writing them, so they'll keep coming. Dr Dentith rules, and I was glad I got to share them with a few more people!
As a result of this article/interview I ended up watching a bunch of old clips from V:the series. The nostalgia on that runs deep. Very interesting discussion! Dr. Dentith's perspective on how to handle these conspiracy theories is very refreshing, enlightening and smart! I have to look into his website and podcasts. I also want to read Jess Berentson-Shaw's book "A matter of fact" at some point. Good stuff!
V rules. Iconic stuff. Glad you got into it. Haven't done A Matter of Fact either. You may beat me to it! As for Dentith, he's great. Smart, modest, cool. Can't say enough good words about them.
Hi David, Thanks for delving into this on behalf of civilised society. This was a good read.
I’ve only recently found your “internet pamphlet” (love that term) as a result of trying to find some answers myself.
After lock-down I caught up with an old mate I hadn’t seen in ages. He’s a wee bit older than I am, but our friendship is based on the common interest of old cars and motorbikes. He’s usually a good laugh to hang out with, although I’ve always known that his background is very anti-establishment with an inherent distrust of all governments. He usually has an opinion on something and that was as far as it went. Sometimes it was even quite funny.
However, it sounds like he’s spent the last two months during lock-down down Facebook rabbit holes:
Covid: He kept babbling on about “socialist agendas” and the government pushing their ideologies.
Chch shooter: They’ve used it to remove guns from society and push Islam into the mainstream.
UK: They’re brainwashing kids with trans sexual nonsense and more Islam indoctrination theories.
Nothing was free from some twist of a government hand being behind it somewhere. I managed to ignore it for the most part, but I feel I’m going to lose a mate to the nut jobs. How do I approach this? He admitted to pretty much getting all his news from Facebook, abandoning mainstream media as it’s full of “bias and agendas”. There’s no doubt many of his other mates, both online and IRL, are in the same boat. Therefore, much of his social life is an echo chamber where they all whip themselves into a frenzy of conspiracies. So, from his perspective, I’m likely the ignorant fool blindly being fed bullshit.
Anyway, I didn’t have a point to all this, just wanted to vent a little bit and this seemed like an appropriate place where perhaps I may find some help with trying to pull my friend back from the brink.
I don't mean to be a downer, but it's a bit of a lost cause. I'd argue that you should stay in his life, just so he has some other form of reality.. but it's really sad. It's disturbing to see, as a lot of people being drawn into this stuff are traditionally quite left leaning -- but have became anything but, getting drawn into racist narratives like the Islamophobia you mention. Like, the Anti-5G people in NZ I'd typically class as hippie types - but his extreme distrust of the government and the media has taken them down a very different path. It's a magic truck Donald Trump pulled - this sort of trick that he is anti establishment and for the people. The other thing is that conspiracy theories are often embraced by a very white culture -- but this 5G stuff (at least in NZ) is sinking into poorer, non-white communities. It's super unusual and disheartening to watch.
Thanks for taking the time to reply. Much appreciated. Yeah he's an "alternative lifestyle/hippie" at heart and a genuinely good person. I'll be keeping touch with him and will probably call out his more ridiculous bullshit, but I'm aware there's only so much I can do.
Thanks again. Love your work by the way, and enjoying reading this site.
Regards to Sophia, she sounds like a keeper. :)
Gotta love your honesty, always. Just what I needed to read lately, very fun to catch up.
Also imo, I feel like people enjoy conspiracy theories because it kinda makes the world a bit less boring, specially since, you know, we're all stuck inside.
gotta love your honesty with the interviewed
I try! I mean, I think we all have to be honest these days to balance out all the dishonesty!
I just want to say that I'm teaching "Lord of the Flies" to my 8th graders and the article you added about the Tongan shipwrecked kids gave me a much needed hopeful closure to the novel. Thanks!!!
My pleasure! I hope the 8th graders like it. Some positive food for thought.
I especially loved this newsletter and Dr Dentith had such insightful answers!
I have to admit I sometimes assume conspiracies when weird shit happens in the world 🙈 and honestly with a lot of political issues in general...but M confirmed something that I had started thinking about since reading your posts on these issues...that where you grow up shapes your views. And me, being liberal and living in the U.S....it’s sometimes hard to feel like anything our government here does DOES’T have some ulterior motive! Is that too cynical?
I have so little faith in our system that it basically always seems they are somehow, someway in it for money and power.
(Having said that, I do my part to be a good human...I’ve been staying home and if I have to go out I wear my mask. I don’t hijack trains. Etc. I also don’t think anyone would say I have mental issues...pretty sure at least 🤷🏻♀️)
Anyway, I guess my point in all this was that I wonder if there are higher concentrations of “conspiracy theorists” in populations who just don’t trust their governments or news sources. I know tons of Bernie supporters here who are labeled as such.
It seems nice to live in a place with transparency and trust in your system!
Thanks for the interesting read...as always! ☺️
Oh and please don’t think I’m in any way defending these assholes causing destruction or protesting their stupid selfish rights to not have to wear a mask or comply with social distancing...I was just speculating on factors that might cause us to question motives...not condoning idiotic behaviors in reaction to our thoughts
I totally get where you're coming from. We're not too dissimilar there.
I heard a quote from medieval(?) philosopher Thomas Aquinas yesterday that your article reinforced: ‘that which is received is received according to the condition of the receiver.’ Now I want to read Conspiracy Theory Theories!
Thanks for this David, I needed it today!
No worries Mat. It was a long read, thanks for getting through it!
I have a friend who has lost other friends in our circle due to his current beliefs (stuff like this, but aldo general right wing lie-based "information"). That and he seems to view social media as some sort of screen, where he behaves differently to what he would otherwise - although it has crept into IRL stand offs etc. I don't want to give up on the friendship, and have always been able to separate the two, however after a recent post, the line has been crossed with me personally. There's no reasoning with him as he's done a LOT of reading so there's always a comeback, no matter how easily debunkable it is. He's I feel like this article is a good step towards knowing how to deal with it. I don't know what I'm going to do at this point, but everything here makes so much sense and as I said it a good start to potentially formulating a "plan". I'd be keen to know if you had any thoughts on how to deal with this situation, but understand if you don't, also :-)
This one helped me out too. Having worked as a cop for nearly 23 years in London, I’d heard (& investigated) some conspiracy theories. Some involved plots to murder others, some involved aliens and a lot of tin foil on windows & one notable one resulted in me being stalked by a defendant with a large knife waiting for me by my car after duty!
I also think there’s room for a lot of research into how be more persuasive without causing harm to others, in other words how do we gently say “no that’s codswallop, shut up”?
I guess critical thinking plays a big part in deciding how to react and come to your own conclusions, and I’m trying to do my bit for future society by instilling the need for critical thinking in my kids.
As an aside - isn’t it nice when somebody as clever as your friend says Trump is precisely what you think he is! It’s like a hug in a paragraph right there 😆
23 years, you must have seen some shit. Jeebus. Thanks for this thoughtful post. And for remaining open-minded and chill after all that time dealing with -- I imagine -- some pretty stressful situations.
I think I probably covered a lot of life in those years, yes. I still get surprised by people though. Humans are amazing creatures; good or bad.
pop culture conspiracy theories are my guilty pleasure though:// like remember when everyone was freaking out because a 'pedofile' was watching kids through the talking angela app like wth was that. Or the one about Avril Lavigne dying so they replaced her like who mAKES THIS UP
Hey, I grew up on The X-Files -- so I feel ya ;)
Same, i used to watch it with my mom and then i would be spOOKED
Then there's this too. 😕
https://aobrempongnana.wordpress.com/2020/05/15/who-offered-me-20million-dollars-to-put-a-little-toxic-in-my-covid-19-remedy-madagascar-president-exposes-who/?fbclid=IwAR0mGKDmE2DStGra5s0ZopZkRLYp2f1DiVFl3na3zaC7qQwOkSaNotoosng