Why so many believers in conspiracies?

[Anomalocaris]

Why Do So Many People Believe In Conspiracy Theories?

Quote

 

An intriguing new political science study reveals that around half of the American public believes in one or more conspiracy theories. According to the authors, the findings go a long way to explaining the country's current political culture.

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[+ouija ouija]

Hi Anomalocaris, good to see you back

Just off the top of my head, without really thinking about it, the most likely reason is that there's an element of truth in the story and/or the ones shouting loudly that it's a not a conspiracy have been shown to have lied at some point.

[Keel M.]

People don't trust anyone or anything anymore because there are so many who get kicks out of spreading lies because you can do it so easily online.

[darkmoonlady]

People like believing they know something and believing everyone else doesn't. It makes them feel special and less insignificant on a planet of billions. If you feel for whatever reason your life isn't fair, having some bigger force (real or not) outside of your control that you lay fault on for why your life isn't fair it removes responsibility. Oh it's the government/NWO/Bilderberg keeping me from being successful or free or whatever. It's an easy out. I had a conversation with this guy who was going on and on about the NWO and banks etc. I listened then I said OK assuming everything you said is true what if anything can you do will stop them or slow them down. He sputtered and got kinda irritated and said well I can take my money out of the banks! I said OK but that has zero effect. So basically nothing you do has an effect on this supposed cabal because it's so big and formidable. So I said taking money out of the bank does nothing, telling me this does nothing. So just live your life like it isn't there. Either way ranting about changes nothing. He got fairly ticked off at me. My point I said is believing these conspiracy theories doesn't change them or get rid of them. If they were all real even then what one person does to "fight" them is nothing and so why waste so much energy on something like that? 

[W H I T E]

48 minutes ago, darkmoonlady said:

People like believing they know something and believing everyone else doesn't. It makes them feel special and less insignificant on a planet of billions. If you feel for whatever reason your life isn't fair, having some bigger force (real or not) outside of your control that you lay fault on for why your life isn't fair it removes responsibility. Oh it's the government/NWO/Bilderberg keeping me from being successful or free or whatever. It's an easy out. I had a conversation with this guy who was going on and on about the NWO and banks etc. I listened then I said OK assuming everything you said is true what if anything can you do will stop them or slow them down. He sputtered and got kinda irritated and said well I can take my money out of the banks! I said OK but that has zero effect. So basically nothing you do has an effect on this supposed cabal because it's so big and formidable. So I said taking money out of the bank does nothing, telling me this does nothing. So just live your life like it isn't there. Either way ranting about changes nothing. He got fairly ticked off at me. My point I said is believing these conspiracy theories doesn't change them or get rid of them. If they were all real even then what one person does to "fight" them is nothing and so why waste so much energy on something like that? 

Audit the Fed.

[W H I T E]

People "believe in conspiracy" because the existence of conspiracy is a fact.

The real question is why someone would claim an opinion or belief (any belief) without having an appropriate level of understanding to go along with it.

[Anomalocaris]

7 hours ago, ouija ouija said:

7 hours ago, ouija ouija said:

Hi Anomalocaris, good to see you back

Just off the top of my head, without really thinking about it, the most likely reason is that there's an element of truth in the story and/or the ones shouting loudly that it's a not a conspiracy have been shown to have lied at some point.

Hi Anomalocaris, good to see you back

Just off the top of my head, without really thinking about it, the most likely reason is that there's an element of truth in the story and/or the ones shouting loudly that it's a not a conspiracy have been shown to have lied at some point.

Hiya, It has been a long time,  but now I'm back, cheers!

[Use your brain]

I smashed this theory a few months ago.

You can't lump everything into a "conspiracy theory" is the short of it. 

[+Noteverythingisaconspiracy]

8 hours ago, Child of Bast said:

People don't trust anyone or anything anymore because there are so many who get kicks out of spreading lies because you can do it so easily online.

I agree completely.

There is no doubt in my mind that the internet have been responsible for spreading many conspiracies way beyond what they would have been before the internet. Instant communication today means that a conspiracy about anything that happens can be spread around the world in seconds. Its rather depressing. 

[Paranormal Panther]

There are many reasons. People, with common sense, know that there always have been dishonesty and duplicity from many people in high places. Only an ostrich, with her/his head buried in the sand, denies this fact. You just have to separate the wheat from the chaff when you encounter claims of malfeasance. We have the Gulf of Tonkin and Operation Northwoods among the wheat. We have lizard people among the chaff. Examine each individual claim in an objective way, and look at *all* evidence, with no inherent prejudice, to form a realistic conclusion. Take that narrow road.

[Skulduggery]

Conspiracies have happened. People have plotted things out, conducted secret missions and bent the rules. This goes back to ancient times. Most of the time, there is no conspiracy present. There is no grand conspiracy going on but the reality is there for people to do things in secrecy which may affect others, etc. and it's not at all out of the ordinary. It happens in the corporate world often enough to make it NBD.

 

Now, having said those things, all the reptile-people conspiracies are just lame and passé. 

[Aftermath]

Humans are inherently paranoid.  Each of us fall on a paranoia spectrum:

 

   |----------------------------------------------------|

   0                               5                              10

None                        Some                      Extreme

 

At least this is what the voices in my head tell me.

[GlitterRose]

Every time we turn around we hear of how some agency or politician or billionaire or corporation or industry pulled a fast one on us. It gets to where no one knows who to trust, so reason starts to lose ground. It gets so that people just go online and search for the reality they want to believe in. Some of those "realities" are very wacky. 

[skyeagle409]

On 6/6/2016 at 6:26 AM, Anomalocaris said:

Why Do So Many People Believe In Conspiracy Theories?

 

 

 

I've noticed that many people, not all, but many of those who believe that 9/11 was a government conspiracy are anti-government, but the facts do not support a 9/11 conspiracy.

[flyingswan]

On 6/6/2016 at 2:26 PM, Anomalocaris said:

Why Do So Many People Believe In Conspiracy Theories?

Because it is so much easier to swallow whole some entertaining fable than to do the research to understand whether it is plausible or not.

[freetoroam]

As mentioned by paranormal Panther, it is a matter of separating the wheat from the chaff.

I have no doubt big organisations, especially some chemical companies and the giants in fuel, have played some very dangerous moves to get where they are today. 

I have no doubt karen Silkwood was murdered because she was about to go public. =the  Wheat

I have no doubts in my mind we are not being visited by aliens and bigfoot is not roaming about building huts. = the chaff.

 

[W H I T E]

So, the post says this:

 

An intriguing 

new political science study reveals that around half of the American public believes in one or more conspiracy theories. According to the authors, the findings go a long way to explaining the country's current political culture.

 

What does it mean for the other half?  That they don't believe conspiracy exists? (wow, that would be dumb)

 

Or does it mean that, since they may not have all the facts on anything in particular at the moment they're being asked the question, that they won't commit to saying they believe in a certain thing as it relates to conspiracy?

 

And exactly what's meant by the opinion "the findings go a long way to explaining the country's current political culture"?

[W H I T E]

On 6/6/2016 at 5:07 PM, Paranormal Panther said:

There are many reasons. People, with common sense, know that there always have been dishonesty and duplicity from many people in high places. Only an ostrich, with her/his head buried in the sand, denies this fact. You just have to separate the wheat from the chaff when you encounter claims of malfeasance. We have the Gulf of Tonkin and Operation Northwoods among the wheat. We have lizard people among the chaff. Examine each individual claim in an objective way, and look at *all* evidence, with no inherent prejudice, to form a realistic conclusion. Take that narrow road.

Good post, Panther! 

[Paranormal Panther]

5 hours ago, W H I T E said:

And exactly what's meant by the opinion "the findings go a long way to explaining the country's current political culture"?

Maybe it means that the study's authors don't like Trump. It often pays to ////read//// when you peruse such studies.

[W H I T E]

19 hours ago, Paranormal Panther said:

Maybe it means that the study's authors don't like Trump. It often pays to ////read//// when you peruse such studies.

Lol, to say that people are attracted to him for his suggestions about conspiracy?  If that's what's being said, then it's quite a stretch imo. 

But it's clear what an absolute piece of garbage the "study" is, so no wonder their political commentary is this bad.

[Paranormal Panther]

4 hours ago, W H I T E said:

Lol, to say that people are attracted to him for his suggestions about conspiracy?  If that's what's being said, then it's quite a stretch imo. 

But it's clear what an absolute piece of garbage the "study" is, so no wonder their political commentary is this bad.

Progressives are known to make connections that aren't there. Admittedly, Trump gives a lot of ammunition to them.

[Habitat]

People who see conspiracies everywhere are at least partially projecting their own devious natures on to others. Inauthentic, cynical behavior can then be safely attributed to others. Most involve implausible levels of secrecy , and poorly specified motives. They also have the side benefit of allowing a belief that they are part of a minority of "wise guys" that actually know what the sheeple don't. It's a mess of psychological motives, but it involves such a dismal view of humanity, where it is assumed that dark, concealed motives, always trump openness and honesty, that most people do not readily subscribe.

[W H I T E]

21 hours ago, Paranormal Panther said:

Progressives are known to make connections that aren't there. Admittedly, Trump gives a lot of ammunition to them.

I agree.  Trump gives all the ammo necessary, to the point many suspect he's a plant of some sort.

[W H I T E]

20 hours ago, Habitat said:

People who see conspiracies everywhere are at least partially projecting their own devious natures on to others. Inauthentic, cynical behavior can then be safely attributed to others. Most involve implausible levels of secrecy , and poorly specified motives. They also have the side benefit of allowing a belief that they are part of a minority of "wise guys" that actually know what the sheeple don't. It's a mess of psychological motives, but it involves such a dismal view of humanity, where it is assumed that dark, concealed motives, always trump openness and honesty, that most people do not readily subscribe.

But see, you're suggesting a reality in which conspiracy doesn't exist, which goes so far beyond dumb that it can't be seriously entertained at all.  I'm so sorry to tell you, but that's the way it is.

Welcome to life.

[Paranormal Panther]

14 minutes ago, W H I T E said:

I agree.  Trump gives all the ammo necessary, to the point many suspect he's a plant of some sort.

Some progressive candidates give the same impression. "They must be joking!"