Conspiracy theories vs. theorists
Have you ever believed a compelling story that turned out not to be true?
It’s a problem that we keep referring to “conspiracy theorists” as a distinct group of people. They are not “other” to us; they are a part of our whole.
We have evolved to believe compelling stories, and when good stories have been bouncing around the internet, being tweaked, perfected, elaborated upon and developed into ever-more compelling narratives, we are even more likely to believe them.
We should start viewing conspiracy theories for what they are — informational viruses that mutate and spread.
We are all potential conspiracy theorists.
Just as diseases can be weaponised for biological warfare, conspiracy theories will be (and already are being) weaponised too.
I wrote more about this here.
Of course, some conspiracy theories are true, making this all the more complicated.
