Conspiracitheorism: the Religion of People who Peddle and Believe in Conspiracy Theories.
We now live in a world of conspiracy theories. Here are my thoughts.
I have come to the place where I now believe that there is a new religion out there. Or maybe it’s not as new as I might think. It is the religion of “Conspiracitheorism”. And it’s adherents are people who reject the normal norms of science or news, dwell on alternative facts, believe the mainstream media is out to deceive everybody but them (because they have information most people don’t have) by sharing fake news to achieve a certain agenda, and always know a grand plan to take away the rights of other or kill everyone or some people groups (mostly religious) through the use of pandemics or other violent means.
I am now calling this a religion because of the level of devotion and passion I see from people who share conspiracy theories. They feel like they need to share to save us all who do not know their alternate facts.
What I have found amazing is how people who are into this may have no clue on the facts that everyone else agrees on about a topic or story but yet hold on strongly to their alternative facts. I once had a friend who asked me if I knew that Princess Diana was killed by the British Royal family. I was shocked to my bones. I was particularly shocked because I grew up in a family where I had family members who had watched the wedding of Princess Diana to Prince Charles live on television and became big-time fans of the couple afterward following their every move for years. I remember the day of Princess Diana’s accident and I remember watching news reports of it live, that Sunday stunned and shocked. I remember following the stories of the accident for years and reading the conspiracy theories online. But seeing a real person peddle it was shocking. So I asked him since you claim to have some ‘secrets’ no one else has, can I ask you some facts that everyone agrees about? I started by asking how many people were in the car on the day of the accident? In what city did the accident happen? And finally, were there any survivors in the car that day. He was so angry at me that he was furious as to why I would ask those questions. Of course, he didn’t have an answer to any of my questions.
I have met ten-year-old kids who share conspiracy theories. They heard these stories from the conversations of their parents, the internet, friends, and older siblings. They are so convinced about these stories but are oblivious to the facts of the true non-alternate version of the topic. The people they heard the conspiracy theories from never tell them the true version. These kids are proselytes of “Conpiracytheorism” they will be worse than the older people who planted these seeds in them.
Social media seems to be an excellent tool for sharing conspiracy theories. Maybe we should call it its “Bible”? Or maybe all the websites with all these theories is their “Bible”.
It’s also obvious, with the high profile people who now share conspiracy theories, without the fear that they will no longer be taken seriously, that they are “preachers” of the teachings of “Conspiracytheorism”. These include politicians and even preachers of other religions. Or just people who just built a very high profile for themselves sharing these stories anyway or leverage on their media visibility to share the stories and false claims.
It is fair to note that Donald Trump rose to power with the “birther” conspiracy theory which stated that Barrack Obama was not born in the United States and thus could not even run for president. Trump has continued to push all sorts of conspiracy theories while in office. In light of this maybe we can safely say that he might as well be the “Pope” of “Conspiracytheorism” if it passes as a religion and the likes of Alex Jones might just be the high priests? Or maybe it is not a religion? Maybe it’s just a cult?
Whatever it is, it will obviously have serious impacts on our lives going forward. Especially as we are in the middle of a Covid-19 pandemic which a lot of conspiracy theorists are calling a “plandemic” and they are encouraging people not to take the vaccine.
