It was a clear day in New York when the poster boy of British conspiracy theory made a shocking announcement. Times Square buzzed behind Charlie Veitch as he stood there, training a camera on himself, and declared something so unthinkable, so upsetting, insulting, ignorant, and evil, that it changed his life. To paraphrase, he said: "I dont believe the American government blew up the World Trade Center." He uploaded the video to his YouTube account and then everything went bananas. You see, the conspiracy world, of which Charlie was a central part, doesnt like it when you question their accepted truths. Charlies revelation cut deep. Their champion was about to become their most hated pariah.
Conspiracy theories really depress me. Hours after the bombs went off in Boston, BuzzFeed published a post called "6 Mind-Blowingly Ridiculous Conspiracy Theories Surrounding the Boston Bombing." Conspiracies are where the libertarian and the hippie meet, and today not a single event of note can pass without being fed through the paranoid grinder of the fantasists. But their stupidity is not the most miserable thing about them. No, the most depressing thing about them is the rate at which they've been taking over for the last decade.
In 2012, the philanthropic Leverhulme Trust, most notable for funding dreary desk-based research, offered a grant for academic investigation into conspiracies. "Conspiracy theories," their announcement read, "have received remarkably little examination. Though they prompt almost obsessive attention in the public imagination, they have been largely ignored by academic research." Its true, encouraged by the internet, fueled by global economic crises, championed by popular culture (Dan Brown and The Matrix, specifically), the last ten years have seen a conspiracy boom. Perhaps, while extreme Islam has gained more press, and smug atheism is more sensible, it's possible to argue that conspiracy theory has become the first dominant philosophy of the internet age. No doubt, the Leverhulme Trustwith its connections to the multinational corporation Unileverand its grant inspired far more paranoia than academic insight.
Earlier this year Public Policy Polling conducted a survey about the publics trust in some of the more established and outré conspiracy theories. The results are infuriating enough to drive rationalists up a tower with a rifle and start shooting. Apparently, 13 percent of respondents suspect that Barack Obama is the Antichrist, while 37 percent of Americans think that global warming is a hoax, and 28 percent of dickheads believe in a sinister, global New World Order conspiracy. Im told its supposed to be consoling that only 4 percent believed in David Ickes lizard men, but the way I see it: 4 PERCENT OF PEOPLE WITH A VOTE BELIEVE IN LIZARD MEN.
I had known Charlie for six months before he abandoned conspiracy theory. I knew him as an absurdist protester, a self-proclaimed anarchist, and a nice guy who wore lame trousers with extraneous pockets. He was also a committed believer in the conspiracy of 9/11. When we met, Charlie was a celebrated foot soldier in the war against government deception, and his student-y antiestablishment protest videos had an online following of over 50,000. But in June 2011, he traveled to America with the BBC. They were there to film 9/11 Conspiracy Road Trip, a trashy documentary confronting conspiracists with evidence supporting the official explanation of the Twin Towers collapse. Something switched inside him and Veitch discarded the conspiratorial dogma hed long defined himself by. Back home, among his conspiracy crew, this was big news
Conspiracy Theorists Are Dangerous Enemies to Make | VICE United States
Conspiracy theories really depress me. Hours after the bombs went off in Boston, BuzzFeed published a post called "6 Mind-Blowingly Ridiculous Conspiracy Theories Surrounding the Boston Bombing." Conspiracies are where the libertarian and the hippie meet, and today not a single event of note can pass without being fed through the paranoid grinder of the fantasists. But their stupidity is not the most miserable thing about them. No, the most depressing thing about them is the rate at which they've been taking over for the last decade.
In 2012, the philanthropic Leverhulme Trust, most notable for funding dreary desk-based research, offered a grant for academic investigation into conspiracies. "Conspiracy theories," their announcement read, "have received remarkably little examination. Though they prompt almost obsessive attention in the public imagination, they have been largely ignored by academic research." Its true, encouraged by the internet, fueled by global economic crises, championed by popular culture (Dan Brown and The Matrix, specifically), the last ten years have seen a conspiracy boom. Perhaps, while extreme Islam has gained more press, and smug atheism is more sensible, it's possible to argue that conspiracy theory has become the first dominant philosophy of the internet age. No doubt, the Leverhulme Trustwith its connections to the multinational corporation Unileverand its grant inspired far more paranoia than academic insight.
Earlier this year Public Policy Polling conducted a survey about the publics trust in some of the more established and outré conspiracy theories. The results are infuriating enough to drive rationalists up a tower with a rifle and start shooting. Apparently, 13 percent of respondents suspect that Barack Obama is the Antichrist, while 37 percent of Americans think that global warming is a hoax, and 28 percent of dickheads believe in a sinister, global New World Order conspiracy. Im told its supposed to be consoling that only 4 percent believed in David Ickes lizard men, but the way I see it: 4 PERCENT OF PEOPLE WITH A VOTE BELIEVE IN LIZARD MEN.
I had known Charlie for six months before he abandoned conspiracy theory. I knew him as an absurdist protester, a self-proclaimed anarchist, and a nice guy who wore lame trousers with extraneous pockets. He was also a committed believer in the conspiracy of 9/11. When we met, Charlie was a celebrated foot soldier in the war against government deception, and his student-y antiestablishment protest videos had an online following of over 50,000. But in June 2011, he traveled to America with the BBC. They were there to film 9/11 Conspiracy Road Trip, a trashy documentary confronting conspiracists with evidence supporting the official explanation of the Twin Towers collapse. Something switched inside him and Veitch discarded the conspiratorial dogma hed long defined himself by. Back home, among his conspiracy crew, this was big news
Conspiracy Theorists Are Dangerous Enemies to Make | VICE United States
oh and two farts in a row from you.well done.
) is really among the LAST things the governmental status quo wants.
