Ever hear of the term "Counter conspiracy theory" (which is in a conspiracy theory that is meant to counter another conspiracy theory)? Probably not, but you have probably read of a few of them (mostly when someone is having an argument with someone promoting a conspiracy theory).
So, I have decided to play Devil'e Advocate here and have listed ten counter conspiracy theories:
10. 9/11 conspiracy theories were invented by Al-Qaeda.
Ever since the 9/11 conspiracy theories started to show up, some people have made accusations that Al-Qaeda itself actually invented many of the 9/11 conspiracy theories, and even bribed certain people within the 9/11 Truth movement to spread these conspiracy theories.
The problem with this is that Al-Qaeda admits to committing the 9/11 attacks, and even criticized Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, for saying that the United States government did it.
9. "Shape shifting reptilian aliens" is a code word for "Jews".
Many have accused David Icke's primary conspiracy theory, that "Shape shifting reptilian aliens" control the Earth and impersonate leaders of the world, as being nothing more than a re-hashing of old Jewish conspiracy theories, and that "Shape shifting reptilian aliens" is actually a code word for "Jews".
While it is possible that "Shape shifting reptilian aliens" is a code word for "Jews", most antisemitic conspiracy theorists don't bother to use such code words. Plus, David Icke is pretty much crazy as hell, so it's actually possible that he really does mean "Shape shifting reptilian aliens".
8. Alex Jones is a fraud.
While many negative things have been said about Alex Jones and the conspiracy theories that he promotes (which also usually gets debunked) one of the claims that is made against him is that he is just a fraud, and that he doesn't even believe what he says, and that he is just making up conspiracy theories to make money from his followers.
It's true that Alex Jones has made a lot of money from promoting conspiracy theories, and there is proof that he is very manipulative, the problem is that there is no 100% proof that he doesn't believe in the conspiracy theories he promotes.
7. Police State conspiracy theories is made up propaganda.
While there is quite a number of "Police State" conspiracy theories (i.e. FEMA camps, false flag attacks, martial law, etc.) some people have accused these conspiracy theories of being nothing more than propaganda made up by extreme right wing groups as a way to help recruit, or at least attempt to justify their own actions.
While it is true that, like with most other conspiracy theories, police state conspiracy theories are made up, and are sometimes used as propaganda, with the exception of a few people, it can be pretty hard to tell if a person making such claims are doing so for propaganda purposes, or if they really do believe what they are saying.
6. "The invasion of Iraq was for oil" claims is nothing more than propaganda.
Even before the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, there were claims that the invasion was for nothing more than to get that country's oil, and almost immediately there were counter claims that these accusations were actually being made up by those opposed the invasions, and even was created as a form of political propaganda (most of those accusations tend to be towards the Democrats and the former Iraqi government, but other groups are accused as well).
While it is true that many people who opposed the invasion also claim that it was for Iraq's oil, the problem is that they are also very sincere in their beliefs, and most politicians (even those who opposed the invasion) tend not to make those claims either.
5. Holocaust denialists don't even believe themselves.
There are a lot of accusations directed towards Holocaust denialist (most of which are probably true) one of the accusations is that Holocaust denialists don't even believe themselves, and that it is strictly made up antisemitic propaganda.
While it is true that some Holocaust denialists probably don't even believe what they are claiming, and are making these claims as nothing more than antisemitic propaganda, it is also possible that some of them really do believe that the Holocaust didn't happen, and that their bigotry is causing them to be willfully ignorant of the facts.
4. Tax protesters are just trying to get out of paying taxes.
One of the claims made against tax protesters (people who refuse to pay taxes because they believe that the IRS, income taxes, and most other taxes are illegal) is that they aren't doing what they do because they really do believe that the IRS and taxes are illegal, they're just doing it because they don't want to pay taxes.
While it is probably true that many so called tax protesters are only with the movement because they simply don't want to pay taxes, there are some tax protesters out there that really believe that taxes are against the law.
3. Creationists believe in evolution.
While many of the "claims" creationists have made to try to "counter" the theory of evolution are down right ridiculous (which includes the claim that the theory of evolution was just made up, or that it's an invention of the Devil), there are some people who claim that many creationist actually do believe in evolution, and that they are claiming that they don't either because of social pressures, or, for the high profile creationists, are just making up stuff to hold on to whatever power they have.
While many of the top creationist probably are trying to hold on to whatever power that they have, the odds are is that they really do believe in what they are saying, otherwise they wouldn't put out such ridiculous counter theories to evolution.
2. Global warming denialists are being paid to be denialists.
Probably one of the largest counter conspiracy theories out there is that many of the top promoters global warming hoax conspiracy theory are actually being paid by certain industries to deny that global warming either exists, or that it's being caused by human activities.
While it might be easy to believe that many of the top global warming denialists are being paid to promote the global warming hoax conspiracy theories, the problem is that there really is no proof that these people really are being paid to promote global warming hoax conspiracy theories.
1. Birthers are racists who are trying to get President Obama removed from office because he's black.
While many Birthers (people who believe that President Obama wasn't born in the United States) probably are racists, and that the conspiracy theory as a whole is fundamentally racist, some people actually accuse Birthers of making up the conspiracy theory simply to get President Obama kicked out of office because he is black.
The problem with this is that while it might actually be true for some, it might not be true that everyone who believes this conspiracy theory are just being racists who can't stand the thought of a black man as president, and there is really no proof for the most part that most of them don't actually believe what they claim.
Showing posts with label Holocaust Denial. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holocaust Denial. Show all posts
Friday, May 3, 2013
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Is it a Conspiracy Theory, or is it Propaganda?
Conspiracy theories and propaganda tend to go hand in hand, mainly because many conspiracy theories tend to be against something (government, industry, etc) while at the same time trying to promote something (political beliefs, alternative medicine, etc). Sometimes it's difficult to tell which is which. Sometimes they are one in the same.
Some conspiracy theories are obviously propaganda and are generally not believed by most (including those that promote the conspiracy theory) except for those who are to deluded (or have deluded themselves because of some personal bias against a certain person or group) to not accept the conspiracy theory/propaganda, or are not smart enough to figure out the deference between what is real and what is a lies.
Examples of this would be holocaust denial and the allegations the President Obama wasn't born in the United States.
Then there is the flip side of this in that some conspiracy theories have been used as some sort of propaganda. In fact it's not that uncommon that certain politicians, world leaders, and even certain celebrities will use these already established conspiracy theories in order to obtain power, maintain power, and just get attention for themselves.
Sometimes the leaders of one country who is experiencing hostilities from the leaders of another country will use already established conspiracy theories in there propaganda about their rival country as a way to try to make the leaders of that rival country to back off, and to perhaps try to sway the people in the rival country over to their side.
Probably one of the best examples of this would be the 9/11 conspiracy theories, in particular with Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has most likely used the 9/11 conspiracy theories as a way to gain support and downplay the United States, and as a way to get the US to back off from Iran.
Then there are of course conspiracy theories that you cannot tell if they were propaganda that became conspiracy theories, or if they just started as conspiracy theories, and ended up becoming propaganda. In fact many of the anti-government, modern medicine, new world order type of conspiracy theories tend to fall into this category.
This is actually where many conspiracy theories fall under simply because it's difficult to tell whether or not a conspiracy theory began as propaganda that evolved into a conspiracy theory, or vice verse. Examples of this would be FEMA camps, chemtrails, and vaccines causing autism (along with a lot of other things).
Then there are of course conspiracy theories that are so bizarre that most skeptics (and even some conspiracy theorists) suspect that they may have originally began not as propaganda but as a either a hoax or a scam.
Regardless of whether or not a conspiracy theory originally started as propaganda, or if a conspiracy theory is being exploited by someone with an agenda, the fact is that conspiracy theories are used as propaganda, and we should be skeptical of certain people or groups and ask ourselves this: are they promoting this because they seriously believe this, or do they have some type of agenda.
Some conspiracy theories are obviously propaganda and are generally not believed by most (including those that promote the conspiracy theory) except for those who are to deluded (or have deluded themselves because of some personal bias against a certain person or group) to not accept the conspiracy theory/propaganda, or are not smart enough to figure out the deference between what is real and what is a lies.
Examples of this would be holocaust denial and the allegations the President Obama wasn't born in the United States.
Then there is the flip side of this in that some conspiracy theories have been used as some sort of propaganda. In fact it's not that uncommon that certain politicians, world leaders, and even certain celebrities will use these already established conspiracy theories in order to obtain power, maintain power, and just get attention for themselves.
Sometimes the leaders of one country who is experiencing hostilities from the leaders of another country will use already established conspiracy theories in there propaganda about their rival country as a way to try to make the leaders of that rival country to back off, and to perhaps try to sway the people in the rival country over to their side.
Probably one of the best examples of this would be the 9/11 conspiracy theories, in particular with Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has most likely used the 9/11 conspiracy theories as a way to gain support and downplay the United States, and as a way to get the US to back off from Iran.
Then there are of course conspiracy theories that you cannot tell if they were propaganda that became conspiracy theories, or if they just started as conspiracy theories, and ended up becoming propaganda. In fact many of the anti-government, modern medicine, new world order type of conspiracy theories tend to fall into this category.
This is actually where many conspiracy theories fall under simply because it's difficult to tell whether or not a conspiracy theory began as propaganda that evolved into a conspiracy theory, or vice verse. Examples of this would be FEMA camps, chemtrails, and vaccines causing autism (along with a lot of other things).
Then there are of course conspiracy theories that are so bizarre that most skeptics (and even some conspiracy theorists) suspect that they may have originally began not as propaganda but as a either a hoax or a scam.
Regardless of whether or not a conspiracy theory originally started as propaganda, or if a conspiracy theory is being exploited by someone with an agenda, the fact is that conspiracy theories are used as propaganda, and we should be skeptical of certain people or groups and ask ourselves this: are they promoting this because they seriously believe this, or do they have some type of agenda.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Embarrassing Conspiracy Theories: Holocaust Denial
(Disclaimer: I considered not posting this because it is a very sensitive subject, but I also felt it needed to be posted as a way to help getting people who do "believe" in this to finally admit they are wrong)
The Holocaust was the most horrendous acts of mass murder in human history. It killed six million European Jews, and maybe just as many people in other ethnic groups and religions as well. Despite all of the imagines of this horror that has been burned into our minds through photos, videos, testimony from survivors, the soldiers rescued them, and even members of the SS, there are still a group of people who don't believe, or at least they claim they don't believe, the Holocaust happened.
Of all the conspiracy theories there are, Holocaust denial is one of the most disgusting and bigoted conspiracy theories in the world. This conspiracy theory is so offensive, it is illegal to promote in 17 countries, including Germany, and people have gone to prison because they promoted it in those countries.
Not only is Holocaust denial apparently anti-semitic at it's core, it's actually believed by many people who study bigotry, that even people who claim the Holocaust didn't happen, don't even believe it themselves, and that the only reason they deny the Holocaust is to "justify" their own anti-semitic beliefs.
The other "curious" thing about Holocaust denial is, is that it only seems to focus on the Jewish population, and doesn't focus at all on the other groups that were murdered in the Holocaust. This is further evidence that Holocaust denial is purely anti-semitic.
Many historians and scholars consider Holocaust denial so flawed, so biased, and so bigoted, that they refuse to debate Holocaust deniers at all because they don't want to give them a false sense legitimacy.
I'm not sure if this is the most embarrassing conspiracy theory there is, but it's definitely the most disgusting.
The Holocaust was the most horrendous acts of mass murder in human history. It killed six million European Jews, and maybe just as many people in other ethnic groups and religions as well. Despite all of the imagines of this horror that has been burned into our minds through photos, videos, testimony from survivors, the soldiers rescued them, and even members of the SS, there are still a group of people who don't believe, or at least they claim they don't believe, the Holocaust happened.
Of all the conspiracy theories there are, Holocaust denial is one of the most disgusting and bigoted conspiracy theories in the world. This conspiracy theory is so offensive, it is illegal to promote in 17 countries, including Germany, and people have gone to prison because they promoted it in those countries.
Not only is Holocaust denial apparently anti-semitic at it's core, it's actually believed by many people who study bigotry, that even people who claim the Holocaust didn't happen, don't even believe it themselves, and that the only reason they deny the Holocaust is to "justify" their own anti-semitic beliefs.
The other "curious" thing about Holocaust denial is, is that it only seems to focus on the Jewish population, and doesn't focus at all on the other groups that were murdered in the Holocaust. This is further evidence that Holocaust denial is purely anti-semitic.
Many historians and scholars consider Holocaust denial so flawed, so biased, and so bigoted, that they refuse to debate Holocaust deniers at all because they don't want to give them a false sense legitimacy.
I'm not sure if this is the most embarrassing conspiracy theory there is, but it's definitely the most disgusting.
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