The late 20th Century information technologies revolution democratized access to the documentation of violations of both civil and human rights on all levels of government around the globe. The facts of these conspiracies could no longer be hidden by the bottlenecks created by subject matter experts and the traditional news media. Anyone with a library card and the patience to do the reading could discover proof of clandestine government programs related to overthrowing elected governments to impose military dictatorships, unethical mind-control experiments, and innumerable cover-ups and propaganda campaigns. Most of these amateur sleuths had no journalistic training or credentials to assist them in publishing the findings of their research. Those who did attempt to inform others would face intense skepticism, incredulity, and even outright character assassination. Thus was born the popular trope of the mentally ill “conspiracy theorist” scrawling incoherent manifestos while protecting their brain under a tinfoil hat.
In the cosmic horror stories of H.P. Lovecraft, the narrators will often assert that if they told anyone their story they would be considered insane. This statement expresses the manifest truth of the danger of engaging with these theories too credulously. When rabbits dig their burrows, they construct blind turns and false pathways to confound predators. A fox might chase a rabbit down a hole only to wriggle out the other end of the warren having never caught the rabbit.
Due to their labyrinthine quality, the tunnels rabbits dig are an apt namesake for a class of mystery where multiple threads lead to confusing dead-ends. Of course, what cements the concept of a “rabbit-hole mystery” in our collective consciousness is the story of a little girl who stepped down into one and found herself in a bizarre alternate reality. Even individuals with robust mental health can be deeply disturbed by the cognitive dissonance that results from entertaining the possibility any of these conspiracy theories could be true.
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You’ve got me thinking and overthinking. I think the number of conspiracy theories, the hordes of conspiracy theorists, and the number of people they are affecting is on the rise. Many of these are harmful to whole communities on a very large scale (for example, anti-vaxxers claiming that vaccines cause autism). However, I must agree with you, if an individual has a belief in some sort of conspiracy theory, and it is not to the detriment of anyone else, all the best to them.
BTW, I loved the Alice in Wonderland references.
Hi Vera, thanks for sharing your thoughts. It is absolutely true that we now live in a time where anyone with an internet connection can put in their tinfoil hat and spread wild far out theories to millions of likeminded individuals. I’m on the fence about whether they can ever be fully harmless, although there is a distinct difference between thinking the government is lying about UFO’s (which seems increasingly likely to be true and harms no one) and believing a particular religious minority are secretly running the global economy (something which is not only false but exceptionally harmful).
I also think that the number and type of conspiracy theories are on the rise. Whether it is harmful or not is dependent upon how it manifests. A belief on its own isn’t really harmful, as it is something inside someone’s head. However, when that belief develops into behaviours that affect the individual and others around them, it can be quite harmful indeed.
Caroline, that is a valid perspective to take. To me, they become harmful when they cause believers to disengage from the material reality. When they become a proxy for religious beliefs and unprovable assertions turn into articles of faith, it can subvert critical thinking making the individual more susceptible to propaganda. Many conspiracy theories are a direct product of propaganda campaigns, and the rest are attempts to explain the truths that the propaganda was meant to obscure.
Ive read david icke , william cooper, and david wilcock but in the wrong hands they become dangerous!
Hi, Ronald! I agree that it is worth knowing what folks like that have to say. But, you’re right that for people with a weak grip on reality they can be dangerous.
Speaking about the government lying, have you read Operation Mockingbird? It’s about how the CIA “allegedly” attempted to use news media for propaganda purposes during the early cold war years. Interesting book. I have read each one of your articles and they have definitely got my gears going. You have touched on subjects, that always interest me. I have saved your stuff in my favorites bar in case you write more.
Thank you for commenting. Yes, I am aware of Op. Mockingbird. Probably one of their least disturbing plots, honestly. I’ve been working on a follow up to this article and you can expect to see the 3d instalment of my series On Witch Hunts posted very soon.
You have presented so much food for thought in such a concise and succinct piece.
Thank you, Cartwright. This is a pretty rich topic that is constantly evolving, I’m sure I’ll be writing more about it in the near future.