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existential_prices t1_ivwsyo3 wrote

Reply to comment by Malgwyn in The Warped Epistemology of Conspiracy Theories by CartesianClosedCat

Definitions and usage of words change over time, but yes, "conspiracy theory" labelling has been used to discredit those deemed undesirable or deviant by governments.

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Malgwyn t1_iw02mvm wrote

the use of this frame argument has been remarkably consistent over the last ~60 years.

I'll make a few assertions:

goverments lie, conspiracies exist.

people look at an event, form a hypothesis of what happened, make statement to others.

government use agents to discredit hypothesis AND the persons making the statement.

this is a game of persuasion and deception to achieve an end. using considerable resources to create an illusion; "the means justify the end". the worst that can be said about conspiracy theories is that they are counter actions, operating on the same moral/ethical level. more often they are a guess at the truth, and therefore morally/ethically superior to the lie itself, an attempt to heal the damage done.

the real problem for a control system is that people don't believe everything they are told, and have valid reasons for doing so.

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