So @benshapiro did a very important segment on his show the other day (~32 min in the link at the bottom) on the growing popularity of conspiracy theories in political circles. Highly recommend people take the time to watch. To summarize, Shapiro explains the difference between conspiracies and conspiracy theories. Specifically, how those now consistently pushing the latter are intentionally deceiving their audience with dishonest tactics. Ben points to some tactics that make dishonest conspiracy theorists easy to identify: - Fake Questions- posing a loaded question while pretending to be a neutral observer to shift burden from the person making the claim to everyone else ("Why can't we talk about this?"-- asks person talking about it non-stop or "Why won't they admit this happened?" - talking about a thing that never happened) - Promote motive over evidence- Suggesting motive is more important than evidence of sufficient evidence to justify a conspiracy (Ben points to the example LBJ must be involved in Kennedy assasination since he became President as a result) - Appeal to ignorance- Arguing something must be true because it hasn't been proven untrue. - Fake Evidence- Using cherry-picked evidence or claiming secret/anonymous sources. Ex: Israel is mentioned 4 times or Cuba is mentioned 200 times, but only focusing on the 4 times Israel is mentioned to claim that must be the source. - Appeal to authority- Because experts are no longer trusted due to the dishonesty of traditional gatekeepers, conspiracy theorists instead find alternative experts to push narratives with little evidence and rely on the audience to just trust the new experts. - Rely on confirmation bias. Dismiss all contradictory evidence while finding patterns in evidence that is unconnected. Ex; Ignore the insane amount of evidence AL Qaeda was behind 9/11 to point to random data points and claim someone else must be behind it. - Fake defenses- When confronted with a demand for evidence: 1) Make claims that are not falsifiable by just revising the conspiracy each time evidence contradicts it. 2) Treat denials as evidence of something is true 3) Cite a million unrelated facts to try to distract from the lack of evidence for the actual theory 4) Weaponizing doubt by finding minor errors or confusion related to what happened and then citing that as definitive proof that everything about that event must be false. The overall point is that skepticism is good, but it is not the same thing as simply buying into BS conspiracies without evidence. If people keep telling you they are just asking questions without providing real answers with supporting evidence, they probably aren't interested in the truth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=CbxfL-u5rgky7Stc&t=1940&v=bNjIcTEQKac&feature=youtu.be
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