Who hasn't heard of conspiracies about the coronavirus. It was built in a laboratory, the Chinese unleashed it at the Americans, the Americans threw it at the Chinese, it was used as a biological weapon, etc. And how many of us have not heard of conspiracy theories about the governments taking measures to restrict it in order to destroy their citizens, dismantle their own economies, level down their own businesses, etc.
All of these theories have some things in common that we can easily document. And so we will reach our own conspiracy. The conspiracy of stupidity.
1. Conspiracies are unproven: This is a key element of any conspiracy. If it turns out to be proved, then it's boring. And it's not worth discussing. This is what conspiracy theorists are looking for anyway: discussion, likes, comments. No, these would not even exist if what they were saying had been proved.
2. The conspiracy uses elements that are valid but outside the proper context. The invocation of data that is valid somewhere but not for the subject we are interested, the report of research that studies something similar but not what we are discussing, the use of analogies between irrelevant things, the selective use of parts of research, the selective projection of the opinion of some scientists but not of the myriad others who claim the opposite, these are just some of the tricks that conspiracy theorists use, willingly or unwillingly.
3. The conspiracy is related to the person who accepts it. How will the likes in Facebook be built? A serious conspiracy is being hatched against those who have "discovered" it, and so they can take on the role of the heroes, the victims, the persecuted. What's better than one or more martyrs? So in the coronation conspiracy the clever conspiracy theorist has discovered the cunning plan of the world's elite to "restrict" him and imprison him in his house to drink and eat comfortably. Because, of course, Soros and the Bildenberg Club had nothing else to do but think about limiting John Doe at Texas.
4. Conspiracy theories are popular. Contrary to the opening line of all conspiracy theorists "Warning - Anti-popular post follows", conspiracies promoted by conspiracy theorists are very popular. If not at everyone, at least definitely in the inner circle of the conspiracy theorist. Because conspiracy theorists are not lonely geniuses fighting for the truth (there are many such geniuses and they are usually recognized after death) but simply spokesmen for the stupidity that is inherent in the collective unconscious. That is why, together with the conspiracy theorist, there are myriads of others who are also very smart and have discovered the conspiracy, in spite of the stupid elites who, although they control the planet, did not make sure that Emmie from Manhattan would grasp their cunning plan. And Jane from Ohio, of course. Because Jennifer from Cincinnati had told her, who had heard it from her best man...
5. The conspiracy is not refutable. No matter what happens, it will never be proven wrong. There are no facts that if they come to light will allow someone to decide whether it is valid or not. So is the coronavirus conspiracy: Conspiracy theorists talk about what would happen if the measures taken were not taken, after they are sure that we will never know in practice what would happen if there were no measures taken (since they were taken after all). And if one refers to what some models said about the deaths we would have without measures, the conspiracy theorists go to the unbeatable No. 2: using the studies and the views that suit them.
Does all of the above mean that there are no conspiracies? Of course not. There have been and there will always be conspiracies. But they are serious and not ridiculous. They are motivated and not set on quicksand. If one analyzes them, one can come to some serious arguments in favor of their existence - always acknowledging the serious possibility that he has made a mistake. And most importantly: these conspiracies are boring and don't give much likes.
Well...
Who killed Kennedy?