What They Don't Want You to Know About Planet X:<i>Surviving 2012</i>and the Aesthetics of Conspiracy Rhetoric

Reyes, Ian; Smith, Jason K

doi:10.1080/01463373.2014.922483

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…54-55) Expanding on this concept, improved information literacy should be correlated with an increased knowledge of the limitations or biases of any particular source. For example, an information literate person might understand that someone selling self-help guides for surviving an impending apocalypse might have ulterior motives when implying that a huge asteroid will soon destroy the Earth, an example studied in more detail by Reyes and Smith (2014). An exact study of the tactics of a conspiracy community (as per Kata, 2012) is not strictly necessary, because certain arguments or approaches are less compelling to the information literate.…”

Section: Reflection and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Conspiracy Online: Social Media and the Spread of Suspicious Thinking

Mortimer

2017

DJIM

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Even though the internet has dramatically changed the quantity and accessibility of information, there are large -and sometimes powerful -elements of society that are politically and emotionally invested in beliefs that are not supported by current evidence. These are generally referred to as "conspiracy theories." Although this may be a pejorative term, to date there is no suitable neutral term; the term conspiracy theory is used across multiple fields, ranging from computer science to cognitive science. In this paper I explore how conspiracy theories form, and how the internet has changed -or more frequently, not changed -the spread of conspiracy theories, in particular through social media networks such as Facebook or Twitter. Conspiracy theories spread much like scientific knowledge online, revealing that they are in some essences very similar constructs. The growth of user-specific filters and social exclusion are likely factors in the spread of these theories. Though some have argued to treat conspiracy theories as dangerous or harmful speech, such as in the case of vaccination refusal, I argue against limiting speech and instead suggest information literacy and a focus on analytical thinking as remedies. I also argue against further stigmatization of conspiracy theorists, as this will likely contribute to further radicalization.

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Section: Reflection and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Conspiracy Online: Social Media and the Spread of Suspicious Thinking

Mortimer

2017

DJIM

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“…-conspiracy worldviews which incorporate many individual theories into a larger plot (Barkun 2013) -are often tinged with a sense of urgency, under the reasoning that the conspirators' plan is finally coming to fruition and that they will soon unleash their ultimate plan for world domination. Conspiracy media figures such as Alex Jones constantly warn of the impending victory of the conspirators (Jones 2015), and explicitly apocalyptic theories like those about the Nibiru cataclysm (Reyes & Smith 2014) are entirely concerned with the idea of an oncoming apocalypse. While David Icke is widely known for his thesis that the world is run by shape-shifting reptilian beings from another dimension, less well-known is his interpretation of the Abrahamic creation myth, in which humanity and Earth existed in a state of balance and harmony before the interference of evil reptiles caused a catastrophic fall from grace (Icke 2012).…”

Section: Thematic Parallels and Concordant Worldviewsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are Conspiracy Theories a Surrogate for God?

Wood¹,

Douglas²

2018

Handbook of Conspiracy Theory and Contemporary Religion

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“…In recent years, conspiracy narratives have gained unprecedented visibility in public debate and the media, abandoning the position of cultural marginality that has traditionally marked them (Reyes and Smith 2014). This trend has intensified especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has internationally fomented a climate of suspicion and criticism of scientific and political institutions (Butter and Knight 2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The “Global” Deception: Flat-Earth Conspiracy Theory between Science and Religion

Pannofino

2024

Genealogy

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The article focuses on flat earthism, one of the most well-known contemporary conspiracy theories in popular culture. According to proponents of this theory, which has found a growing international following in recent years, political institutions such as the U.S. government and scientific institutions such as NASA would operate to deceive humanity about the real shape of our planet and the universe in which we live. In countering the data acquired by modern science and common sense knowledge, flat earthism stands as a heterodox theory and a radical critique of the authority of socially legitimized epistemic institutions. This article consists of two parts. The first part will offer a genealogical reconstruction of the flat-earth conspiracy, tracing its history from the 19th century to the exponents of the current movement. The second part will delve into the discourse of the proponents of flat earthism with specific reference to the Italian context, through documentary analysis of recent publications and online material available on YouTube and Telegram, which constitute some of the main channels for the discussion and dissemination of flat earthism in Italy today. On the basis of the data collected and analyzed, it will be shown how flat earthism represents a paradigmatic case of superconspiracy, that is, of a far-reaching theory capable of linking and including within itself a set of other, more circumscribed theories. To this end, flat earthism elaborates on a discourse that ambivalently combines two registers, scientific and religious language, proposing itself as a dissident narrative that if on the one hand rejects the knowledge of institutionalized and organized science and religion, on the other hand accredits an alternative and anti-intellectualist path of knowledge, accessible to the “common man” that aims to create a space of autonomy and opposition to the processes of secularization and globalization in which the flat earthers see the project of building a dystopian New World Order.

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What They Don't Want You to Know About Planet X:Surviving 2012and the Aesthetics of Conspiracy Rhetoric

Cited by 6 publications

References 7 publications

Understanding Conspiracy Online: Social Media and the Spread of Suspicious Thinking

Understanding Conspiracy Online: Social Media and the Spread of Suspicious Thinking

Are Conspiracy Theories a Surrogate for God?

The “Global” Deception: Flat-Earth Conspiracy Theory between Science and Religion

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