spreading conspiracy theories?

[Eddi]

I've put together various ideas I've had about stuff (some of which I've shared on these forums over the past two years) and have finally come up with something that could be called a "conspiracy theory", or at least the beginnings of one...

But I have no idea how to propagate it

Does anyone have any ideas?

I've made a website that explains it all but I can't post a link to any of it here due to RF rules...

But I'm not here to discuss my various ideas: I'm here to ask about spreading a conspiracy theory!

That is the purpose of this thread

Thanks in advance for any thoughts

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

But I'm not here to discuss my various ideas: I'm here to ask about spreading a conspiracy theory!

That is the purpose of this thread

^ good news methinks

 

[Left Coast]

I've put together various ideas I've had about stuff (some of which I've shared on these forums over the past two years) and have finally come up with something that could be called a "conspiracy theory", or at least the beginnings of one...

But I have no idea how to propagate it

Does anyone have any ideas?

I've made a website that explains it all but I can't post a link to any of it here due to RF rules...

But I'm not here to discuss my various ideas: I'm here to ask about spreading a conspiracy theory!

That is the purpose of this thread

Thanks in advance for any thoughts

1) Make sure your idea is unfalsifiable. If you have a conspiracy theory that can never be shown definitively wrong no matter what the data is, you can always leave people wondering, "hm, maybe it's true?"

2) Appeal to people's emotions. Don't focus your messaging too much on the facts, focus on the feelings you want to evoke in people to make them susceptible to your message.

3) Outreach to low education/low information folks with your idea. They are less likely to have the critical thinking skills and knowledge to be able to see through shoddy evidence, unfalsifiable ideas, or emotional appeals.

4) Get Trump on board. He knows how to spread dubious ideas like few people in the world. This will require you to bribe him or convince him your theory can be used for his personal gain.

 

[Laika]

I've put together various ideas I've had about stuff (some of which I've shared on these forums over the past two years) and have finally come up with something that could be called a "conspiracy theory", or at least the beginnings of one...

But I have no idea how to propagate it

Does anyone have any ideas?

I've made a website that explains it all but I can't post a link to any of it here due to RF rules...

But I'm not here to discuss my various ideas: I'm here to ask about spreading a conspiracy theory!

That is the purpose of this thread

Thanks in advance for any thoughts

Basically, you approach this as a con artist. Your goal is to win people's confidence to be considered a credible and trusted source. It's all about appearances. If it looks and sounds right, people might believe you even when its "fake news".

If we are talking written text, you have to know your theory backwards. Write it out a few times, expanding on it each time. The more detail you put in, the more credible it will look. Feel free to borrow things that are true as that can add credibility to it (as the most effective "lies" borrow from things that are true). Once it gets going, people will add to it and reason it out much like myths or a stories were when they were primarily spread by word of mouth.

But honestly- ethically- this is shaky ground. You have no idea what your conspiracy theory will be used for and once it's out there, you've lost control of it.

 

[Eddi]

1) Make sure your idea is unfalsifiable. If you have a conspiracy theory that can never be shown definitively wrong no matter what the data is, you can always leave people wondering, "hm, maybe it's true?"

2) Appeal to people's emotions. Don't focus your messaging too much on the facts, focus on the feelings you want to evoke in people to make them susceptible to your message.

3) Outreach to low education/low information folks with your idea. They are less likely to have the critical thinking skills and knowledge to be able to see through shoddy evidence, unfalsifiable ideas, or emotional appeals.

4) Get Trump on board. He knows how to spread dubious ideas like few people in the world. This will require you to bribe him or convince him your theory can be used for his personal gain.

So cynical

 

[Eddi]

But honestly- ethically- this is shaky ground. You have no idea what your conspiracy theory will be used for and once it's out there, you've lost control of it.

Yes, you are entirely right

But I'd aim to keep some control of it via various platforms

 

[Nakosis]

I've put together various ideas I've had about stuff (some of which I've shared on these forums over the past two years) and have finally come up with something that could be called a "conspiracy theory", or at least the beginnings of one...

But I have no idea how to propagate it

Does anyone have any ideas?

I've made a website that explains it all but I can't post a link to any of it here due to RF rules...

But I'm not here to discuss my various ideas: I'm here to ask about spreading a conspiracy theory!

That is the purpose of this thread

Thanks in advance for any thoughts

You need to create attention somehow. Either your own or on the coattails of someone who has. Good luck, I suspect a majority of folks are still trying to figure out how to go about that.

 

[Laika]

3) Outreach to low education/low information folks with your idea. They are less likely to have the critical thinking skills and knowledge to be able to see through shoddy evidence, unfalsifiable ideas, or emotional appeals.

Smart people can be pretty dumb too, especially in areas outside of their field of expertise. It's more a question of getting people to rationalise something to support the claim it's true, real, genuine, etc. The more supporting evidence you have, the harder it is to refute.

For science, you can use the example of "Piltdown Man" (archaeological fraud of early human). There are a huge number of forgeries in the art world and some of them are good enough to get past the experts (e.g. Tom Keating forged more than 2,000 paintings by over 100 different artists).

So, it's not just "stupid" people who will fall for fake news and conspiracy theories. It's just that smart people have different ways to be "stupid".

 

[Eddi]

Smart people can be pretty dumb too

I've read somewhere that people who join cults have higher intelligence than average, to a significant degree

 

[Eddi]

Basically, you approach this as a con artist. Your goal is to win people's confidence to be considered a credible and trusted source.

But I truly believe my theory is true!

 

[Left Coast]

Smart people can be pretty dumb too, especially in areas outside of their field of expertise. It's more a question of getting people to rationalise something to support the claim it's true, real, genuine, etc. The more supporting evidence you have, the harder it is to refute.

For science, you can use the example of "Piltdown Man" (archaeological fraud of early human). There are a huge number of forgeries in the art world and some of them are good enough to get past the experts (e.g. Tom Keating forged more than 2,000 paintings by over 100 different artists).

So, it's not just "stupid" people who will fall for fake news and conspiracy theories. It's just that smart people have different ways to be "stupid".

I dont mean to suggest that highly educated or informed people could never be convinced of a conspiracy, only that it's likely to be more difficult. But your point is taken.

 

[Laika]

I dont mean to suggest that highly educated or informed people could never be convinced of a conspiracy, only that it's likely to be more difficult. But your point is taken.

Tricking experts and revealing them to be mere mortals does look fun though....

 

[Eddi]

The thing is, I don't want to con people

I believe what I have to say is true but recognise it would be considered a conspiracy theory by many

My aim is to enlighten, not deceive

But I'm treating my theories as though they were conspiracy theories as I know that is how they would be seen by many

But hopefully some people will believe me - but I don't want to trick anyone

I'm not a rogue, I'm a man with a message!

 

[Left Coast]

The thing is, I don't want to con people

I believe what I have to say is true but recognise it would be considered a conspiracy theory by many

My aim is to enlighten, not deceive

But I'm treating my theories as though they were conspiracy theories as I know that is how they would be seen by many

But hopefully some people will believe me - but I don't want to trick anyone

I'm not a rogue, I'm a man with a message!

Let me ask this: how strong do you think the evidence for your idea is, on a scale of 1 to 10? 1 being the evidence that the Earth is flat, 10 being the evidence that gravity is real.

 

[Eddi]

Let me ask this: how strong do you think the evidence for your idea is, on a scale of 1 to 10? 1 being the evidence that the Earth is flat, 10 being the evidence that gravity is real.

I have personal evidence, that only I have access to - but don't expect loads of people to believe me

But I think it amounts to a plausible hypothesis - although it is rather far fetched

So, evidence wise, I'd say 3 out of 10 for other people (being optimistic), but 9 out of 10 for me, personally

 

[Left Coast]

I have personal evidence, that only I have access to - but don't expect loads of people to believe me

But I think it amounts to a plausible hypothesis - although it is rather far fetched

So, evidence wise, I'd say 3 out of 10 for other people (being optimistic), but 9 out of 10 for me, personally

If the strength of the evidence is only an optimistic 3 out of 10, then realistically your idea is unlikely to gain much traction, unless you are famous or have a huge loyal following of people who are likely to take your word for things. I don't say this to be a cynic, just to be realistic with you.

The more fundamental question you should be asking is, why are you so convinced that something is true when you can see that from an outsider's perspective it's not very believable? That is a pretty big red flag that your bias may be clouding your judgment.

 

[Eddi]

If the strength of the evidence is only an optimistic 3 out of 10

Well, maybe it is a bit higher than three...

And it's a type of idea which already has some pedigree

I haven't just pulled it out of nowhere

Weird things have happened/do happen to me that it can best explain, as a theory

That is a pretty big red flag that your bias may be clouding your judgment.

I don't think so, I think it's all a matter of perspective

And the personal nature of my evidence

My psychiatrist has admitted I am an "abnormal" case

But i know it could only ever really be a conspiracy theory, rather than a more credible kind of theory, due to its personal nature

And i don't really expect people to believe it, but I'm doing it anyway as i think some might, to one extent or another

I am aiming it at the genuinely open-minded, not the feeble-minded!

 

[Heyo]

But I have no idea how to propagate it

Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts

Make it fun!

Present your conspiracy theory in a fun way. Some funny BS theories have garnered traction and notoriety by smart people referencing them tongue-in-cheek and less smart people believing them. E.g. Bielefeld Conspiracy - Wikipedia and Flat Earth.

Promote it on 4chan.
4chan is practically a conspiracy mill. If you can convince the trolls there that it is crazy, funny and meme worthy enough you have an army.

Support your work (and your soldiers).
Be prepared to support your work for some time. Engage with critics on social media. Debunk the debunkings. Communicate with your supporters. Don't expect that one posting is all you have to do.

 

[It Aint Necessarily So]

It's interesting to see that the entire thread to date assumes that a conspiracy theory means tin-foil hat time. There's a huge difference between a conspiracy that occurred compared to one only imagined. All crimes and acts of treachery committed by more than one person working in concert are conspiracies. Every job that Bonnie and Clyde and their gang committed that wasn't spontaneous was a conspiracy.

The official 911 story is of an Arab conspiracy. It posits that Arabs conspired to effect the downing of the World Trade Towers. Somehow, accepting that is not grounds for ridicule. Why not, if conspiracy theories are all laughable?

 

[Left Coast]

It's interesting to see that the entire thread to date assumes that a conspiracy theory means tin-foil hat time. There's a huge difference between a conspiracy that occurred compared to one only imagined. All crimes and acts of treachery committed by more than one person working in concert are conspiracies. Every job that Bonnie and Clyde and their gang committed that wasn't spontaneous was a conspiracy.

The official 911 story is of an Arab conspiracy. It posits that Arabs conspired to effect the downing of the World Trade Towers. Somehow, accepting that is not grounds for ridicule. Why not, if conspiracy theories are all laughable?

Good point. I dont know that all are laughable, but in general the term "conspiracy theory" means an implausible, even paranoid, explanation for an event or series of events. So in my experience most of them are not terribly believable. The fact that the OP admits that their only evidence for their conspiracy is based on personal experience that others can't verify suggests to me that this is probably not an explanation that would hold a lot of weight if we got into the meat of it.