The Big Problem With Conspiracy Theories
Not only are they false, but these lies cause more harm than anything
How many of us have that one friend or family member? The one that doesn’t always jump to conclusions so easily? Even though they’re the type to exclaim, “fake news!” whenever a news article comes along that they disagree with?
And how many of us have that said friend or family member who freaked out last month over the Wayfair conspiracy theory that seemingly came out of nowhere?
I think some of us know such a person who frantically posted on Facebook or sent frantic emails to stay away from Wayfair and never buy its products ever again. After all, the furniture company was involved in child trafficking as evident by naming its cabinets after missing children, as a way of promoting their victims to possible buyers.
But come on, really!
As quickly as it rose, seemingly overnight, to the trending topics on social media, the Wayfair conspiracy theory was debunked, over and over. From pointing out that other furniture companies, including IKEA and Pottery Barn, give their products human names, to the fact that some of kids believed to be missing, and advertised by Wayfair, were only previously missing and have since been found, it has been proven this is just another Internet rumor that was oddly pieced together, and then caused harm and suffering for those inadvertently tied to the rumor. Sadly, as conspiracy theories become more mainstream, the Wayfair conspiracy is just another example of people getting hurt by Internet lies that have no base at all.
Take Pizzagate, for example. The theory goes that Hillary Clinton was running a child trafficking ring in the basement of the Comet Ping Pong pizzeria in the D.C. area. Even though there was no evidence of such a ring at all, it didn’t stop some people who despised Clinton from spreading the word about this story, and even inspiring one North Carolina man, Edgar Maddison Welch, to personally go to this pizza shop in December 2016 with a loaded AR-15 to investigate the place, and supposedly, save the children himself. He pointed his gun at an employee and even shot one of his guns, though no one was injured.
Problem was, there were no children to be saved. Because this pizzeria never had a basement, and therefore proving this conspiracy theory was nothing but lies.
Even so, with many believing this conspiracy, Comet Ping Pong has been the target of violence and harassment. In January 2019, a 22 year-old Californian man, Ryan Jaselskis, set fire to the curtains, and while it is not clear if he did it because of the rumors, he did upload a YouTube video just before setting out for D.C., claiming “the world is run by a Satanic global pedophile ring fronted by most major celebrities and Hillary Clinton.” As the conspiracy began to spreading all over the Internet, the owner, James Alefantis, and his employees have received dozens of threatening phone calls and text messages. Believers in this rumor took pictures of children brought to Comet Ping Pong by their families for some pizza, and used those unauthorized photos for far-ring websites as proof that the child trafficking ring exists.
After Welch shot one of his gun at his pizzeria, Alefantis said in 2016, "What happened today demonstrates that promoting false and reckless conspiracy theories comes with consequences," he said. "I hope that those involved in fanning these flames will take a moment to contemplate what happened here today, and stop promoting these falsehoods right away."
Allow me to repeat and bold type those words: “promoting false and reckless conspiracy theories comes with consequences” and “take a moment to contemplate”.
More on that later.
It seems all too often lately, people are willing to believe everything they hear. Everything! It’s almost like telling someone the sky is falling, and they freak out. And along the way, people have been getting hurt. Remember the accusation that 5G radiation was the true cause of COVID19? It led to people in the U.K. to set 5G towers on fire (and risking those fires to spread) to workers installing 5G towers being harassed by Brits who believed this rumor. In case you are wondering, one reason why this conspiracy is baseless is because Italy hasn’t even received 5G yet, and that country was one the epicenters of the virus early on.
And then there’s QAnon, one of the most well-known conspiracy theories, and perhaps the most dangerous, to the point of being considered to be a terror threat. How so? Well, since its beginnings in late 2017, some believers in the QAnon conspiracy have been taking action, sometimes dangerous and violent actions. The most famous is perhaps when in June 2018, 32 year-old Matthew Wright blocked traffic on both sides of a bridge near the Hoover Dam for 90 minutes. When he surrendered, police found 900 rounds of ammunition along with two handguns and two assault-style rifles.
But there have been other cases of QAnon believers actually hurting or killing others. In March 2019, Frank Cali, who was believed to be the leader of the Gambino crime family, was killed by 24 year-old Anthony Comello, who appeared in court with pro-Trump slogans written on his hand, included a big “Q” on his palm, apparently a nod towards QAnon. This past April, a 37 year-old woman from Illinois named Jessica Prim, drove to New York to kill Joe Biden because of the QAnon belief that Biden is a Satanic cannibal-pedophile. At the time of her arrest, at a pier that she believed was where the U.S. Navy Hospital Ship Comfort (which was meant to treat those with COVID19), she had over a dozen illegal knives.
There’s other cases of QAnon believers behaving in harmful and even erratic ways. But the point is, this is the biggest problem with conspiracy theories: they hurt those who haven’t done anything wrong, in accordance to whatever conspiracy theory is out there. Meaning, people who haven’t done anything that they’ve been accused of are at risk for getting harmed or even killed. One of the main reasons for this is, too many people are jumping to conclusions and are believing too much of what they see and hear online.
Granted, conspiracy theories are rampant these days because many people are bored, depressed and lonely due to the COVID19 shutdown, and all the uncertainty that has come with it. The world is pretty much falling apart, and many people are looking for answers. But that desperation for answers has lead to some people get almost hysterical over the slightest bad news they hear, hence the Wayfair conspiracy theory. Really, if COVID19 didn’t happen this year, would that rumor have taken off as rapidly and hysterically as it did?
But even with COVID19 making our world shaky, it doesn’t mean we should all believe everything we see and/or hear, and throw caution to the wind. We still need to keep our heads on straight, no matter how difficult life is now.
The next time a story comes out, especially one that sounds so terrible, stop. Yes, stop. Take a deep breath and assess everything. Who wrote this article, or tweeted this tweet, or shared this information on social media? Is it a well—known conspiracy theorist? A Twitter account that has so few followers? Or your cousin who has been under a lot of stress lately, or is someone who falls for a lot of tricks and online pranks?
And what about you? Do you really believe what is in front of you? Sure, pedophilia is a serious problem worldwide, and many rich and powerful people have been found guilty of heinous acts. But are you sure that so-and-so is another one of those perverts? Are you really sure? Do your own research and ask yourself if the sources are truly reliable, and not because they tell you something you want to hear.
It’s just like what Comet Ping Pong owner James Alefanti said in 2016, “What happened today demonstrates that promoting false and reckless conspiracy theories comes with consequences…I hope that those involved in fanning these flames will take a moment to contemplate what happened here today, and stop promoting these falsehoods right away."
Yes, contemplate what is on your screen and find out for yourself if it real at all. Because if you share that false information with someone or all your social media friends, there will be consequences - even deadly consequences for those who were falsely accused in an elaborate rumor.
EDIT TO ADD: Just came across this Upworthy article about how conspiracy theories surrounding child sex trafficking take away from the reality of this serious problem, and again, takes away from the real work that needs to be done about this global issue.
Links for above cartoons:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/13/conspiracy-theories-used-to-be-fun-now-everyone-is-freaking-out-about-everything-all-at-once
https://www.michiganradio.org/post/auchters-art-outlandish-childish-and-dangerous-behavior
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