{"id":37711,"date":"2024-10-04T13:45:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-04T13:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=37711"},"modified":"2024-10-20T15:57:22","modified_gmt":"2024-10-20T15:57:22","slug":"some-online-conspiracy-spreaders-dont-even-believe-the-lies-theyre-spewing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/some-online-conspiracy-spreaders-dont-even-believe-the-lies-theyre-spewing\/","title":{"rendered":"Some online conspiracy-spreaders don\u2019t even believe the lies they\u2019re spewing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

H. Colleen Sinclair<\/a>, Louisiana State University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There has been a lot of research on the types of people who believe conspiracy theories<\/a>, and their reasons for doing so<\/a>. But there\u2019s a wrinkle: My colleagues and I have found that there are a number of people sharing conspiracies online who don\u2019t believe their own content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are opportunists. These people share conspiracy theories to promote conflict, cause chaos, recruit and radicalize potential followers, make money, harass, or even just to get attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are several types of this sort of conspiracy-spreader trying to influence you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coaxing conspiracists \u2013 the extremists<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In our chapter of a new book on extremism and conspiracies, my colleagues and I discuss evidence that certain extremist groups intentionally use conspiracy theories<\/a> to entice adherents. They are looking for a so-called \u201cgateway conspiracy<\/a>\u201d that will lure someone into talking to them, and then be vulnerable to radicalization<\/a>. They try out multiple conspiracies to see what sticks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research shows that people with positive feelings for extremist groups<\/a> are significantly more likely to knowingly share false content online. For instance, the disinformation-monitoring company Blackbird.AI<\/a> tracked over 119 million COVID-19 conspiracy posts from May 2020, when activists were protesting pandemic restrictions and lockdowns<\/a> in the United States. Of these, over 32 million tweets were identified as high on their manipulation index. Those posted by various extremist groups were particularly likely to carry markers of insincerity. For instance, one group, the Boogaloo Bois, generated over 610,000 tweets, of which 58% were intent on incitement and radicalization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also just take the word of the extremists themselves. When the Boogaloo Bois militia group<\/a> showed up at the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, for example, members stated they didn\u2019t actually endorse the stolen election conspiracy, but were there to \u201cmess with<\/a> the federal government.\u201d Aron McKillips<\/a>, a Boogaloo member arrested in 2022 as part of an FBI sting, is another example of an opportunistic conspiracist. In his own words: \u201cI don\u2019t believe in anything. I\u2019m only here for the violence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Combative conspiracists \u2013 the disinformants<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Governments love conspiracy theories. The classic example of this is the 1903 document known as the \u201cProtocols of the Elders of Zion<\/a>,\u201d in which Russia constructed an enduring myth about Jewish plans for world domination. More recently, China used artificial intelligence to construct a fake conspiracy theory<\/a> about the August 2023 Maui wildfire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Often the behavior of the conspiracists gives them away. Years later, Russia eventually confessed<\/a> to lying about AIDS<\/a> in the 1980s. But even before admitting to the campaign, its agents had forged documents to support the conspiracy. Forgeries aren\u2019t created by accident. They knew they were lying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for other conspiracies it hawks, Russia is famous for taking both sides in any contentious issue, spreading lies online to foment conflict and polarization<\/a>. People who actually believe in a conspiracy tend to stick to a side. Meanwhile, Russians knowingly deploy what one analyst has called a \u201cfire hose of falsehoods<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, while Chinese officials were spreading conspiracies about American roots of the coronavirus<\/a> in 2020, China\u2019s National Health Commission was circulating internal reports tracing the source to a pangolin<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Some people just want to stir up trouble. Planet Flem\/DigitalVision Vectors via Getty Images<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Chaos conspiracists \u2013 the trolls<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In general, research has found that individuals with what scholars call a high \u201cneed for chaos\u201d are more likely to indiscriminately share conspiracies<\/a>, regardless of belief. These are the everyday trolls<\/a> who share false content for a variety of reasons, none of which are benevolent<\/a>. Dark personalities<\/a> and dark motives are prevalent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, in the wake of the first assassination attempt on Donald Trump, a false accusation arose online about the identity of the shooter<\/a> and his motivations. The person who first posted this claim knew he was making up a name and stealing a photo. The intent was apparently to harass<\/a> the Italian sports blogger whose photo was stolen. This fake conspiracy was seen over 300,000 times on the social platform X and picked up by multiple other conspiracists eager to fill the information gap about the assassination attempt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commercial conspiracists \u2013 the profiteers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Often when I encounter a conspiracy theory I ask: \u201cWhat does the sharer have to gain? Are they telling me this because they have an evidence-backed concern, or are they trying to sell me something?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When researchers tracked down the 12 people primarily responsible for the vast majority of anti-vaccine conspiracies online, most of them<\/a> had a financial investment in perpetuating these misleading narratives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some people who fall into this category might truly believe their conspiracy, but their first priority is finding a way to make money<\/a> from it. For instance, conspiracist Alex Jones bragged that his fans would \u201cbuy anything<\/a>.\u201d Fox News and its on-air personality Tucker Carlson publicized lies about voter fraud in the 2020 election to keep viewers engaged, while behind-the-scenes communications revealed they did not endorse<\/a> what they espoused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Profit<\/a> doesn\u2019t just mean money. People can also profit from spreading conspiracies if it garners them influence or followers, or protects their reputation. Even social media companies<\/a> are reluctant to combat conspiracies because they know they attract more clicks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Common conspiracists \u2013 the attention-getters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You don\u2019t have to be a profiteer to like some attention. Plenty of regular people share content where they doubt the veracity, or know it is false<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These posts are common: Friends, family and acquaintances share the latest conspiracy theory with \u201ccould this be true?\u201d queries or \u201cseems close enough to the truth\u201d taglines. Their accompanying comments show that sharers are, at minimum, unsure about the truthfulness of the content, but they share nonetheless. Many share without even reading<\/a> past a headline. Still others, approximately 7% to 20%<\/a> of social media users, share despite knowing the content is false. Why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some claim to be sharing to inform people \u201cjust in case<\/a>\u201d it is true. But this sort of \u201csound the alarm\u201d reason actually isn\u2019t that common<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Often, folks are just looking for attention or other personal benefit<\/a>. They don\u2019t want to miss out<\/a> on a hot-topic conversation. They want the likes and shares<\/a>. They want to \u201cstir the pot<\/a>.\u201d Or they just like the message<\/a> and want to signal to others that they share a common belief system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For frequent sharers, it just becomes a habit<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dangers of spreading lies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Over time, the opportunists may end up convincing themselves. After all, they will eventually have to come to terms with why they are engaging in unethical and deceptive, if not destructive, behavior. They may have a rationale for why lying is good. Or they may convince themselves that they aren\u2019t lying by claiming they thought the conspiracy was true all along.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s important to be cautious and not believe everything you read. These opportunists don\u2019t even believe everything they write \u2013 and share. But they want you to. So be aware that the next time you share an unfounded conspiracy theory, online or offline, you could be helping an opportunist. They don\u2019t buy it, so neither should you. Be aware<\/a> before you share. Don\u2019t be what these opportunists derogatorily refer to as \u201ca useful idiot<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

H. Colleen Sinclair<\/a>, Associate Research Professor of Social Psychology, Louisiana State University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

H. Colleen Sinclair, Louisiana State University There has been a lot of research on the types of people who believe conspiracy theories, and their reasons for doing so. But there\u2019s a wrinkle: My colleagues and I have found that there are a number of people sharing conspiracies online who don\u2019t believe their own content. They […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":37712,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[30,8025,115,291,295,36,28,4,8],"tags":[2557,15635,5188,885,891,886,860,15634,11229],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37711"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37711"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37711\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37809,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37711\/revisions\/37809"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}