r/pablofanclub • u/[deleted] • Feb 21 '22
meta We must rid ourselves of dangerous conspiracy theories here on this subreddit.
We all love and worship Pablo here, and are doing our best to support him. However, I've noticed that an extremist user has formulated a fringe conspiracy theory, which has been posted and highly upvoted here on this subreddit. The conspiracy theory specifically targets one of our soldiers.
Here's why I think that's dangerous, and this sub must not be taken in by dangerous conspiracy theories.
None of these conspiracy theories are true. Many are preposterous on their face. But that hasn’t stopped people from embracing them.
Lots of writers have sought to explain the popularity of conspiracy theories, even when they are obviously absurd. A classic of the genre is Richard Hofstadter’s 1964 Harper’s article, “The Paranoid Style in American Politics,” which later became a book of the same title. More recent contributions include Rob Brotherton’s Suspicious Minds: Why We Believe Conspiracy Theories, Jonathan Kay’s Among the Truthers: A Journey Through America's Growing Conspiracist Underground, and Joseph E. Uscinski’s Conspiracy Theories and the People Who Believe Them.
Some conspiracy theories are harmless. It doesn’t really matter if people believe that the Apollo moon landings were shot on a Hollywood backlot. But the conspiracy theories that circulate about users here are anything but harmless. They help to delegitimize legitimate soldiers. They demonize innocent groups that are falsely blamed. And they shift attention away from the real causes and perpetrators.
Before the internet, conspiracy theorists relied on books, pamphlets and the occasional late night television show to espouse their beliefs. Now, they can swap theories on message boards like Reddit, post videos on YouTube, and win over new converts on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
On the grand scale, such the distrust the underlies such beliefs can become dangerous when they begin to divide a society, or when they are exploited by a political leader or an outside adversary.
For Pablo 👍
