Some just want to promote conflict, cause chaos, or even just get attention.

There has been a lot of research on the types of people who believe conspiracy theories, and their reasons for doing so. But there’s a wrinkle: My colleagues and I have found that there are a number of people sharing conspiracies online who don’t believe their own content.

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.

There are several types of this sort of conspiracy-spreader trying to influence you.

  • basmatii@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    3
    arrow-down
    35
    ·
    7 hours ago

    Or, you know, it’s fun. It’s not fun to admit there are 1200 diagnosed psychopaths with the same amount of money as 95% of all humans to have ever existed combined that all got there independently and without alien or demon help. It’s just depressing to admit these few effectively own most governments, not due to secret abuse rituals or aliens, but simply because their amount of money is high enough that most governments cannot resist their influence.

    It’s depressing to acknowledge that reality as it really exists for 99.9% of humanity is inescapable, irredeemable, irrifixible, garbage made so not by nature or external fantastical factors, but by just a few people with more money and influence than the rest of us.

    So why not have fun? The moon is a hollow satellite built by reptiles to overtake the natural reincarnation process in order to trap people here forever so they can harvest the energy created by our suffering, these reptiles of course wear skin suits and place themselves in the highest levels of society and government so they can watch their farm of infinite suffering grow.

    • surewhynotlem@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      29
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      6 hours ago

      so why not have fun?

      No raindrop feels itself responsible for the flood.

      By perpetuating and increasing human stupidity, you’re enabling the situation you’re complaining about.

      • Admiral Patrick@dubvee.orgOP
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        13
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        5 hours ago

        No raindrop feels itself responsible for the flood.

        I love that, and I don’t think I’ve heard it before.

        • bizarroland@fedia.io
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          3 hours ago

          I came across this phrase organically by accidental haiku:

          Water drops in the Ocean never mean to be- come a tsunami

      • basmatii@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        arrow-down
        3
        ·
        2 hours ago

        Incorrect, we’ve been fighting that situation for longer than your language has existed. It does nothing to stop having fun. Were not going to magically fix the people that take conspiracy theories seriously, they were always like that, and will be like that long after you give up.