Conspiracist claims must fit the larger story regardless of specifics.
Evidence
A consequence of this type of reasoning is that the specifics of the conspiracy don’t matter; as long as the explanation is sufficiently conspiratorial in nature, it still provides a sense of global, higher order ‘coherence’. Remember, the point is that some evil group is plotting something somewhere. As long as there’s potential for a superordinate conspiracy, then espousing contradictory beliefs is still consistent with the underlying worldview, even when lower-order explanations don’t always add up. That’s why Neil deGrasse Tyson was fighting an uphill battle: any inconsistencies in B.o.B’s beliefs were justified by larger suspicions that NASA was hiding the truth. There is no psychological cure (that I know of) that unravels or counteracts the fully developed conspiratorial worldview. And it’s highly contagious. — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 195 (
#expands, via linked claim)
In the years before Covid, floating conspiracy claims seemed to be a kind of hobby for Wolf. She hopped from one theory to another—Ebola, Snowden, 5G, ISIS—but never stayed with any one subject for long, certainly not long enough to actually prove anything. She was just “raising flags” and “asking questions,” and then she invariably moved on. This is classic “conspiracy without the theory,” as described by Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum in their 2020 book, A Lot of People Are Saying, part of the growing body of literature attempting to make sense of the surge in belief in a wide range of off-the-wall, unproven claims. — Naomi Klein, Doppelganger, 93 (
#contradicts, via linked claim)
Bin Laden and his minions, in addition to the damage they infl icted, thus reinforced a conspiracy culture of whose existence they were likely unaware. The fact that the perpetrators of the attacks were quickly identifi ed made little difference, because as far as conspiracists are concerned, the visible world is deception, while reality is always hidden. The conspiracists’ task, which they performed immediately, was to identify the forces behind the hijackers. — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 816 (
#expands, via linked claim)
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Bare-assertion conspiracism demands no errant facts to explain — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 63; Specific claims are subordinate to a superordinate conspiracy narrative — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 195; Conspiracy claims can float unattached to any settled belief system — Naomi Klein, Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror…, 93 (+3 more)
Related
- Specific claims are subordinate to a superordinate conspiracy narrative (similarity 0.91)
- Conspiracy believers accept claims that the larger narrative morally requires, whatever the specifics (similarity 0.85)
- Conspiracy claims can float unattached to any settled belief system (similarity 0.85)
- Inclusive conspiracies become unfalsifiable since all outside sources are complicit (similarity 0.83)
- Conspiracy believers abandon specific claims while retaining a core that something must be wrong (similarity 0.82)
- Superconspiracy logic makes conspiracy theory unfalsifiable and turns theorists against each other (similarity 0.82)
- Conspiracy claims travel further than their refutations because they compress into sound bites. (similarity 0.81)
- The more sweeping a conspiracy theory’s claims, the less relevant evidence becomes. (similarity 0.81)
- Conspiracy theories are often more complex than official accounts. (similarity 0.81)
- Conspiracists reinterpret disconfirming evidence as planted by the conspirators. (similarity 0.80)
- Conspiracy theories usually aim to name an enemy, not to build a coherent story. (similarity 0.80)
- Conspiracy theories become unfalsifiable by dismissing skeptic evidence as planted (similarity 0.80)
- For conspiracy believers, the conspiracy is an axiom, not a conclusion (similarity 0.80)
- Conspiracy theories evolve toward complex multi-organization superconspiracies (similarity 0.79)
- Conspiracy claims gain credibility by mixing precise detail with untestable vagueness (similarity 0.79)
Broader Connections
- Specific claims are subordinate to a superordinate conspiracy narrative
#expands(0.92) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 195 - Conspiracy claims can float unattached to any settled belief system
#contradicts(0.85) — Naomi Klein, Doppelganger, 93 - Real-world events only strengthen conspiracy belief regardless of the identified perpetrators
#expands(0.80) — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 816 - Conspiracy theories usually aim to name an enemy, not to build a coherent story.
#contradicts(0.75) — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 64