Inclusive conspiracies become unfalsifiable since all outside sources are complicit
Evidence
As Valerian puts it, “As a result of the suppression and compartmentalization of information, cultures have been fragmented into several distinct groups and mind sets which both coexist and oppose each other.” He clearly believes that he has discovered the suppressed synthesis. — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 477 (
#corroborates, 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 (
#expands, via linked claim)
It kept on going because, as in so many cases of conspiracism, a subculture based upon nonfalsifi able beliefs constituted itself. The proof in this case lay in the fact that the birther subculture maintained itself even after the April 27 announcement, since for its members the birth certifi cate that the White House provided could only be fraudulent. Within their closed system, it must necessarily have been a forgery. — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 891 (
#exemplifies, via linked claim)
Categorization
- recurring: this claim recurs 2 times within its source
- XREF: connects to: Conspiracy theories become unfalsifiable by dismissing skeptic evidence as planted; Conspiracy claims can float unattached to any settled belief system — Naomi Klein, Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror…, 93; Bare-assertion conspiracism demands no errant facts to explain — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 63 (+4 more)
Related
- Released evidence cannot dispel beliefs rooted in unfalsifiable subcultures (similarity 0.87)
- Conspiracy theories become unfalsifiable by dismissing skeptic evidence as planted (similarity 0.84)
- Totalizing conspiracy theories claim all visible knowledge is deliberately false. (similarity 0.83)
- Conspiracist claims must fit the larger story regardless of specifics. (similarity 0.83)
- Conspiracy theories are inherently unfalsifiable because believers dismiss counterevidence as a plot (similarity 0.81)
- Conspiracists reinterpret disconfirming evidence as planted by the conspirators. (similarity 0.81)
- Conspiracy claims can float unattached to any settled belief system (similarity 0.81)
- Superconspiracy logic makes conspiracy theory unfalsifiable and turns theorists against each other (similarity 0.81)
- The more sweeping a conspiracy theory’s claims, the less relevant evidence becomes. (similarity 0.80)
- Conspiracy research should track idea migration, not belief truth (similarity 0.80)
- Inclusive conspiracies that include nearly everyone are a growing logical endpoint of conspiratorial thinking (similarity 0.80)
- In conspiracy culture any widely accepted belief is presumed false (similarity 0.79)
- Conspiracist beliefs cannot be corrected by contradictory evidence or argument. (similarity 0.79)
- Specific claims are subordinate to a superordinate conspiracy narrative (similarity 0.78)
Broader Connections
- Totalizing conspiracy theories claim all visible knowledge is deliberately false.
#corroborates(0.85) — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 477 - Conspiracy claims can float unattached to any settled belief system
#expands(0.80) — Naomi Klein, Doppelganger, 93 - Released evidence cannot dispel beliefs rooted in unfalsifiable subcultures
#exemplifies(0.80) — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 891 - Bare-assertion conspiracism demands no errant facts to explain
#expands(0.75) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 63