Marginalization itself functions as evidence of truth for believers

Evidence

In the fi rst place, stigmatization itself is taken to be evidence of truth—for why else would a belief be stigmatized if not to suppress the truth? Hence stigmatization, instead of making a truth claim appear problematic, is seen to give it credibility, by implying that some malign forces conspired to prevent its becoming known. … It seems to matter little whether the belief in question concerns the Kennedy assassination, Atlantis, Bigfoot, or UFOs. The belief must be true because it is stigmatized. — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 190

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the anti-consensus logic typical of conspiratorial subcultures across the broader ‘culture of conspiracy’ thesis. — connects to: Real-world events only strengthen conspiracy belief regardless of the identified perpetrators — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic…, 816; Stigma level, not truth, determines which conspiracy beliefs reach mass audiences. — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic…, 417; Subordinated regimes of truth sustain plausibility for oppressed subjects (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Subordinated regimes of truth sustain plausibility for oppressed subjects #corroborates (0.88)
• Unfalsifiable truth claims strengthen religious commitment and defensive fervor. #corroborates (0.82)
• Religious truth is measured by collective need rather than solitary validity #expands (0.78) — Fredric Jameson, Marxism and Form, 301
• A belief’s lack of supporting evidence signals how deeply it is held as commonsense #complicates (0.75) — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 2760
• Identity recognition without political economy analysis masks material causes of marginalization #expands (0.75)
• Truth about persons is grasped a priori, not discovered by empirical search #corroborates (0.72) — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, 1336