New conspiracism lowers the assent bar to mere possibility, without evidence
Evidence
In classic conspiracism, belief has an evidentiary basis. Those who believe, for instance, that the government helped plan the 9/11 attacks cite observations and analyses to support their understanding. Evidentiary beliefs can be tested, in principle, at any rate—although, in practice, it can be difficult to test a theory that charges the government itself with wrongdoing when all the relevant information comes from the government. Yet the new conspiracism, as we have seen, proffers little evidence; there are few dots and patterns to latch onto. And the bar for assenting to conspiracist charges can be set very low: as we saw, to say that something is true enough, one can concede that it probably did not happen at all—but also that it might have happened. In the new conspiracism, this low bar is the standard: if something could have happened, even if there is no evidence for it at all, then it is true enough. — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 122
Categorization
- DEFINE: Defines the ‘true enough’ standard that animates new conspiracism.
- XREF: connects to: New conspiracism drops explanation and evidence in favor of bare assertion — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 14; New conspiracism thrives on innuendo that is only ‘true enough,’ never actually verified. — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 68; New conspiracists assent forcefully without believing or disbelieving their claims — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying: The New…, 108 (+9 more)
Broader Connections
- New conspiracism abandons evidence while classic conspiracism theorizes it
#corroborates(0.95) - Bare-assertion conspiracism demands no errant facts to explain
#corroborates(0.85) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 63 - A new conspiracism form drops explanation and aims at disorientation.
#corroborates(0.80) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 49 - New conspiracism operates without theory because its sole product is delegitimation
#corroborates(0.80) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 82 - New conspiracism abandons explanatory theory and targets democratic legitimacy
#corroborates(0.80) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 11 - New conspiracism replaces skeptical inquiry with certainty immune to correction
#corroborates(0.75) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 266 - New conspiracism floats allegations disconnected from observable reality
#corroborates(0.75) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 64