Released evidence cannot dispel beliefs rooted in unfalsifiable subcultures
Evidence
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
Categorization
- XREF: Connects to earlier claims that totalizing conspiracies render all outside sources complicit, and that dismissals of skeptic evidence become proof. — connects to: Inclusive conspiracies become unfalsifiable since all outside sources are complicit; Contradictory evidence is neutralized by subtyping rather than revising stereotypes; Stereotypes need not originate from kernels of truth — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2954 (+5 more)
- recurring: this claim recurs 2 times within its source
Broader Connections
- Conspiracy theories become unfalsifiable by dismissing skeptic evidence as planted
#exemplifies(0.95) - Belief systems reject disconfirming evidence rather than revising theories
#corroborates(0.95) - Contradictory evidence is neutralized by subtyping rather than revising stereotypes
#exemplifies(0.85) - Non-Christians may resist evidence contradicting their beliefs
#exemplifies(0.85) — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 4168 - Stereotypes need not originate from kernels of truth
#corroborates(0.75) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2954 - Belief systems are creative inventions of a tiny minority diffused as unexamined packages
#responds-to(0.72) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 1869