Superconspiracy logic makes conspiracy theory unfalsifiable and turns theorists against each other
Evidence
The generation of ever-broader superconspiracies reinforces the intrinsic resistance of conspiracy theory to falsifi cation, for if everyone besides the conspiracist and the reader is complicit, then no information outside conspiracist literature itself can be relied on. Indeed, in the reductio ad absurdum to which this kind of thinking leads, conspiracy theorists often turn on one another with accusations of disinformation and infi ltration. — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 360
Categorization
- DEEPTHINKING: The unfalsifiability mechanism here — full-complicity conspiracies void all outside evidence, forcing theorists into mutual accusations — is a precise, general statement of how closed belief systems self-reinforce, applicable far beyond conspiracies.
- XREF: connects to: Conspiracy hierarchies can be recursively nested with the top conspirators themselves being manipulated — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic…, 335; Conspiracy theories evolve toward complex multi-organization superconspiracies — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic…, 349; Over-elaborating a conspiracy produces an undefeatable adversary — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic…, 1070 (+5 more)
Broader Connections
- Conspiracy theories evolve toward complex multi-organization superconspiracies
#exemplifies(0.90) — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 349 - Over-elaborating a conspiracy produces an undefeatable adversary
#expands(0.85) — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 1070 - Conspiracy theories are inherently unfalsifiable because believers dismiss counterevidence as a plot
#corroborates(0.85) — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 96 - Conspiracy theories become unfalsifiable by dismissing skeptic evidence as planted
#expands(0.80) - A secret-government claim makes conspiracy theories unfalsifiable to their audiences
#exemplifies(0.80) — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 443 - Specific claims are subordinate to a superordinate conspiracy narrative
#expands(0.80) — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 195 - Conspiracist logic makes denial itself confirm the conspiracy
#complicates(0.75) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 56