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How did we get so casual about conspiracy theories? (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 23 hours ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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How did we get so casual about conspiracy theories?

I was talking with someone today about nutrition. This person has a PhD in material science. They mentioned eating beef daily and I asked about the cholesterol implications. The answer was about a vague 'they' wanted us to think that, but it wasn't true anymore.

I hear the vague 'they' so frequently now it's just a normal conversation. In truth, as soon as I hear the vague they I dismiss the speaker's credibility on the subject, but how did we get here? Vague they wanted us to think X is a valid counter argument by the most highly educated people in our society?

This sounds like more of a rant than a question, but I do truly want to know how this happened? Was it pop culture like the X Files that made conspiracy theories main stream? Was it social media? When will the vague they stop being an accepted explanation? Has it always been this way and I didn't notice?

Thanks, love you!

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

How did we get here? We've always been here. There have always been people warning about "they". Some portion of them have always been otherwise intelligent.Some portion of them have even been correct. This isn't a new phenomenon. It's easier for conspiracy theories to spread now, with the internet, and that's led to them being less fun and more dangerous, but it's mostly just the same shit.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

We’ve always been here.

TBF, the US government spouting that shit is somewhat new.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 16 hours ago

The red scare? The war on terror? It's a new type of crazy in government, I can't deny that. But spreading fear of Them isn't new.