Social Media Conspiracies: A Look at What’s Been Happening On The Internet
While the Internet is a beneficial platform most of the time, it also has an ugly side when it comes to social media conspiracies. It plays a major role in propagating fake news and encouraging the formation of elaborate conspiracy theories. Sometimes, they escalate to being flat-out lies, and these can have a damaging effect on the minds of common people.
Social media conspiracies are becoming increasingly common in today's day and age, and it is not necessarily a good sign. A large number of people are being able to get away with spreading lies and defending them with almost no solid logic. The different social media conspiracies mean that people aren’t often able to distinguish between the truth and the lies.
Social media conspiracies in politics:
Conspiracy theories are common in the world of politics, and they cover all spectrums. Donald Trump’s administration has sparked a number of such theories.
The views of the right-wing about sexuality, feminism, gender and race are mixed with the left-wing's paranoia about the government to give birth to bizarre theories. The left wing has never hidden its suspicions about black ops and government control, and these miscreants take advantage of that.
Most of these social media conspiracy theories are based purely on speculation, but common viewers pick them up through social media websites or YouTube and start believing them.
The moment any platform tries to expose the lies behind a conspiracy, they become the target of sensationalists who think their views are being censored which is an indirect indication of the theory being true.
The danger of leaving conspiracy videos out on the Internet is that misguided people can start taking action without ever finding out the truth.
Who is Alex Jones?
US Info Wars host, Alex Jones has definitely played a crucial role in popularizing the charm of conspiracy theories. Not only does he engage in blatant lies, but he also uses debunked ‘evidence’ to convince his fans of his strange theories.
He shuts down any opposition by giving people the impression that his critics are actually part of the evil ‘world government establishment.'
Jones is a right-wing commentator and has a very successful YouTube page which is alarming. He has repeatedly criticized the idea of gun control and spread the Pizzagate and Sandy Hook theories over and over again. Jones is very clever in his approach and makes sure that nobody catches him off-guard.
The Problem:
One of the drawbacks of the Internet is that even if you try to protest for a cause, you end up publicizing it even more. Trying to reveal the truth will only lead to more conspiracy theorists coming across these videos.
Hence, people end up spreading the conspiracy videos without realizing.
Most algorithms work based on a ripple effect, which means that the moment you engage in any way, you are actually inviting more users to join in.
Which social media conspiracy theories have you fallen for? What do you feel is the impact of social media conspiracies? Leave a comment and let us know below!