Friday, October 04, 2024

Why trolls, extremists, et al, spread conspiracy theories

There has been a lot of research on the types of people who believe conspiracy theories, and their reasons for doing so. But there's a wrinkle: My colleagues and I have found that there are a number of people sharing conspiracies online who don't believe their own content.

Comments

More from the analysis...

... They are opportunists. These people share conspiracy theories to promote conflict, cause chaos, recruit and radicalize potential followers, make money, harass, or even just to get attention.

There are several types of this sort of conspiracy-spreader trying to influence you. ...


#1 | Posted by LampLighter at 2024-10-04 03:50 PM

Good article.

Almost a biography of some of them who post here.

#2 | Posted by Corky at 2024-10-04 05:14 PM

They like one or more of the following, attention, money, to feel special.

#3 | Posted by Tor at 2024-10-04 05:29 PM

@#2 ... Almost a biography of some of them who post here. ...

Yeah, kudos to the research.

I was also surprised at how well the research seems to have pegged some aliases on this most august message board.


#4 | Posted by LampLighter at 2024-10-04 07:45 PM

Types of Lies As Told by Supporters of the Kumquat Pol Pot
  1. Outright Lie: an assertion of something known or believed by the speaker or writer to be untrue with intent to deceive.

  2. Half-truth: a statement that conveys only part of the truth, especially one used deliberately in order to deceive someone.

  3. Out-of-context: without the surrounding words or circumstances and so not fully understandable.

  4. Lying-by-ommission: the act of intentionally leaving out important details to mislead or misrepresent the truth

  5. Opinion-as-fact: Opinions are not automatically facts. You have the right to your opinion, but that doesn't make your opinion right. | Important: May include one or more of the above

  6. Source Sorcery: Linking to or referencing a thoroughly biased source which, inevitably, uses one or more of the above. Or, it is a discredited source (whale dot io anyone?). Or, it is a "source" that, traced back, leads inevitabilty to Russia, Iran, China or North Korea.
As always, any of the above may include one or more of the above.

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#5 | Posted by Hans at 2024-10-04 10:14 PM

#6 | Posted by Hans at 2024-10-04 10:16 PM

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