I honestly think that conspiracy theorism in its own right has unfairly got a bit of a bad rep in recent years, no doubt because of the way that the term has been co-opted by the far-left (extreme environmentalists, armchair communists, Syriza, Bolivarism) and far-right (neonazis and other far-right nutjobs like Trump, as well as most supporters of far-right parties like UKIP, Front National, AfD, Jobbik, Law & Order, United Russia etc.)
Healthy conspiracy theorism takes something that appears to be a fact, develops a theory is developed around this fact - usually a conspiracy of some kind, hence the name - and then conducts active, unbiased research to try and prove or disprove that theory. And yes, this is how some of the best conspiracy theories out there have been proven. Bernstein & Woodward's relentless pursuit of the Watergate scandal is among the best of them.
But unfortunately, what passes as "conspiracy theorism" today is nothing of the sort.
Firstly, especially among non-professional investigators, conspiracy theorism has a knack of turning sour when the "evidence" they procure turns out to be falsified or misinterpreted. They develop entire unfounded theories in a bid to try and discredit the discreditors, getting themselves tied up in a web of psychoses and delusions in a desperate bid to try and keep their sense of self-importance alive.
Secondly, and somewhat more disturbingly, extreme political and religious movements, many of which are online-based, actively engage in misinformation on an industrial scale to move people towards their points of view. The "conspiracy theories" that arise as a result of this aren't based on a single misinterpreted fact, but rather by deliberately false information designed specifically to foster these theories.
It's basically sub-conscious manipulation. The reason that extreme political and religious movements have become so prominent is because they can easily disseminate their filth without checks or controls. They know that what they distribute will eventually be disproven, but their aim is not to have their disinformation accepted, but rather to sow the seeds of doubt and discontent, usually by associating the recipient of the propaganda with superiority. Far-right European movements associate anti-Muslim, anti-semitic and anti-immigrant rhetoric with the supposed greatness of being white and European. Fundamentalist Islamist movements associated anti-Western, anti-Christian, anti-Atheist rhetoric with a sense of being "chosen by God" and being part of a big, "chosen" family. Extreme environmentalism associates anti-capitalist, pro-vegan messages with a sense of an exclusive closeness to nature that few others can understand.
Not all people who forward this rubbish are perpetrators. Some are apolitical victims. Their emotions and sensibilities are being played and manipulated so that they might eventually become active perpetrators. I don't know what rtcvb32 is - perpetrator or unwilling participant - but he/she needs to get his/her head of his/her arse, wake up and realise that they're being played like a fiddle.
I think when the internet first became a "thing", people were so excited about the possibility of information being allowed to flow freely that they forgot that disinformation could flow just as freely - and it has, meanwhile on an industrial scale. It was a very naive thought to believe that people would be wise or discerning enough to filter facts from lies, be objectively critical, and not let their own prejudice and sense of self-importance distort their own perception of reality. The far left were the first to catch onto this, the far right have recently followed on.
Social media like Facebook and Twitter and media sharing sites like YouTube are really the underlying enablers for the way the world has turned to shit in recent years. I find YouTube massively entertaining on occasion, and Facebook/Twitter do have their moments, but if all of these sites were to be shut down on a dime, the world would become such a better place.
I don't like censorship or information control, but at the same time, I don't like the way that everyone's been given a free soapbox, because there are masses of people out there who shouldn't have one.
