Conspiracy theories are defined as theories which explain an event or a certain set of circumstances as the result of a secret plot by powerful conspirators.
If you have spent any amount of time on the internet, you have definitely come across some conspiracy theory. When I first came across conspiracy theories, I thought they were some ‘inside joke’ on the internet because of how ridiculous they were. I learnt of some of the most popular conspiracies- Flat earth theory, Faked moon landing theory, The Illuminati and the Vaccine-Autism theory. When for some context on the joke , I searched these up on google, I found that these were in fact not jokes and actual THEORIES which people believed. I was really shocked and could not even believe it. It seemed absolutely ridiculous to me. Yet, there were people who not only believed them, but also urged other people to ‘Know The Truth’. There were so many facts proving them wrong, so, why did they believe such theories?
Well, our own psychology comes into play here. We as humans often have a tendency to fill gaps in our knowledge with whatever information we get and conspiracies are sometimes the first information we get on a subject. Also, we just like to feel smart and knowing something nobody else does is the perfect way to get that feeling.
The reason conspiracies are an issue is because they are very harmful. Since conspiracies pop up after every technological advancement, like 5G, it becomes difficult to actually spread them across the world due to people not wanting them to be spread. Vaccine-Autism theory, which says that vaccines cause autism, prevents some parents from vaccinating their children which leads to serious health issues. These are just a few harmful effects among many more. The more political conspiracy theories may cause even greater damage.
As a result it becomes our responsibility to report a conspiracy related post when we see it and also be more alert of the information we come across to not become part of a conspiracy ourselves.
Comentarios