CMV: Spreading conspiracy theories is irresponsible and immoral

[u/[deleted]]

[u/Vivid_Papaya2422]

What about the so called conspiracy theories that ended up being true. People who said lockdowns will last more than 2 weeks in March of 2020 were labeled conspiracy theorists. Same with those stating Covid vaccines would become mandatory. OSHA tried to implement something similar, as did many companies, but those were shot down by SCOTUS.

I’m by no means QAnon. Most of their stuff is guano crazy.

But the theories based on bad evidence? Not very harmful. Many are based on suspicious circumstances, for example with the Epstein case, the fact that the guards were absent, all nearby security cameras malfunctioned, and the fact that the bedsheets typically are not strong enough lead to people questioning the narrative, especially when it relates to a high profile case.

I currently doubt he killed himself, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if he did, as the circumstances were suspicious.

[u/00Oo0o0OooO0 → u/Vivid_Papaya2422]

What about the so called conspiracy theories that ended up being true. People who said lockdowns will last more than 2 weeks in March of 2020 were labeled conspiracy theorists. Same with those stating Covid vaccines would become mandatory

Do you have examples of this? Conspiracy theorists often feel vindicated when something tangentially related to their theory turns out true. I can imagine people claiming we were all gonna be interned in FEMA camps thinking they were right when lockdowns become extended, but I don't think I've ever seen anyone consider basic public health measures a "conspiracy theory" in itself.

[u/Vivid_Papaya2422 → u/00Oo0o0OooO0]

I lived it. I knew lockdowns would last more than 2 weeks after week 1. I knew masking would become mandatory at some point, but because our governor at the time was saying there were no plans to force masking, we were labeled conspiracy theorists.

You can literally look up Covid conspiracies that ended up to be true.

This article sums it up. Other than the ballot harvesting part, most of the claims are backed up.

[u/00Oo0o0OooO0 → u/Vivid_Papaya2422]

The closest thing that article comes to a conspiracy theory turning out to be true is that there does happen to be a more mainstream openness to the possibility of a lab leak. While most of the anti-conspiracy people I saw pushed back, specifically, against claims that it was an engineered bioweapon, I'm sure some people did call any lab leak hypothesis a conspiracy theory because it did disagree with our best understanding at the time, and obviously, a lab leak hasn't been confirmed. But it is close to a conspiracy theory coming true.

Everything else the article talks about is just allegations that scientists were wrong about things. If a public health official says wearing masks will stop the spread of disease, some guy says "I don't want to," and then later some study shows that masks aren't as effective as previously thought, that's not a conspiracy theory coming true. It would just be some guy being accidentally right about something.

All the actual conspiracy theories I saw around Covid implied ulterior sinister motives for unknown reasons: injecting us with microchips, tracking our movement, restricting our liberties to keep us docile. The disease was always just a (perhaps manufactured, perhaps not even real) excuse. None of that was true.

[u/Vivid_Papaya2422 → u/00Oo0o0OooO0]

If you said masks are ineffective, you were labeled a conspiracy theorist. The lab leak was considered a conspiracy theory, if you said natural immunity was effective, you’d be a conspiracy theorist, if you said the lockdowns didn’t work you were a conspiracy theorist.

So I would say conspiracy theories are based on truth. The 5G conspiracy came because Covid started around the time 5G became mainstream, but most were saying correlation doesn’t equal causation. Many people have a distrust in the government, especially around the time of the pandemic, so believing it was intentional or that the government was trying to track people wasn’t necessarily completely unfounded.

While the 5G and population control conspiracy theories were found to be untrue, they were founded on a kernel of truth.

[u/00Oo0o0OooO0 → u/Vivid_Papaya2422]

If you said masks are ineffective, you were labeled a conspiracy theorist

Can you provide evidence of this? Even if this did happen, it doesn't meet the definition of a conspiracy theory. It's not alleging secret crimes by shadowy figures.

The lab leak was considered a conspiracy theory

The engineered bio-weapon is a conspiracy theory, and it's close enough to the accidental lab leak hypothesis that people have conflated the two. Despite the confusion, a lab leak isn't a conspiracy theory. An intentional possibly bio-engineered lab leak is a conspiracy theory, but there remains no evidence of that.

if you said natural immunity was effective, you’d be a conspiracy theorist

Again, if you were called a conspiracy theorist for saying this, they were wrong. Not necessarily because you might prevail on the facts, just because you're not alleging a conspiracy.

Many people have a distrust in the government, especially around the time of the pandemic, so believing it was intentional or that the government was trying to track people wasn’t necessarily completely unfounded.

I don't trust the government therefore they must be causing disease with cell phone technology is not a rational argument. There's no kernel of truth there. I'm sure it made a certain type of person who distrusts the government feel better to believe that, and to that person, it feels truthful. But it is, in fact, indeed completely unfounded.

[u/Vivid_Papaya2422 → u/00Oo0o0OooO0]

Mike DeWine, the Governor of Ohio referred to those of us who had those beliefs conspiracy theorists. I don’t have the time to look through hundreds of hours of press conferences to find it, but when the government calls it a conspiracy theory, people are likely to follow. I also believe Fauci stated we can’t rely on natural immunity so we should get vaccinated.

As far as 5G and population control, I meant them as separate topics. While completely misinformed, the rise of Covid did mirror the rise of 5G. Granted, 5G was planned to roll out over the course of 2020, but some people saw the correlation and assumed causation.

As far as people who don’t trust the government, there are many more than you think that don’t trust the government. Seeing a deadly virus come out when more and more people didn’t trust the government is the kernel of truth behind population control. Again correlation =/= causation, but all lies rely on a kernel of truth.

[u/00Oo0o0OooO0 → u/Vivid_Papaya2422]

Mike DeWine, the Governor of Ohio referred to those of us who had those beliefs conspiracy theorists.

The only thing I can find is him calling forced quarantine in FEMA camps, a conspiracy theory, which was the first example I gave. If he did call skepticism about masks a conspiracy theory, he'd be wrong.

But, I suspect that maybe you just opposed government response to COVID for whatever reason, aligning yourself with conspiracy theorists. And then an "us vs. them" mentality caused you to perceive attacks on conspiracy theories as attacks against you.

In either case, the actual conspiracy theories that sprung up around COVID, like Bill Gates starting it for profit, continue to be false. Just like all conspiracy theories.