Opinion: Modern conspiracy theories suck.
Some say the moon landing was faked or Elvis is still alive. Others believe the government is run by lizard people. There are people who truly believe 9/11 was an inside job, while Flat-Earthers exist.
Conspiracy theories like these have circulated through society for over a century, and have only become more ubiquitous with the rise of technology. The increasing distrust between the public and government has also contributed to that.
And it’s awesome.
These theories are mostly harmless, and they allow people to question the world around them — if the world we’re living in is even real and if it’s actually all just a computer simulation.
More and more theories have come along throughout the years, but a definite decline in the quality of these conspiracies is apparent, and some USU students agree.
Haley Yoder, a USU Human Experience Design and Interaction major, studied conspiracy theories such as chemtrails vs. contrails — the idea that the government is using the mist trail left behind from airplanes to put chemicals into the air and control our minds.
“This theory doesn’t hold any ground or have any reliable evidence,” Yoder said. “So, with that being said, I think conspiracy theories are usually pretty silly and just gives people something to think and talk about.”
Often, theories like these are ridiculously beyond belief and usually attack government as a whole. This is actually really good, since it allows people to harmlessly use free speech to criticize the government.
There are some theories, however, are set up with the intent to divide us.
One of the more recent and infamous theories is Pizzagate. It is the idea that specific politicians and celebrities are involved in a child sex trafficking ring that is centered around pizzerias.
It may sound as harmless as any other theory, but it is politicized to divide people and spread distrust between citizens. Being wary of the government is important since we need to keep our leaders and public officials accountable, but many groups and individuals use Pizzagate to point fingers and further divide political parties.
Some paint Hillary Clinton as part of an evil cabal in league with the Queen of England, while they say Donald Trump and his followers are trying to stop it. All the while, true believers of this theory think that the source of it all, QAnon, is none other than JFK’s “long-lost” son, who has been dead for twenty-two years.
Great stuff. Except when you look more into QAnon and realize they have a more harmful agenda.
According to Luke Kenton from The U.S. Sun, QAnon and its supporters have spread fear and crackpot misinformation specifically attacking Democrats.
It seems that about 17% of Americans believe in the Pizzagate scandal, and this is no longer a joke. Members of QAnon were a part of the riots and overturn of the capital in January, where five people died.
“In 2020, supporters of the group flooded social media with false information about Covid-19, the Black Lives Matter protests, and the presidential election — recruiting legions of new members in the process,” Kenton wrote.
These theories have turned to propaganda and triggers for real-world violence, like the shooting at a pizzeria in Washington D.C. where the suspect admitted he was trying to find evidence of child sex slaves. Flat-Earthers may be strange, but they’re usually not violent.
Classic conspiracies focused on the most insane things to either come up for answers to things we didn’t understand or to attack the government at all costs. These motivations were for our own protection but also for fun. Nowadays, modern conspiracy theories are driven by fear. It’s not healthy for people to believe in it or even hear about it.
As the up-and-coming generation of our country, students at Utah State have to be aware of the spread of misinformation and the divide that is growing between citizens with different political views. Public discourse is weakening. We need to be working together instead of focusing on who’s right and wrong.
It doesn’t matter if aliens or Bigfoot exist. It matters that we support each other as we try to make sense of our crazy and often unfair world.
Megan Cowdell is a second-year communications student. She loves going on bike rides, reading mystery novels and watching cheesy movies.
— Megan.Cowdell@usu.edu