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The danger is, as the article mentions, conspiracy theories range from relatively benign to actively harmful and dangerous. They've become more and more weaponi

The danger is, as the article mentions, conspiracy theories range from relatively benign to actively harmful and dangerous. They've become more and more weaponized as a way of finding villains, outlets for violence, anger etc which then results in innocent people being murdered. Or, in the case of one incident, someone killing a mob boss and putting his entire extended family at risk. Which, I mean, this is all related to the tech industry as a whole because Youtube, Twitter, Facebook etc all feed into the cycle of extremism because it increases engagement. It's hard to ignore the profound shift as a result of content not only being easily accessible but also targeted directly at various groups of people and monetized. I've already had to talk with my parents because they've fallen into the trap of following or believing Facebook posts which perpetuate falsified information. It's only going to get a lot worse before it gets better.

DiogenesKynikos 7y ago
It's not only worse, though. The internet has also made it much easier to access and spread true information. Without the internet, there could be no WikiLeaks. Let's not forget, as well, that the most objectively harmful "fake news" in recent American history was not perpetrated by random Facebook posts, but by the major news outlets themselves, and even heavily pushed by the New York Times - the disinformation campaign surrounding Iraqi WMD.
elliekelly 7y ago
Like a lot of "dangerous" speech online I wish the government would focus their efforts on helping the people who are getting sucked in to these ideologies rather than trying to police them. I have a friend who went down the conspiracy theory rabbit hole shortly after his dad died. He's very clearly mentally unwell. He owns several firearms and sometimes I do worry about him snapping. But there's just no reasoning with him when it comes to his conspiracies or seeking medical treatment. He's not a criminal. I hope he doesn't become one. Once upon a time he was a really nice guy. But I think he (and society) would benefit a lot more from some support and mental health treatment than surveillance.

DiogenesKynikos 7y ago

It's not only worse, though. The internet has also made it much easier to access and spread true information. Without the internet, there could be no WikiLeaks. Let's not forget, as well, that the most objectively harmful "fake news" in recent American history was not perpetrated by random Facebook posts, but by the major news outlets themselves, and even heavily pushed by the New York Times - the disinformation campaign surrounding Iraqi WMD.

elliekelly 7y ago

Like a lot of "dangerous" speech online I wish the government would focus their efforts on helping the people who are getting sucked in to these ideologies rather than trying to police them. I have a friend who went down the conspiracy theory rabbit hole shortly after his dad died. He's very clearly mentally unwell. He owns several firearms and sometimes I do worry about him snapping. But there's just no reasoning with him when it comes to his conspiracies or seeking medical treatment. He's not a criminal. I hope he doesn't become one. Once upon a time he was a really nice guy. But I think he (and society) would benefit a lot more from some support and mental health treatment than surveillance.