4 ms·
It is in fact a conspiracy theory. But a small reminder that conspiracy theory doesn't tell you anything about the truthfulness, e.g. that the Iraq War was base
by antibuddy 6y ago
It is in fact a conspiracy theory. But a small reminder that conspiracy theory doesn't tell you anything about the truthfulness, e.g. that the Iraq War was based on made-up evidence was a conspiracy theory.
That being said: Your explanation makes more sense to me. It is often enough to anger the wrong person to get a bad treatment (well, even assassination). And looking at history this is exponentiated in dictatorships, where power is concentrated on few ppl, who can act with impunity.
- jacquesm 6y ago> that the Iraq War was based on made-up evidence was a conspiracy theory. To be fair though, that never was much of a conspiracy. Maybe in the United States it was but in the rest of the world I don't think people believe the WMD story, rather, we believed the UN weapons inspectors' story.
- elindbe3 6y agoA poorly executed conspiracy is still a conspiracy.
- jacquesm 6y agoNo, it was simply a lie. And one that should have fallen completely flat. My respect for Colin Powell went through the floor that day.
- MichaelZuo 6y agoThe word ‘conspiracy’ itself has a legal, original, meaning entirely different from the popular meaning. I find all good discussions involving this clarify what meaning is intended.
- vmception 6y agoI resort to just saying the definition of words, in a sentence, instead of the word itself. I've told and convinced plenty of anti-vaxxers about the magical secret way our body naturally produces antibodies if we expose our body to dead versions of a virus (or, now, things shaped like that virus). They like magic, secrets and nature, they do not like the word vaccine. I do the same with the word conspiracy, "That is a secret plan by a group to do something harmful". It rolls off the tongue.
- Bakary 6y agoThe only really effective way to change someone's mind is to make them believe they came up with the conclusions themselves
- jeremyclrk 6y ago2018: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/04/chinas-hna-group-chairman-wang-dies-after-fall-in-france.html https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/04/chinas-hna-group-chairman-wa... 2017: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-hongkong-billionaire-idUSKBN15Q09Q https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-hongkong-billionair... 2017: https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/scores-of-chinese-billionaires-and-ceos-have-disappeared-in-statesanctioned-abductions/news-story/7d2d1cfeadd6b47ab66087d7f44d877f https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/scores... 2016: https://money.cnn.com/2016/01/08/investing/china-metersbonwe-missing-billionaire/index.html https://money.cnn.com/2016/01/08/investing/china-metersbonwe... 2017: https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/jianhua-canadian-citizen-china-disappearance-1.3961114 https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/jianhua-canadian-citizen-china... 2016: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-35261090 https://www.bbc.com/news/business-35261090 2013: https://qz.com/116011/the-mystery-of-chinas-missing-millionaires/ https://qz.com/116011/the-mystery-of-chinas-missing-milliona...
- ardy42 6y ago> It is in fact a conspiracy theory. But a small reminder that conspiracy theory doesn't tell you anything about the truthfulness, e.g. that the Iraq War was based on made-up evidence was a conspiracy theory. I think that's interpreting the term "conspiracy theory" more broadly than it's typically used. IMHO, colloquially it pretty much only refers to outlandish theories, based little to no actual evidence, and usually requiring a conspiracy so impossibly large and impossibly well executed that it beggars belief. I don't think the idea that Jack Ma is being targeted by the CCP is just a plausible theory, not a conspiracy theory (in the colloquial sense). You have a group with the motive, means, and MO to do so, you just need to find the proof.
- rrrrrrrrrrrryan 6y agoWatergate would've been a better example of a time when the conspiracy theorists turned out to be right.
- antibuddy 6y ago> I don't think the idea that Jack Ma is being targeted by the CCP is just a plausible theory, not a conspiracy theory (in the colloquial sense). You have a group with the motive, means, and MO to do so, you just need to find the proof. Which is the definition of a conspiracy theory. Words have meaning and this is a technical term; and altho it is common knowledge that it is being used as a smear word, this doesn't mean we have to play the same game here as well. There is also no reason to pretend that the colloquial usage of conspiracy theory is more than opinion.