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> German police used a tracing app to scout crime witnesses. Some fear that’s fuel for covid conspiracists. How is it that something happens, actually really h

> German police used a tracing app to scout crime witnesses. Some fear that’s fuel for covid conspiracists. How is it that something happens, actually really happens, and it's still dismissed as fuel for conspiracists?

chana_masala 5y ago
Well said.
belter 5y ago
What is the name for that pattern, where any conspiracy theory, no matter how outlandish, sooner or later always ends up proven as true?
- TeeMassive 5y ago
  "Alex Jones was right"
  - superdisk 5y ago
    For all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these: Jones was right again.
kleiba 5y ago
"COVID conspiracists" claim that the pandemic is not real but rather a ploy by the government(s) to control the masses. They would see the use of the data from the corona app as evidence for the latter. However, still, the former does not follow.
- bondarchuk 5y ago
  Nah, that's just the typical "caricature conspiracy theory" that's used to dismiss the actually reasonable theories-of-government-misbehaviour held by the vast majority of people who have such beliefs.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- syshum 5y ago
  While I am sure those people do exist, just like extreme claims of all manner and stripe exist, to dismiss everyone labeled as a covid conspiracist as believing that is factually incorrect Things like Lab Leak, masking, hell at one time people claiming that the covid vaccine would need boosters were labeled "conspiracist" spreading mis information Pretty much anyone that says anything 1day to 6 weeks before that thing is uttered by Dr Fauci is labeled as "conspiracist" until such time as Dr Fauci has blessed the position as "Science" because he after all he "is the Science"
  - kleiba 5y ago
    This seems all a bit far fetched if you ask me. Do you have any sources to back up your claims?
    - chana_masala 5y ago
      Try reading any newspaper, then read it again a few weeks later. You really have to have been not paying attention for a long time to not have noticed
      - kleiba 5y ago
        Baloney.
syshum 5y ago
Because no matter how many times history repeats itself people dismiss the warnings as "conspiracy" because people want to believe the government is inherently good, or has good intentions, this is a false belief.
SpicyLemonZest 5y ago
At least in the US (relevant because the Washington Post is a US outlet) privacy-related skepticism of contact tracing apps was never seen as a conspiracy theory in the first place. Mainstream organizations expressed significant skepticism and the few contact tracing apps which have gained traction here are built to be structurally incapable of releasing personal information in any circumstances.
- Tainnor 5y ago
  Yeah, it's the same thing in Germany. The CCC and data protection agencies have raised concerns about the Luca app from day one and were never in danger of being seen as conspiracy theorists. OP is just strawmanning. (Moreover, the phrase "could be seen as fuel for conspiracy theorists" doesn't mean that something bad isn't happening, it's usually used as a way of saying "don't do this stupid thing because it encourages people to think we do even stupider things").
YXNjaGVyZWdlbgo 5y ago
Because the official app is built so this could never happen there is another commercial app LUCA that got adopted by states and companies because of nepotism and false advertising. The police is using the data of this app not the official one.
- djbebs 5y ago
  That's not true. There are ways to use the official app to track your past locations, particularly if they have physical access to it.
  - alexvoda 5y ago
    Assuming you are correct that the app keeps a history, your argument is still bullshit. Requiring physical access and unlocking of the phone is not at all comparable to having a server somewhere storing such data.
detaro 5y ago
Luca app was widely criticized from the start for this being possible, so this isn't really an example of this.
vmception 5y ago
Its diplomatic writing. It is fuel. And it should also be criticized by people not susceptible to theories.

chana_masala 5y ago

Well said.

belter 5y ago

What is the name for that pattern, where any conspiracy theory, no matter how outlandish, sooner or later always ends up proven as true?

TeeMassive 5y ago
"Alex Jones was right"
- superdisk 5y ago
  For all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these: Jones was right again.

kleiba 5y ago

"COVID conspiracists" claim that the pandemic is not real but rather a ploy by the government(s) to control the masses. They would see the use of the data from the corona app as evidence for the latter. However, still, the former does not follow.

bondarchuk 5y ago
Nah, that's just the typical "caricature conspiracy theory" that's used to dismiss the actually reasonable theories-of-government-misbehaviour held by the vast majority of people who have such beliefs.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
syshum 5y ago
While I am sure those people do exist, just like extreme claims of all manner and stripe exist, to dismiss everyone labeled as a covid conspiracist as believing that is factually incorrect Things like Lab Leak, masking, hell at one time people claiming that the covid vaccine would need boosters were labeled "conspiracist" spreading mis information Pretty much anyone that says anything 1day to 6 weeks before that thing is uttered by Dr Fauci is labeled as "conspiracist" until such time as Dr Fauci has blessed the position as "Science" because he after all he "is the Science"
- kleiba 5y ago
  This seems all a bit far fetched if you ask me. Do you have any sources to back up your claims?
  - chana_masala 5y ago
    Try reading any newspaper, then read it again a few weeks later. You really have to have been not paying attention for a long time to not have noticed
    - kleiba 5y ago
      Baloney.

syshum 5y ago

Because no matter how many times history repeats itself people dismiss the warnings as "conspiracy" because people want to believe the government is inherently good, or has good intentions, this is a false belief.

SpicyLemonZest 5y ago

At least in the US (relevant because the Washington Post is a US outlet) privacy-related skepticism of contact tracing apps was never seen as a conspiracy theory in the first place. Mainstream organizations expressed significant skepticism and the few contact tracing apps which have gained traction here are built to be structurally incapable of releasing personal information in any circumstances.

Tainnor 5y ago
Yeah, it's the same thing in Germany. The CCC and data protection agencies have raised concerns about the Luca app from day one and were never in danger of being seen as conspiracy theorists. OP is just strawmanning. (Moreover, the phrase "could be seen as fuel for conspiracy theorists" doesn't mean that something bad isn't happening, it's usually used as a way of saying "don't do this stupid thing because it encourages people to think we do even stupider things").

YXNjaGVyZWdlbgo 5y ago

Because the official app is built so this could never happen there is another commercial app LUCA that got adopted by states and companies because of nepotism and false advertising. The police is using the data of this app not the official one.

djbebs 5y ago
That's not true. There are ways to use the official app to track your past locations, particularly if they have physical access to it.
- alexvoda 5y ago
  Assuming you are correct that the app keeps a history, your argument is still bullshit. Requiring physical access and unlocking of the phone is not at all comparable to having a server somewhere storing such data.

detaro 5y ago

Luca app was widely criticized from the start for this being possible, so this isn't really an example of this.

vmception 5y ago

Its diplomatic writing. It is fuel. And it should also be criticized by people not susceptible to theories.