4 ms·

It's hard to believe nowadays that conspiracy theories used to be a fun thing to engage with leisurely.

• rob74 3y ago
  Yeah, back in the nineties, as a teenager, I would consider it harmless entertainment. While watching the new seasons or revisiting the old episodes, knowing that there are people who actually believe even crazier things gives me a very uneasy feeling...
  • Chabsff 3y ago
    It's not so much that there are people who genuinely believe that stuff, there have always been some of those. The issue is that they have managed to reach a critical mass where they can exert some real and harmful social and political influence.
    • parineum 3y ago
      I'd argue that the cause of that is that they've been proven right very publicly because the ability to actually cover things up has been degraded. I think that gives people the "tip of the iceberg" mentality.
    • tonyedgecombe 3y ago
      The real issues is they get to talk to each other now. Years ago the nut job in my village was pretty harmless because everybody knew him for what he was. Now he can talk to thousands or millions of people just like himself.
    • southernplaces7 3y ago
      Yes, how terrible that large numbers of people can not only believe "harmful" things but also freely share their ideas with others. It behooves society to stop both of these things from being too easy, no? What's more harmful? That basic freedom to believe whatever you please and share it with like-minded people without imposing on others against their will, or having legal authority to impose against such voluntary sharing for supposedly lofty ideals of fighting harmful thinking? (However you want to define harmful)