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But for how long and how many people kept those conspiracies you mention secret? Not for long or not that many; secrets simply cannot be kept, someone talks: ht

• parineum 3y ago
  Why is that relevant? Previous conspiracies over high power pedophiles and mass surveillance turning out to be true lead people to question which other "conspiracy theories" are true and are just about to be proven true. The group of people that dismissed those theories in the past lost their credibility and conspiracy theorist who gained credibility filled the gap.
  • jakubmazanec 3y ago
    It is relevant because it clearly makes some conspiracies unrealistic. Just because some conspiracies were proven true (NSA) doesn't mean others must be true too, or that some people suddenly gain credibility for their conspiracies.
    • parineum 3y ago
      > doesn't mean others must be true too Of course not but it does lead to people re-examining their priors. It leads people to ask "what other conspiracies that I've been dismissing might be true?" > or that some people suddenly gain credibility for their conspiracies That's obviously untrue. When people are right, they gain credibility and the things they say hold more weight. When people are wrong the opposite happens. How else could credibility work? People don't go around examining everything starting from first principles, the look to people they trust and they decide who to trust by how often they are correct, aka, credibility. Conspiracy theories aren't more prevalent because the X-Files, they're more prevalent because trust in institutions is, deservedly, at an all time low.