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> All this is ultimately encouraging conspiracy theories, which could undermine trust in democratic institutions. There have been humorous calls to storm Area 5

by 7bit 2y ago

> All this is ultimately encouraging conspiracy theories, which could undermine trust in democratic institutions. There have been humorous calls to storm Area 51. And after the storming of the Capitol in 2021, this now looks like an increasingly dangerous possibility. I really don't mind which conspiracy myths is currently trending. People who believe these myths will believe the next best thing and are ignorant towards science and facts. Therefore I don't see any particular risk from any of these myths. They're equally "risky", when choosing to use that terminology. And same goes with the calls to storm Area 51. That has the same trend as any other TikTok trend. And I wouldn't compare the storm of the Capitol with something dumb as Area 51. The Capitol thing was provoked by right-wing extremists and used by Trump to stay in power. That is VASTLY different and an ACTUAL threat to society!

crispyambulance 2y ago
... has the same trend as any other TikTok trend. And I wouldn't compare the storm of the Capitol with something dumb as Area 51. I agree it is ridiculous (this latest UFO craze), but keep in mind that what happened on Jan 6th ALSO started out as something dumb. Wacky conspiracy theories can turn very dark. Pizza-gate was laughable until somebody decided to "take action" and those same sentiments poured into the q-anon "movement" and influenced many of the participants of the capitol riot. There has been, lately it seems, interest in UFO stuff on the right-wing fringes. Tucker Carlson and Glenn Beck have both been dabbling with this stuff. Elizondo and Grusch are thrilled to appear on any show that will take them, and now Elizondo is doing a speaking tour with his book. It could easily pivot into some bizarre and harmful stuff. At the very least, we're already seeing more politicians willing appease their conspiracy-minded voter base with lip-service to trashy UAP conspiracies.

by 7bit 2y ago

crispyambulance 2y ago

... has the same trend as any other TikTok trend. And I wouldn't compare the storm of the Capitol with something dumb as Area 51. I agree it is ridiculous (this latest UFO craze), but keep in mind that what happened on Jan 6th ALSO started out as something dumb. Wacky conspiracy theories can turn very dark. Pizza-gate was laughable until somebody decided to "take action" and those same sentiments poured into the q-anon "movement" and influenced many of the participants of the capitol riot. There has been, lately it seems, interest in UFO stuff on the right-wing fringes. Tucker Carlson and Glenn Beck have both been dabbling with this stuff. Elizondo and Grusch are thrilled to appear on any show that will take them, and now Elizondo is doing a speaking tour with his book. It could easily pivot into some bizarre and harmful stuff. At the very least, we're already seeing more politicians willing appease their conspiracy-minded voter base with lip-service to trashy UAP conspiracies.