4 ms·

Devil's advocate: When's the last time a fringe* conspiracy theorist's agenda has been able to effect legislature? EDIT: Added the word "fringe". As in, a con

by tieTYT 12y ago

Devil's advocate: When's the last time a fringe* conspiracy theorist's agenda has been able to effect legislature? EDIT: Added the word "fringe". As in, a conspiracy theory that doesn't get media coverage.

fahadkhan 12y ago
I offer Second Iraq War as a lower bound.
tptacek 12y ago
HPV vaccination jumps to mind.
Karunamon 12y ago
The "vaccines cause autism" crowd have been successful in carving out "personal exemptions" from otherwise evenly-enforced rules.
- tieTYT 12y ago
  Sorry, I meant "fringe" conspiracy theories. Otherwise my point was kind of off topic to bring up. Imagine if that "vaccines cause autism" crowd didn't get air time. Perhaps they wouldn't get personal exemptions.
Crito 12y ago
http://fluoridealert.org/content/communities/ http://fluoridealert.org/content/communities/ "Communities Which Have Rejected Fluoridation Since 1990" "Satanic Ritual Abuse" aka Satanic Panic also had a field-day in the courts, if not the legislature.
alexeisadeski3 12y ago
SarBox? FATCA?
sampo 12y ago
The totally over-restrictive GMO regulation in the European Union is based on very efficient, but scientifically unfounded, propaganda by some NGO's.
jonnathanson 12y ago
In fairness, and quite unfortunately, I don't think we can call climate change deniers a "fringe." A substantial proportion of the American public denies climate change in one way or another, be it denial of anthropogenic climate change, denial of climate change altogether, or dismissal of the significance of climate change. I don't have the latest figures in front of me, but in the not-too-distant past, deniers polled as a slim majority. The tide seems to be turning, but until quite recently, it was an article of faith (literally, on occasion) among many conservatives that climate change was a liberal-media bogeyman. This was true even among the more respectable conservative publications and commentators, and not just the wackos.
- dragonwriter 12y ago
  > In fairness, and quite unfortunately, I don't think we can call climate change deniers a "fringe." In terms of science we can. In terms of politics or society we can not, but we can distinguish political reporting from science reporting, even on a scientific issue which has political implications.
  - jonnathanson 12y ago
    Sure, but I was responding specifically to the idea that the denial camp (amongst laypeople / GenPop) is a "fringe." In some ways it's dangerous to think of it as such. It's a significant movement with some significant capital behind it, from energy companies and other lobbies. By no means am I suggesting it's a legitimate movement or a non-fringe movement amongst scientists, or that it deserves equal airtime. The viewpoint is largely bunk. Its adherents, however, are legion.
    - dragonwriter 12y ago
      As "fringe" was defined in the context used upthread in the phrase "fringe conspiracy theorists", it means specifically "ones that don't get [presumably, mainstream] media attention". So, the discussion here is largely about making climate change denial into a fringe by that definition. There certainly are other senses of the word "fringe", some of which they fit, others of which they don't.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]

by tieTYT 12y ago

fahadkhan 12y ago

I offer Second Iraq War as a lower bound.

tptacek 12y ago

HPV vaccination jumps to mind.

Karunamon 12y ago

The "vaccines cause autism" crowd have been successful in carving out "personal exemptions" from otherwise evenly-enforced rules.

tieTYT 12y ago
Sorry, I meant "fringe" conspiracy theories. Otherwise my point was kind of off topic to bring up. Imagine if that "vaccines cause autism" crowd didn't get air time. Perhaps they wouldn't get personal exemptions.

Crito 12y ago

http://fluoridealert.org/content/communities/ http://fluoridealert.org/content/communities/ "Communities Which Have Rejected Fluoridation Since 1990" "Satanic Ritual Abuse" aka Satanic Panic also had a field-day in the courts, if not the legislature.

alexeisadeski3 12y ago

SarBox? FATCA?

sampo 12y ago

The totally over-restrictive GMO regulation in the European Union is based on very efficient, but scientifically unfounded, propaganda by some NGO's.

jonnathanson 12y ago

In fairness, and quite unfortunately, I don't think we can call climate change deniers a "fringe." A substantial proportion of the American public denies climate change in one way or another, be it denial of anthropogenic climate change, denial of climate change altogether, or dismissal of the significance of climate change. I don't have the latest figures in front of me, but in the not-too-distant past, deniers polled as a slim majority. The tide seems to be turning, but until quite recently, it was an article of faith (literally, on occasion) among many conservatives that climate change was a liberal-media bogeyman. This was true even among the more respectable conservative publications and commentators, and not just the wackos.

dragonwriter 12y ago
> In fairness, and quite unfortunately, I don't think we can call climate change deniers a "fringe." In terms of science we can. In terms of politics or society we can not, but we can distinguish political reporting from science reporting, even on a scientific issue which has political implications.
- jonnathanson 12y ago
  Sure, but I was responding specifically to the idea that the denial camp (amongst laypeople / GenPop) is a "fringe." In some ways it's dangerous to think of it as such. It's a significant movement with some significant capital behind it, from energy companies and other lobbies. By no means am I suggesting it's a legitimate movement or a non-fringe movement amongst scientists, or that it deserves equal airtime. The viewpoint is largely bunk. Its adherents, however, are legion.
  - dragonwriter 12y ago
    As "fringe" was defined in the context used upthread in the phrase "fringe conspiracy theorists", it means specifically "ones that don't get [presumably, mainstream] media attention". So, the discussion here is largely about making climate change denial into a fringe by that definition. There certainly are other senses of the word "fringe", some of which they fit, others of which they don't.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]