Conspiracy Culture?

Source: Rubin, Trudy. "Internet fueling rise in false theories." Deseret News. 13 September, 2009. G3.


Summary: As debates are recently being played out, one question comes to mind: "Could a conspiracy culture take root here?" (Rubin). In Pakistan and the Middle East public views are being spread by conspiracy theories. If it is printed in the newspaper it must be true no matter how outlandish. After the 9/11 attack some believed that it was carried out by Jews. A couple of Saudi graduate students believed it to be true and confirmed it with Rubin, as well as a leading journalist in Pakistan; keep in mind these are educated people. Because their news is broadcasting this theory, they believe it to be true. So thank heavens that's not happening in the United States, right? Wrong, as we read our newspapers, watch news stations, and read blogs we've come to see how easily we are convinced that an opinion is fact. So what are the facts and will we ever get them? Yes, but not often; "Brave journalists who try to write truth are risking their livelihood, or their lives" (Rubin). Richard Hofstadter was one such journalist in 1964. He wrote about the anti-Masonic movement, the anti-Catholic movement, the theories on a conspiracy of international bankers, race, and more. But even with such writers things have changed drastically because of the Internet. We go on news websites and ideological websites and count that as fact. "Unverified opinions, rumors, and emotions are served up in lieu of facts, but are often accepted as gospel" (Rubin). On the subject of health care, one could read a blog about how our new president stirs up trouble and rage in citizens over the matter, and that's why people are against it. It is taken as a fact and with all these opinions going around it makes it a perfect place for conspiracy theories to begin. With the Internet spreading information so quickly it makes a wide audience have the ability to read and believe such statements and opinions. "I have seen how a conspiracy culture distorts politics in the Middle East and Pakistan. Believe me, you don't want that here" (Rubin).



Response: I agree with Trudy Rubin that many times the American public will take opinion as fact. We are shown this through commercials; because one celebrity we like says they use this kind of acne care, we believe that it is the most effective and we buy and use the product. But that is either staged or just that celebrity's opinion. We hear it through the news and journalists, those very people we trust to give us the events that we personally can not see, and we believe them. Many times those events are told through opinions, but its hazed over as if what we are being told is a fact. So are their conspiracy theories? I personally don't believe there are and won't until literally proved there are. In some ways I wonder if Rubin is a little hypocritcal. For example, Obama's government single payer health plan could very well lead to rationed health care, expecially to the elderly. It appears to have done so in Great Britain and in Canada. She mentioned a lot in her article that Sarah Palin and Sen. Chuck Grassley made untrue claims about Obama's health care ideas that convinced some of the public to be against it by refering to potential decisions to withhold highly expensive medocal care from the aged as "death panels" ; all this just because political figures said that's what's happening, so it must be true. But she's a well-read journalist and here she is trying to convince us that what they are saying is untrue. She mentions that the news, whether Internet, radio talk shows, or newspaper, we look at to hear about the debate is mostly conservative. I take that as a conspiracy of opposition towards conservatives (not to mention that fact that Palin is a conservative). There is plenty of liberal centered media that share information with their own bias or twist. People are not just paying attention to conservative based media. Overall Rubin may be correct. Shared biased opinions are definitely being taken as facts.