Like “Moths to a Candle”- We are Drawn to Conspiracy Theories
There’s Powerful Psychology to Conspiracy Theories We Must Understand
We are in 2024, an election year, a year I call “the Year of the Precipice” for our democracy. To better equip Americans to exercise their civic duty this year, we have begun a series in Democraticus examining important ways of thinking and belief systems that can have a major impact on our democracy’s future.
The “Long Game” of Authoritarian Disinformation
If you think about farming, it requires constant attention and day-in, day-out effort as well as a long-term focus. There’s tilling, fertilizing, planting, crop care, and ultimately harvesting. Likewise, an authoritarian’s disinformation campaign against a democracy’s citizens requires a similar approach, effort, and perspective. Daily effort is required, but a long-term focus on the “prize”- creating a false reality for controlling democracy’s citizens which they accept, must be maintained throughout. That is the authoritarian’s “harvest”.
It begins with the critical thinking of a democracy’s citizens, which for many Americans is already weak and easy to influence. The authoritarian strives to damage and manipulate our critical thinking through false dichotomies, logical fallacies, lies, and propaganda. Moving on, the authoritarian and his cronies take advantage of people’s poor historical knowledge by misinterpreting history to plant their false reality and paint a mythical past which they claim only they can reestablish for us, if given the chance to rule. From there they cloud citizens’ ability to see major change in the public square for what it is . This allows the “dark money” of the billionaire class that is in league with the authoritarian to influence and create a parallel government that controls our everyday life via minority rule.
After that, lies in the form of gas lighting are unleashed to thoroughly confuse our thinking. Role reversal starts occurring as we begin seeing truth as lies, lies as truth. We become so confused in our now absent critical thinking that we see the authoritarian as a “good guy”, one who is now perceived as a persecuted, victim who is so poorly treated by his opponents. We now feel an emotional and psychological connection with this authoritarian who promises to take care of us and solve our nation’s woes. We believe this so much that we are willing to let the authoritarian impose his will over us. In exchange we willingly forfeit our hard fought for democratic freedoms.
This in turn sets a democracy’s citizens up for the next manipulative technique to be used against them- conspiracy theories. We have now arrived at the authoritarian’s false reality and begin to live in it. This is the current and dangerous state of American democracy today.
To Deal With Conspiracy Theories, We Must First Understand Them
Since 2015, one of the most visible and destructive forces in American politics has been conspiracy theories. That reason alone merits improving our understanding of conspiracy theories and their impact on us individually and collectively. If we do not, we will continue to give conspiracy theories full sway to wreak havoc on American politics. And, without that understanding and knowledge, we will continue to gravitate toward them. It is easy at first glance to dismiss them as “crazy” and “wacko”, but many intelligent people can be easily affected by conspiracy theories if they are deployed effectively.
Importantly, many of us may have close friends and family members that have seriously entertained or have completely accepted one or more conspiracy theories. We need to understand and appreciate what is going on in their minds and why. It is part of improving our own civic education to deal with twenty first century threats like this which are now assaulting American democracy.
Welcome to Fantasyland- Where Conspiracy Theories Abound
Once we become accustomed to being blanketed with a steady diet of lies by those aspiring to be in public office or are currently serving there, the critical thinking mode we rely on most is binary thinking. Things become “either-or”, never “both-and”, and this easily leads us to be receptive to considering, and ultimately embracing, conspiracy theories.
Once binary thinking “kicks in” for us, things we encounter become either true or false, real or unreal, fantasy or fact. And guess who gets to choose what is real and unreal, fantasy or fact, true or false? We do. We often do this even if the facts dictate otherwise. Author Kurt Andersen describes what has happened to us as we began to think this way:
“…every individual became freer to be or believe whatever he or she wished…Believe the dream, mistrust authority, do your own thing, find your own truth…equality came to mean not just that the law should treat everyone identically but that your own beliefs about anything are equally as true as anyone else’s…What I believe is true because I want and feel it to true- individualism turned into rampant solipsism.[1] (emphasis mine)
This is what Andersen aptly describes America as today- fantasyland.
When Truth Becomes Relative
Andersen’s words are so salient- “…find your own truth…your beliefs about anything are equally true as anyone else’s”. Think about that- there is no more “true or false”. Everything becomes true- you have your truth, I have my truth, and all truth is equal. Nothing is false, if I do not think it is, regardless of what the facts (i.e., objective truth) dictate. In fact, we do not even have to care if there are any facts at all, so it does not matter if there are no facts. If there are not any facts, we will accept whatever someone concocts and tells us what they think the “facts” are supposed to be, or we will make up our own facts (apologies to Daniel Moynihan).
All we must do is decide that we think it is true. Thus, we become prone to accepting logical fallacies, only now they begin to take the form of conspiracies. That is, somebody (we often do not really know who), somewhere, somehow is doing something that we believe is illegal or plain “bad” that could harm us, either individually or collectively. As Applebaum explains, “…the emotional appeal of a conspiracy theory is in its simplicity. It explains away complex phenomena, accounts for chance and accidents, offers the believer the satisfying sense of having special, privileged access to truth.”[2] Conspiracy theories rely on the logical fallacy called “proving non-existence”. The fact the conspiracy theory cannot be disproved becomes the proof it exists.
We Americans come by our propensity for conspiracies honestly, as Andersen notes, saying: “As it turned out, the recipe for what became to be American- our peculiar history, our peculiar psychology, the symbiosis between them – was also specifically a recipe for a tendency to believe in conspiracies.”[3]
Americans’ Extensive History of Conspiracy Theories
It is commonly acknowledged that Americans like nothing better than a conspiracy theory. Our history proves that fact. It has long been a part of the American political psyche, albeit at times, a dangerous one. Richard Hofstadter, in his essay The Paranoid Style in American Politics,[4] showed us this is exactly the case, documenting that conspiracy theories have been with we Americans for a long, long time.
For example, Hofstadter cites conspiracy theories from the 1800s such as Populist leaders of the 1890s pointing fingers at international bankings’ “…secret cabals of the international gold ring are being made use of to deal a blow to the prosperity of the people and the financial and commercial independence of the country.”[5] Another early example of an American conspiracy theory that Hofstadter calls attention to is from an 1855 Texas newspaper article which stated: “…It is a notorious fact that the Monarchs of Europe and the Pope of Rome are at this very moment plotting our destruction and threatening the extinction of our political, civil, and religious institutions. We have the best reasons for believing that corruption has found its way into our Executive Chamber, and that our Executive head is tainted with the infectious venom of Catholicism.”[6]
Hofstadter points to the many iterations of anti-Mason, anti-Illuminati, nativist, as well as anti-Catholic conspiracies that have sprung up over the course of our nation’s early history. A more recent example of a major American conspiracy theory was that of Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy’s anti-communist “red scare” conspiracy of the early 1950s.
What Makes American Conspiracy Theories Unique
Hofstadter observed, “These writers illustrate the central preconception of the paranoid style- the existence of a vast, insidious, preternaturally effective international conspiratorial network designed to perpetrate acts of the most fiendish character.”[7] (emphasis mine) This is what Hofstadter termed the “paranoid style” central to American conspiracy theories.[8] However, Hofstadter is quick to point out that while “there are conspiratorial acts in history” as all political acts “require strategy”, many strategic acts depend on a period of secrecy…”[9] He goes on, however, to distinguish between an actual conspiracy and one that has this uniquely American paranoid style he has identified, saying:
“The distinguishing thing about the paranoid style is not that its exponents see conspiracies here and there in history, but they regard a “vast” or “gigantic” conspiracy as the motive force in historical events.”[10] (emphasis mine)
Paranoid Conspiracies Theories Make Politics More Divisive
Hofstadter recognized the danger of paranoid conspiracies deepening political divides, something that is in full force today in this country, saying:
“The paranoid tendency is aroused by a confrontation of opposed interests which are (or are felt to be) totally irreconcilable, and thus by nature not susceptible to the normal political processes of bargain and compromise….Feeling that they have no access to political bargaining or making of decisions, they find their original conception of the world as omnipotent, sinister, and malicious fully confirmed.”[11] (emphasis mine)
Hofstadter’s prophecy has been realized. Fast forward from 1952 when he wrote those words to today and examine the now infamous QAnon conspiracy as an example. QAnon, according to Kevin Roose of The New York Times, is “…the umbrella term for a set of internet conspiracy theories that allege, falsely, that the world is run by a cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles.”[12]
What has happened today with conspiracy theories like QAnon verifies Hofstadter’s wisdom about our paranoid conspiracies said years ago:
“What distinguishes the paranoid style is not, then, the absence of verifiable facts (though it is occasionally true that in his extravagant passion for facts the paranoid occasionally manufactures them), but rather the curious leap in imagination that is always made at some point in the recital of events.”[13] (emphasis mine)
Conspiracy Theories Run Deeper and Faster Today
While Hofstadter’s (1916-1970) historical account of the long existence of conspiracies in American politics is accurate, he never could have imagined the impact of social media on promoting and spreading them today. Columnist Michael Gerson describes the internet and social media’s impact on spreading contemporary conspiracy theories this way:
“…they (i.e., contemporary conspiracy theories) are carried widely and instantaneously on the internet, and often on social media that echoes and exaggerates preexisting convictions. Current technology gives believers in conspiracy theories the illusion that their views are broadly shared. And conspiracy theorists are early adopters of new technologies, making innovation the ally of deceit.”[14] (emphasis mine)
While conspiracy theories have always had a presence in this country’s conservative politics (example- Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s hunt for communists in our government), QAnon is an example of just how much deeper they are in it today, certainly because of the internet and social media, as Gerson says.
However, other reasons for conspiracies’ massive spread exist as well. Stevens points to the work of Russell Muirhead and Nancy Rosenblum in their book A Lot of People are Saying that this growth of conspiracies in conservative politics has created a “new conspiracism” which they call “…a partisan penumbra, an alignment with radical, antigovernment Republicans…What we have, then, is an alignment between the extremes of the Republican Party and the new conspiracism- a congruence founded in hostility toward government.”[15] (emphasis mine)
Paranoid Conspiracy Theories In Action
If one needs more evidence of this institutional inculcation of a willingness to embrace conspiracy theories into the Republican Party in recent years, the strongest evidence is the conspiracy mindset of the party leader himself. Examples abound. For instance, Trump did not hesitate to postulate in 2016 during the Republican presidential primary race as to whether Ted Cruz’s father had something to do with killing JFK (he did a major gaslighting job on Cruz).[16] Or a year later, it did not seem to bother any GOP members when in October 2017 during a photo op with military generals, Trump said, “You guys know what this represents? Maybe it’s the calm before the storm.”[17] QAnon believers, however, certainly did notice Trump’s use of the word “storm”, a word that is part of their conspiracy theory lexicon, and “…pointed to this moment as proof that Mr. Trump was sending coded messages about his plans to break up the global cabal.”[18]
The former president and aspiring Congress members even took it upon themselves to legitimize conspiracies, either explicitly or through inference. For example, CNN reported in 2018 that QAnon-believing social media “conspiracy analyst” Michael Lebron (who also appears on Russia Today as a political and legal analyst) visited Trump at the White House that year.[19] Visits like this to the White House require a presidential invitation, so we know Lebron was not there by accident. In July 2021, Media Matters reported that forty candidates for Congress in 2022 have “previously endorsed or given credence at some level to the conspiracy theory or promoted QAnon content…Thirty-eight are Republicans and two are independents…”[20]
With all the conspiracy theories set loose as an anti-truth contagion during the Trump years, none have been as toxic to democracy than those associated with Trump’s loss in the 2020 presidential election. As Lee McIntyre, author of the book On Disinformation recounts:
“…As part of the Arizona (election) audit, officials were at one point searching for “bamboo filters” in the ballots themselves, based on a Trumpian conspiracy theory that 40,000 ballots had been flown in from East Asia and stuffed into ballot boxes. Other debunked conspiracy claims involved “rigged” voting machines, suitcases of “lost” ballots, magic sharpie markers, and even one involving Italian military satellites that were alleged to have erased Trump votes.”[21]
Truly, during the Trump presidency and since, the “monkeys have been running the conspiracy zoo”, especially in MAGA land (aka fantasyland). Stevens describes acceptance of conspiracies as “just one more station in the slaughterhouse of truth that is the Trump Presidency. Once there is no challenge to the craziest ideas that have no basis in fact, it is easy for Trump to take one small bit of truth and spin it into an elaborate fantasy.”[22]
How Paranoid Conspiracies Damage Democracies
Muirhead and Rosenblum further explain the seriousness of the systemic damage conspiracy theories perform on our democracy:
“But partisan politics is far from the whole story. For what unites conspiracists is not ideological attachment to conservative causes or to the Republican Party but something deeper: disdain for political opposition, regulated party rivalry, and the democratic norm of “agreeing to disagree.” Each conspiracist assault is specific to one candidate or policy or party, but it eventually extends to them all. It is not contained.”[23] (emphasis mine)
This disdain for political opposition, regulated party rivalry, and “agreeing to disagree” has exacerbated conspiracy theory’s assault on democracy. Stevens calls conspiracies the “…key element of the Trump Republican effort to build an alternative universe in which their lies will be truth.”[24] In light of the events of the January 6th Capitol riot and the Big Lie that preceded and has followed it, Stevens’ comments from 2020 seems almost mild and understated. Fear, adds Stevens, is at the heart of most conspiracy theories, as conspiracy theories have become institutionalized into and now drive the Republican Party,[25] something that likely would have amazed someone like Richard Hofstadter.
Conspiracy Theories Are Not as Simple as They First Seem
As the reader can see, there is “a lot going on here” with conspiracy theories in this country both at the macro (i.e., national) level and at the micro (i.e., individual level). But, as large as conspiracy theories apparently can get, they all must start with the individual. Next we will examine conspiracy theories and how they can infect one’s mind. Stay tuned…
We will continue exploring topics like this gone that are not given near enough time and emphasis in our civic education efforts, if they are even taught at all. Democracy is so important. But it’s hard to keep, and it’s easy to lose. It’s up to us, and only us, to protect it. Support democracy, become a Democratist! Spread the word!
[1] Fantasyland, How America Went Haywire: A 500 Year History, by Kurt Andersen, pg. 174, Copyright 2017, Random House, New York, New York.
[2] Twilight of Democracy, the Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism, by Anne Applebaum, pg. 45, Copyright 2020, Doubleday, a Division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York
[3] Fantasyland, by Kurt Andersen, pp 88-89, Ibid
[4] The Paranoid Style in American Politics and Other Essays, by Richard Hofstadter, Copyright 1952, 1954, 1964, 1965 by Richard Hofstadter, Copyright 1963 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College, and Copyright 1964 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
[5] The Paranoid Style in American Politics and Other Essays, by Richard Hofstadter, pg. 8, Ibid
[6] The Paranoid Style in American Politics and Other Essays, by Richard Hofstadter, pg. 8, Ibid
[7] The Paranoid Style in American Politics and Other Essays, by Richard Hofstadter, pg. 14, Ibid
[8] The Paranoid Style in American Politics and Other Essays, by Richard Hofstadter, pg. 29, Ibid
[9] The Paranoid Style in American Politics and Other Essays, by Richard Hofstadter, pg. 29, Ibid
[10] The Paranoid Style in American Politics and Other Essays, by Richard Hofstadter, pg. 29, Ibid
[11] The Paranoid Style in American Politics and Other Essays, by Richard Hofstadter, pg. 39, Ibid
[12] “What Is QAnon, the Viral Pro-Trump Conspiracy Theory?”, by Kevin Roose, The New York Times, June 15, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/article/what-is-qanon.html
[13] The Paranoid Style in American Politics and Other Essays, by Richard Hofstadter, pg. 37, Ibid
[14] “Spreading Conspiracy Theories Undermines Belief in Truth Itself”, by Michael Gerson, Daily Herald, Northwest Suburbs Edition, August 13, 2019, pg. 6, Section 1, Copyright Paddock Publications, Inc.
[15] It Was All a Lie, How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump”, by Stuart Stevens, pp 99-100, Copyright 2020, Alfred A. Knopf, a Division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York and , A Lot of People are Saying, by Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Robinson, pg. 5, Copyright 2019, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ
[16] It Was All A Lie, How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump”, by Stuart Stevens, pg. 100, Ibid
[17] “What Is QAnon, the Viral Pro-Trump Conspiracy Theory?”, by Kevin Roose, The New York Times, June 15, 2021, Ibid
[18] “What Is QAnon, the Viral Pro-Trump Conspiracy Theory?”, by Kevin Roose, The New York Times, June 15, 2021, Ibid
[19] “QAnon-Believing ‘Conspiracy Analyst’ Meets Trump in the White House”, by Kyle Feldscher, CNN, Updated 5:47 PM EDT, August 25, 2018, https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/25/politics/donald-trump--qanon-white-house/index/html
[20] “Here Are the QAnon Supporter Running for Congress in 2022”, by Alex Kaplan, Media Matters For America, June 2, 2021, 7:30 PM EDT, Updated July 14, 2021, 3:00 PM EDT, https://www.mediamatters.org/qanon-conspiracy-theory/there-are-quanon-supporters-running-congress-2022
[21] On Disinformation, How to Fight for Truth and Protect Democracy, by Lee McIntyre, pg. 19, MIT Press, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA and London, England, Copyright 2023.
[22] It Was All A Lie, How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump”, by Stuart Stevens, pg. 101, Ibid
[23] It Was All A Lie, How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump”, by Stuart Stevens, pp 99-100, Ibid and, A Lot of People are Saying, by Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Robinson, pg. 5, Ibid
[24] It Was All A Lie, How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump”, by Stuart Stevens, pg. 183, Ibid
[25] It Was All A Lie, How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump”, by Stuart Stevens, pg. 182, Ibid