Download or read book The Nature of Conspiracy Theories written by Michael Butter and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2020-10-06 with total page 149 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Conspiracy theories seem to be proliferating today. Long relegated to a niche existence, conspiracy theories are now pervasive, and older conspiracy theories have been joined by a constant stream of new ones – that the USA carried out the 9/11 attacks itself, that the Ukrainian crisis was orchestrated by NATO, that we are being secretly controlled by a New World Order that keep us docile via chemtrails and vaccinations. Not to mention the moon landing that never happened. But what are conspiracy theories and why do people believe them? Have they always existed or are they something new, a feature of our modern world? In this book Michael Butter provides a clear and comprehensive introduction to the nature and development of conspiracy theories. Contrary to popular belief, he shows that conspiracy theories are less popular and influential today than they were in the past. Up to the 1950s, the Western world regarded conspiracy theories as a legitimate form of knowledge and it was therefore normal to believe in them. It was only after the Second World War that this knowledge was delegitimized, causing conspiracy theories to be banished from public discourse and relegated to subcultures. The recent renaissance of conspiracy theories is linked to internet which gives them wider exposure and contributes to the fragmentation of the public sphere. Conspiracy theories are still stigmatized today in many sections of mainstream culture but are being accepted once again as legitimate knowledge in others. It is the clash between these domains and their different conceptions of truth that is fuelling the current debate over conspiracy theories.
Download or read book The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories written by Jan-Willem Prooijen and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-04-09 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Who believes in conspiracy theories, and why are some people more susceptible to them than others? What are the consequences of such beliefs? Has a conspiracy theory ever turned out to be true? The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories debunks the myth that conspiracy theories are a modern phenomenon, exploring their broad social contexts, from politics to the workplace. The book explains why some people are more susceptible to these beliefs than others and how they are produced by recognizable and predictable psychological processes. Featuring examples such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks and climate change, The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories shows us that while such beliefs are not always irrational and are not a pathological trait, they can be harmful to individuals and society.
Download or read book Routledge Handbook of Conspiracy Theories written by Michael Butter and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-02-17 with total page 1090 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Taking a global and interdisciplinary approach, the Routledge Handbook of Conspiracy Theories provides a comprehensive overview of conspiracy theories as an important social, cultural and political phenomenon in contemporary life. This handbook provides the most complete analysis of the phenomenon to date. It analyses conspiracy theories from a variety of perspectives, using both qualitative and quantitative methods. It maps out the key debates, and includes chapters on the historical origins of conspiracy theories, as well as their political significance in a broad range of countries and regions. Other chapters consider the psychology and the sociology of conspiracy beliefs, in addition to their changing cultural forms, functions and modes of transmission. This handbook examines where conspiracy theories come from, who believes in them and what their consequences are. This book presents an important resource for students and scholars from a range of disciplines interested in the societal and political impact of conspiracy theories, including Area Studies, Anthropology, History, Media and Cultural Studies, Political Science, Psychology and Sociology.
Download or read book Conspiracy written by Ryan Holiday and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2018-02-27 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An NPR Book Concierge Best Book of 2018! A stunning story about how power works in the modern age--the book the New York Times called "one helluva page-turner" and The Sunday Times of London celebrated as "riveting...an astonishing modern media conspiracy that is a fantastic read." Pick up the book everyone is talking about. In 2007, a short blogpost on Valleywag, the Silicon Valley-vertical of Gawker Media, outed PayPal founder and billionaire investor Peter Thiel as gay. Thiel's sexuality had been known to close friends and family, but he didn't consider himself a public figure, and believed the information was private. This post would be the casus belli for a meticulously plotted conspiracy that would end nearly a decade later with a $140 million dollar judgment against Gawker, its bankruptcy and with Nick Denton, Gawker's CEO and founder, out of a job. Only later would the world learn that Gawker's demise was not incidental--it had been masterminded by Thiel. For years, Thiel had searched endlessly for a solution to what he'd come to call the "Gawker Problem." When an unmarked envelope delivered an illegally recorded sex tape of Hogan with his best friend's wife, Gawker had seen the chance for millions of pageviews and to say the things that others were afraid to say. Thiel saw their publication of the tape as the opportunity he was looking for. He would come to pit Hogan against Gawker in a multi-year proxy war through the Florida legal system, while Gawker remained confidently convinced they would prevail as they had over so many other lawsuit--until it was too late. The verdict would stun the world and so would Peter's ultimate unmasking as the man who had set it all in motion. Why had he done this? How had no one discovered it? What would this mean--for the First Amendment? For privacy? For culture? In Holiday's masterful telling of this nearly unbelievable conspiracy, informed by interviews with all the key players, this case transcends the narrative of how one billionaire took down a media empire or the current state of the free press. It's a study in power, strategy, and one of the most wildly ambitious--and successful--secret plots in recent memory. Some will cheer Gawker's destruction and others will lament it, but after reading these pages--and seeing the access the author was given--no one will deny that there is something ruthless and brilliant about Peter Thiel's shocking attempt to shake up the world.
Download or read book The Philosophy of Conspiracy Theories written by M R. X. Dentith and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2024-02-15 with total page 155 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents state of the art philosophical work on conspiracy theory research that brings in sharp focus on central and important insights concerning the supposed irrationality of conspiracy theory and conspiracy theory belief, while also proposing several novel solutions to long standing issues in the broader academic debate on these things called ‘conspiracy theories’. It features a critical history of conspiracy theory theory, emphasising the role of the ‘first generation’ of philosophers in conspiracy theory research. This book also includes discussions of a range of key issues such as: What counts as conspiracy theory? Who counts as a conspiracy theorist? How are these terms variously understood by academics and the wider public, and Are conspiracy theories automatically suspect, and is it ever reasonable to be a conspiracy theorist? The book then builds upon that work by looking at how people’s political views affect both the conspiracy theories they believe and their beliefs about conspiracy theories; how we might defend conspiracy theorising without endorsing mad, bad or dangerous conspiracy theories; and contains several proposals for unifying conspiracy theory research under one theoretical framework: particularism. This volume will be a key resource for philosophers and social scientists interested in recent work on the philosophy of conspiracy theory theory and its implications for conspiracy theory research. It will also appeal to members of the public, who want to know what, if anything, is wrong with these things called “conspiracy theories”. It was originally published as a special issue of Social Epistemology.
Download or read book A Culture of Conspiracy written by Michael Barkun and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Unravelling the genealogies and permutations of conspiracist worldviews, this work shows how this web of urban legends has spread among sub-cultures on the Internet and through mass media, and how this phenomenon relates to larger changes in American culture.
Download or read book United States of America V Key written by and published by . This book was released on 1988 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Not a Conspiracy Theory written by Donald Gutstein and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: North Americans have expressed themselves loud and clear on a wide range of issues--like the need for expanded and affordable health care-but it often feels like the politicians in power aren't really listening. The truth is, maybe they aren't. In Not a Conspiracy Theory, Donald Gutstein skillfully documents one of the most important but least recognized political developments in the last thirty years: the prolonged propaganda campaigns mounted by business to change our minds on fundamental issues of social life. He explores such topics as the Propaganda Century; American Roots: The Rise of the Corporate Propaganda System; The Propoganda Machine in Action: The '90s and Beyond; Delaying Action on Climate Change: Killing Medicare ... to save it? and, Targeting Corporate Propaganda's Vulnerabilities. For anyone who worries that the propaganda machine might hijack the democractic process, Not a Conspiracy Theory is a must read. ENDORSEMENTS/PRAISE Vancouver Ltd. (1975) "Capitalism means making capital out of anything and everything. This little refresher course should get you in the mood for Vancouver Ltd., a nasty little book that tells it like it is.... The results of Gutstein's labours are couched in a tough, let-the-blue-chips-fall-where-they-may stuyle, and he leaves no doubt about his message: the city is being run by and for the developers and the interlocked directorates. The people have little, if any, chance.... Gutstein has done his homework, and has unearthed some very smelly deals.....Should be required reading for any interested citizen." -The Province The New Landlords (1990) "Possibly because it was published by one of the smaller presses, this essential study of Asian investment in Canadian real estate hasn't received the attention it deserves. In an evenhanded and well-written assessment of the impact of East Asian wealth on this country, Gutstein documents the startling case that without our becoming aware of it, we have become squatters in our own land. This is unfortunate. But don't blame the Oriental investor. They only did what we invited them to do." --Peter C. Newman, Business Watch "Best Business Books of the Year" Roundup
Download or read book Rough Guide to Conspiracy Theories The 3rd written by James McConnachie and published by Rough Guides UK. This book was released on 2013-02-01 with total page 719 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fully revised and updated, The Rough Guide to Conspiracy Theories sorts the myths from the realities, the allegations from the explanations and the paranoid from the probable. Who might be trying to convince us that climate change is or isn't real? What is the truth behind the death of Osama bin Laden and is he still alive? When did the CIA start experimenting with mind control? Where is the HAARP installation and did it have anything to do with the Japanese tsunami disaster? Why is surveillance in our cities and online so widespread and what are the real benefits? This definitive guide to the world's most controversial conspiracies wanders through a maze of sinister secrets, suspicious cover-ups hidden agendas and clandestine operations to explore all these questions - and many many more. Now available in ePub format.
Download or read book Suspicious Minds written by Rob Brotherton and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2015-11-19 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'A first class book' Sunday Times We're all conspiracy theorists. Some of us just hide it better than others. Conspiracy theorists do not wear tin-foil hats (for the most part). They are not just a few kooks lurking on the paranoid fringes of society with bizarre ideas about shape-shifting reptilian aliens running society in secret. They walk among us. They are us. Everyone loves a good conspiracy. Yet conspiracy theories are not a recent invention. And they are not always a harmless curiosity. In Suspicious Minds, Rob Brotherton explores the history and consequences of conspiracism, and delves into the research that offers insights into why so many of us are drawn to implausible, unproven and unproveable conspiracy theories. They resonate with some of our brain's built-in quirks and foibles, and tap into some of our deepest desires, fears, and assumptions about the world. The fascinating and often surprising psychology of conspiracy theories tells us a lot – not just why we are drawn to theories about sinister schemes, but about how our minds are wired and, indeed, why we believe anything at all. Conspiracy theories are not some psychological aberration – they're a predictable product of how brains work. This book will tell you why, and what it means. Of course, just because your brain's biased doesn't always mean you're wrong. Sometimes conspiracies are real. Sometimes, paranoia is prudent.
Download or read book Conspiracy Theories written by Quassim Cassam and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2019-11-01 with total page 87 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 9/11 was an inside job. The Holocaust is a myth promoted to serve Jewish interests. The shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School were a false flag operation. Climate change is a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese government. These are all conspiracy theories. A glance online or at bestseller lists reveals how popular some of them are. Even if there is plenty of evidence to disprove them, people persist in propagating them. Why? Philosopher Quassim Cassam explains how conspiracy theories are different from ordinary theories about conspiracies. He argues that conspiracy theories are forms of propaganda and their function is to promote a political agenda. Although conspiracy theories are sometimes defended on the grounds that they uncover evidence of bad behaviour by political leaders, they do much more harm than good, with some resulting in the deaths of large numbers of people. There can be no clearer indication that something has gone wrong with our intellectual and political culture than the fact that conspiracy theories have become mainstream. When they are dangerous, we cannot afford to ignore them. At the same time, refuting them by rational argument is difficult because conspiracy theorists discount or reject evidence that disproves their theories. As conspiracy theories are so often smokescreens for political ends, we need to come up with political as well as intellectual responses if we are to have any hope of defeating them.
Download or read book Conspiracy Theories and Other Dangerous Ideas written by Cass R. Sunstein and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A collection of controversial essays touches upon an array of issues, from marriage equality and conspiracy theories to animal rights.
Download or read book Conspiracy written by Charlotte Greig and published by Arcturus Publishing. This book was released on 2020-10-09 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Who killed JFK? What happened to Malaysian Airways plane MH370, the flight 'that disappeared'? Who poisoned ex-KGB man Alexander Litvinenko with radioactive polonium? How did the body of GCHQ codebreaker Gareth Williams end up in a sports bag? What really happened to Jeffrey Epstein? Featuring government cover-ups, secret societies, unsolved mysteries and brazen experiments, Conspiracy explores the range of conspiracy theories from the most outlandish to the most plausible, and gets to the bottom of what really happened. Whether discussing strange goings on at CERN or the meetings of the Bilderberg Group, authors Charlotte Greig and Mike Rothschild examine the facts with a clear and critical eye and tell you what it is we really need to worry about.
Download or read book The Stigmatization of Conspiracy Theory since the 1950s written by Katharina Thalmann and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-03-06 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Are conspiracy theories everywhere and is everyone a conspiracy theorist? This ground-breaking study challenges some of the widely shared assessments in the scholarship about a perceived mainstreaming of conspiracy theory. It claims that conspiracy theory underwent a significant shift in status in the mid-20th century and has since then become highly visible as an object of concern in public debates. Providing an in-depth analysis of academic and media discourses, Katharina Thalmann is the first scholar to systematically trace the history and process of the delegitimization of conspiracy theory. By reading a wide range of conspiracist accounts about three central events in American history from the 1950s to 1970s – the Great Red Scare, the Kennedy assassination, and the Watergate scandal – Thalmann shows that a veritable conspiracist subculture emerged in the 1970s as conspiracy theories were pushed out of the legitimate marketplace of ideas and conspiracy theory became a commodity not unlike pornography: alluring in its illegitimacy, commonsensical, and highly profitable. This will be of interest to scholars and researchers interested in American history, culture and subcultures, as well, of course, to those fascinated by conspiracies.
Download or read book Conspiracy of One written by Jim Moore and published by Summit Publishing Group. This book was released on 1990 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A chronicle of one man's investigation into the assassination of President Kennedy and his conclusion.
Download or read book The Paranoid Style in American Politics written by Richard Hofstadter and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2008-06-10 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This timely reissue of Richard Hofstadter's classic work on the fringe groups that influence American electoral politics offers an invaluable perspective on contemporary domestic affairs.In The Paranoid Style in American Politics, acclaimed historian Richard Hofstadter examines the competing forces in American political discourse and how fringe groups can influence — and derail — the larger agendas of a political party. He investigates the politics of the irrational, shedding light on how the behavior of individuals can seem out of proportion with actual political issues, and how such behavior impacts larger groups. With such other classic essays as “Free Silver and the Mind of 'Coin' Harvey” and “What Happened to the Antitrust Movement?, ” The Paranoid Style in American Politics remains both a seminal text of political history and a vital analysis of the ways in which political groups function in the United States.
Download or read book The 30 Greatest Sports Conspiracy Theories of All Time written by Elliott Kalb and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2009-07-01 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Separating fact from myth, Kalb attempts to determine which of these long-held conspiracy theories hold water, and which ones fall flat under scrutiny. Ranking the conspiracies from 1 to 30 and the likelihood of each conspiracy from 1 to 5, Kalb boldly asks: Did baseball avoid integration in the 1930s and 1940s with an unwritten agreement? Was Super Bowl III a fixed game? Did Sonny Liston throw both of his fights vs. Muhammad Ali? Was the NBA’s first-ever draft lottery fixed? Why did Michael Jordan really retire from basketball the first time? Are some NASCAR race outcomes too good to be true? Did the New England Patriots cheat their way to a dynasty? What really happened at the 1921 Kentucky Derby? Why weren’t any Japanese players signed to major league contracts from 1965-1995? And much more!
