Main Edition
US
FR
June 13, 2023 - 7:00am
Up to a third of people in the UK believe in theories such as the Great Replacement Theory, according to a new study. This builds on polling conducted by UnHerd Britain and Focaldata earlier this year, which also highlighted the rise in conspiratorial thinking among the UK population.
This latest report, published today by the Policy Institute at King’s College London, surveyed 2,274 British adults at the end of April, asking the extent to which they believed in different theories, as well as their views on the people who hold these beliefs. Strikingly, a third of respondents said they are now less likely to trust information following the Government response to the Covid-19 pandemic, almost double the number who say the opposite (18%).
When it comes to thinking particular theories are true, the most popular involves central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) being used to restrict personal freedom (35%), in which concern revolves around how state-sanctioned digital currencies allow governments to monitor transactions, and that Western countries are following a blueprint laid out by China.
Another popular conspiracy concerns government cover-ups about terrorist attacks (34%) such as the Manchester arena bombing, which 18% of respondents think was a hoax perpetrated by “crisis actors” pretending to be dead. An additional 33% believe that 15-minute cities, which aim to ensure that all essential services are within walking or cycling distance, is a tool of government surveillance. Earlier this year, there were protests against such developments in the UK.
The portion who believe that a Great Replacement is currently taking place, in which white Europeans and Americans are being deliberately replaced by non-white immigrants, stands at 32%. Popularised by the French writer Renaud Camus around the turn of the millennium, the theory has since spread across Europe and into the United States in Right-wing circles.
Against the backdrop of falling trust in UK institutions since the pandemic, virus-related conspiracy theories have also gained widespread support. Among respondents to the KCL survey, 31% think the pandemic constituted a global effort to force people to take vaccines against their will, while just under a quarter (23%) think the whole thing was a hoax.
Join the discussion
Join like minded readers that support our journalism by becoming a paid subscriber
To join the discussion in the comments, become a paid subscriber.
Join like minded readers that support our journalism, read unlimited articles and enjoy other subscriber-only benefits.
SubscribeMy child was in a minority at primary school so I’m really glad to hear that the Great Replacement is nothing more than a right wing conspiracy theory. Phew! Was worried I’d end up spending my final days as a hated and persecuted minority in my own country. Now I realise the Government has my best interests at heart.
I live in a 95% white majority neighbourhood according official statistics, and guess what? White children are hardly a majority in my child’s class at primary school – making about half the children. The hard question to ask here may really be where are all the (unborn) white children?
If the demographics where split into age groups, you would see that white kids are a minority. The future is looking very bleak for white people. A white person standing up for white people is considered a racist. Insert any non-white ethnicity into the previous sentence and racist would change into “hero” or “saviour”.
When things become obvious to a majority of white people, things will turn nasty. It will be self defense.
There needs to be countries set aside for white people in Europe. They need their space to be respected.
Also colonisation is a population act, not a military one, and the white parts of the world are being colonised in an unprecedented rate. Such an upheaval is not healthy
I suspect you won’t like my response here, but I’ve got to say this. I think you’ll find those who fight for a group of people defined by a race do it on the encouragement of their white allies (e.g. BLM). In my experience most people naturally care about their families and their cultural affinity as opposed to race. This obsession with race – whether in positive (allyship) or in negative (segregation) form – is a white concern, and more specifically a northern European one. If you don’t believe this, compare how northern and southern America look different today. I wish this obsession with race would die away in both forms, but as you say I see its prospects bleak.
I kind of agree, especially on the white ally side. White people standing up for white people are considered racist. This is about as one dimensional as it gets.
I am just so over the rubbish of having to prostrate myself over being a straight white male, dealing with the myth that only white men did bad things. That I have to be held accountable for the sins of father. Add to this that in every new adaptation or dredging up of a sequel or prequel, what was once a white cast because it was made 20, 30, 40 years ago or even longer, it now completely multicultural.
Multiculturalism, whether it was meant to or not, actually blares out that being white is bad.
It goes against human nature from what I observe. A few minorities that adopt the majority identity is not a threat but once number parity is reached, especially if those new populations didn’t assimilate will devolve into power struggles for dominance. Prison is a good example of it.
Now add to this the narrative that is going around at the moment that white people deserve it. This was the argument that the Nazis used to persecute the Jews. It does not bode well.
Now add to this the narrative that is going around at the moment that white people deserve it. This was the argument that the Nazis used to persecute the Jews. It does not bode well.
I kind of agree, especially on the white ally side. White people standing up for white people are considered racist. This is about as one dimensional as it gets.
I am just so over the rubbish of having to prostrate myself over being a straight white male, dealing with the myth that only white men did bad things. That I have to be held accountable for the sins of father. Add to this that in every new adaptation or dredging up of a sequel or prequel, what was once a white cast because it was made 20, 30, 40 years ago or even longer, it now completely multicultural.
Multiculturalism, whether it was meant to or not, actually blares out that being white is bad.
It goes against human nature from what I observe. A few minorities that adopt the majority identity is not a threat but once number parity is reached, especially if those new populations didn’t assimilate will devolve into power struggles for dominance. Prison is a good example of it.
I suspect you won’t like my response here, but I’ve got to say this. I think you’ll find those who fight for a group of people defined by a race do it on the encouragement of their white allies (e.g. BLM). In my experience most people naturally care about their families and their cultural affinity as opposed to race. This obsession with race – whether in positive (allyship) or in negative (segregation) form – is a white concern, and more specifically a northern European one. If you don’t believe this, compare how northern and southern America look different today. I wish this obsession with race would die away in both forms, but as you say I see its prospects bleak.
If the demographics where split into age groups, you would see that white kids are a minority. The future is looking very bleak for white people. A white person standing up for white people is considered a racist. Insert any non-white ethnicity into the previous sentence and racist would change into “hero” or “saviour”.
When things become obvious to a majority of white people, things will turn nasty. It will be self defense.
There needs to be countries set aside for white people in Europe. They need their space to be respected.
Also colonisation is a population act, not a military one, and the white parts of the world are being colonised in an unprecedented rate. Such an upheaval is not healthy
When had we given up the ability to critically think?
I live in a 95% white majority neighbourhood according official statistics, and guess what? White children are hardly a majority in my child’s class at primary school – making about half the children. The hard question to ask here may really be where are all the (unborn) white children?
When had we given up the ability to critically think?
My child was in a minority at primary school so I’m really glad to hear that the Great Replacement is nothing more than a right wing conspiracy theory. Phew! Was worried I’d end up spending my final days as a hated and persecuted minority in my own country. Now I realise the Government has my best interests at heart.
Marianna Spring is a hactivist (journalist/activist) who has produced multiple programmes and articles portraying anyone who challenges the narrative on covid and jabs – like many UnHerd’s readers do – as conspiracy theorists.
She has just been challenged for a number of inaccuracies in her reporting by Carl Benjamin.
The BBC’s has lost the trust of many during lockdowns due to it’s hugely biased output. There are indications that BBC staff who questioned the lockdown narrative have been pressured and suppressed. We saw lockdown science-activists – often with weak or irrelevant qualifications – given ample unquestioned airtime, with very few opportunities for anti-lockdown voices.
There needs to be a detailed and thorough investigation of the BBC’s role during lockdown and measures taken to ensure it never happens again. In the meantime, shut down the misinformation unit, it’s a dangerous waste of tax-payers’ money.
I’d say there were more than “indications” on the BBC journalistic cover up. There are documented eyewitness reports of this happening.
Yes. But the problem of BBC bias long pre-dates Covid.
Is she part of the same team responsible for that Elon Musk interview when the BBC journalist ran out of questions to ask Musk and threw about accusations but then couldn’t provide any evidence or even any details?
Can you imagine Paxman or Andrew Neil or Brian Redhead or Robin Day doing such a thing?
Just shut down or privatize the whole BBC. It’s not needed in modern Britain.
The same goes for the ABC in Australia. A once trusted institution that has been hijacked. Open debate is a thing of the past.
And CBC in Canada!!!
And CBC in Canada!!!
Why does the BBC receive funding from Bill Gates Foundation….?!! How did that happen?
I’d say the rot started with Margaret Thatcher, and went downhill from there.
But maybe I`m just old fashioned and grumpy.
I’d say the rot started with Margaret Thatcher, and went downhill from there.
But maybe I`m just old fashioned and grumpy.
The same goes for the ABC in Australia. A once trusted institution that has been hijacked. Open debate is a thing of the past.
Why does the BBC receive funding from Bill Gates Foundation….?!! How did that happen?
In any state of emergency, there have to be compromises with peacetime practices of democracy and transparency. It was so in the second world war, which is why characters like Mosley were not just silenced but locked up. The pandemic was an emergency too, and the exact compromises our government made are only now coming to light (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/fact-sheet-on-the-cdu-and-rru).
We need to learn the lessons from all of this, but without getting all boy-scoutish about it.
It was only a state of emergency because the govt said so. And they were wrong. See Sweden.
Any criticism of Churchill led to prison. It wasnt only Mosley, who btw was imprisoned for being a friend of Hitler.
It was only a state of emergency because the govt said so. And they were wrong. See Sweden.
Any criticism of Churchill led to prison. It wasnt only Mosley, who btw was imprisoned for being a friend of Hitler.
The BBC misinformation unit is also a source of serious misinformation putting out misinformation targeted at the right people by accusing them of misinformation. A sort of Ministry of Truth
My favourite placard photographed at a lockdown protest: “Did BBC credibility die OF covid or WITH covid?”
CBC reporters quit over the same thing. They simply weren’t permitted to run stories that questioned mandates or vaccines.
I’d say there were more than “indications” on the BBC journalistic cover up. There are documented eyewitness reports of this happening.
Yes. But the problem of BBC bias long pre-dates Covid.
Is she part of the same team responsible for that Elon Musk interview when the BBC journalist ran out of questions to ask Musk and threw about accusations but then couldn’t provide any evidence or even any details?
Can you imagine Paxman or Andrew Neil or Brian Redhead or Robin Day doing such a thing?
Just shut down or privatize the whole BBC. It’s not needed in modern Britain.
In any state of emergency, there have to be compromises with peacetime practices of democracy and transparency. It was so in the second world war, which is why characters like Mosley were not just silenced but locked up. The pandemic was an emergency too, and the exact compromises our government made are only now coming to light (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/fact-sheet-on-the-cdu-and-rru).
We need to learn the lessons from all of this, but without getting all boy-scoutish about it.
The BBC misinformation unit is also a source of serious misinformation putting out misinformation targeted at the right people by accusing them of misinformation. A sort of Ministry of Truth
My favourite placard photographed at a lockdown protest: “Did BBC credibility die OF covid or WITH covid?”
CBC reporters quit over the same thing. They simply weren’t permitted to run stories that questioned mandates or vaccines.
Marianna Spring is a hactivist (journalist/activist) who has produced multiple programmes and articles portraying anyone who challenges the narrative on covid and jabs – like many UnHerd’s readers do – as conspiracy theorists.
She has just been challenged for a number of inaccuracies in her reporting by Carl Benjamin.
The BBC’s has lost the trust of many during lockdowns due to it’s hugely biased output. There are indications that BBC staff who questioned the lockdown narrative have been pressured and suppressed. We saw lockdown science-activists – often with weak or irrelevant qualifications – given ample unquestioned airtime, with very few opportunities for anti-lockdown voices.
There needs to be a detailed and thorough investigation of the BBC’s role during lockdown and measures taken to ensure it never happens again. In the meantime, shut down the misinformation unit, it’s a dangerous waste of tax-payers’ money.
The author is unable to sustain his point even within one paragraph.
“virus-related conspiracy theories have also gained widespread support… 31% think the pandemic constituted a global effort to force people to take vaccines against their will”.
Erm, we were forced to take the vaccines against our will. This isn’t a conspiracy theory. 10,000s were made an example of and sacked for their refusal. Restrictions were placed on the movement of those who refused. Government and columnists alike abused those who refused.
It takes a particularly biased world view to forget the reality of 2 years ago. What hope for any useful analysis from a writer so blinkered?
That is the problem with these surveys – the authors assume that conspiracy theories are always wrong. Yesterday the Free Press put out an article demonstrating that patient zero for Covid was a scientist at the Wuhan virology lab. We already know that the US NIH funded this research and that Fauci went to great lengths to suppress the virus origins. Conspiracy theorists have a track record these last three years that is better than mainstream media’s for accuracy.
That is the problem with these surveys – the authors assume that conspiracy theories are always wrong. Yesterday the Free Press put out an article demonstrating that patient zero for Covid was a scientist at the Wuhan virology lab. We already know that the US NIH funded this research and that Fauci went to great lengths to suppress the virus origins. Conspiracy theorists have a track record these last three years that is better than mainstream media’s for accuracy.
The author is unable to sustain his point even within one paragraph.
“virus-related conspiracy theories have also gained widespread support… 31% think the pandemic constituted a global effort to force people to take vaccines against their will”.
Erm, we were forced to take the vaccines against our will. This isn’t a conspiracy theory. 10,000s were made an example of and sacked for their refusal. Restrictions were placed on the movement of those who refused. Government and columnists alike abused those who refused.
It takes a particularly biased world view to forget the reality of 2 years ago. What hope for any useful analysis from a writer so blinkered?
Speaking purely personally, and I’m not a conspiracy theory loon, I’m proud to count myself as less likely to believe official information and explanations on other issues after COVID. Perhaps because legitimate debate was shut down, we were told that belief in a lab leak was baseless conspiracy mongering, and governments spent vast sums of money scaremongering (sorry, nudging behaviour) and guilt-tripping the population into compliance.
Perhaps its because the ‘science’ we were being told to follow turned out to be a whole less trustworthy than the proper stuff (ie knowledge derived from the scientific method) and was usually speculation gussied up with some mathematic ‘modelling’ to lend it some credibility.
And perhaps because the very people who ought to be vigilant about the hasty and near total suspension of civil liberties in a democracy, the free press, opposition parties etc. failed utterly.
So yeah, am I more skeptical about official information and explanation after COVID? Bloody right I am.
The Government has stopped reporting about COVID in Australia and you need a FOI to get any information. FOI’s never come out whole so the data is always skewed.
I used to take the flu shot every year. Now I don’t in part because I am no longer confident that whatever they tell me about the risk and benefits is accurate. There is a serious trust issue with all our institutions after Covid.
The Government has stopped reporting about COVID in Australia and you need a FOI to get any information. FOI’s never come out whole so the data is always skewed.
I used to take the flu shot every year. Now I don’t in part because I am no longer confident that whatever they tell me about the risk and benefits is accurate. There is a serious trust issue with all our institutions after Covid.
Speaking purely personally, and I’m not a conspiracy theory loon, I’m proud to count myself as less likely to believe official information and explanations on other issues after COVID. Perhaps because legitimate debate was shut down, we were told that belief in a lab leak was baseless conspiracy mongering, and governments spent vast sums of money scaremongering (sorry, nudging behaviour) and guilt-tripping the population into compliance.
Perhaps its because the ‘science’ we were being told to follow turned out to be a whole less trustworthy than the proper stuff (ie knowledge derived from the scientific method) and was usually speculation gussied up with some mathematic ‘modelling’ to lend it some credibility.
And perhaps because the very people who ought to be vigilant about the hasty and near total suspension of civil liberties in a democracy, the free press, opposition parties etc. failed utterly.
So yeah, am I more skeptical about official information and explanation after COVID? Bloody right I am.
I’d be a bit dubious about this given who commissioned it. The responses seem suspiciously consistent across different questions. There seems to be an attempt to group genuinely “out there”conspiracy theories with genuine political issues about which Progressives would prefer to suppress debate.
I’ve just posted to the effect the numbers can’t be real.
In moderation!
I don’t know. I think there are plenty of people out there who believe those who govern and influence us from prestigious positions have nothing but malicious intent towards us. Thinking about where I work and some of the conversations I’ve overheard for example, many would have no trouble believing things like digital money being used to control people for example.
It can also come down to experience. If you live in a neglected part of the country like Lincolnshire, West Yorkshire, rural County Durham etc, it’s probably not too hard to convince people that the state has abandoned them, sees them as a burden and wants to wash their hands of them and replace them with a more compliant demographic.
The same polling company (Savanta) claims 30% of British males have a positive view of Andrew Tate. I’d be kinda surprised if 30% of men even know who Tate is, let alone have an opinion on him. There’s no info on the Savanta website about how this panel is recruited or rewarded, which is a bit suspicious.
My guess is that they have major problems with a low quality panel who don’t even read the questions, hence why 7% of the panel answered “yes” to have you attended a protest regardless of what the protest was supposedly about.
I’ve just posted to the effect the numbers can’t be real.
In moderation!
I don’t know. I think there are plenty of people out there who believe those who govern and influence us from prestigious positions have nothing but malicious intent towards us. Thinking about where I work and some of the conversations I’ve overheard for example, many would have no trouble believing things like digital money being used to control people for example.
It can also come down to experience. If you live in a neglected part of the country like Lincolnshire, West Yorkshire, rural County Durham etc, it’s probably not too hard to convince people that the state has abandoned them, sees them as a burden and wants to wash their hands of them and replace them with a more compliant demographic.
The same polling company (Savanta) claims 30% of British males have a positive view of Andrew Tate. I’d be kinda surprised if 30% of men even know who Tate is, let alone have an opinion on him. There’s no info on the Savanta website about how this panel is recruited or rewarded, which is a bit suspicious.
My guess is that they have major problems with a low quality panel who don’t even read the questions, hence why 7% of the panel answered “yes” to have you attended a protest regardless of what the protest was supposedly about.
I’d be a bit dubious about this given who commissioned it. The responses seem suspiciously consistent across different questions. There seems to be an attempt to group genuinely “out there”conspiracy theories with genuine political issues about which Progressives would prefer to suppress debate.
It’s a theory in so much that Feminism, Race, and Queer are also Theories.
Anyone who has been made to study any of the above critical theories (as I have at college) will know that the biggest thing that unites them is their single-minded hatred of straight white men. Indeed if you look at any big movement today its enemy is the ‘white male devil’.
We, without a doubt, live in one of the most racist times of history where it is institutionally acceptable to encourage genocide against white people. The people encouraging this have the very same mindset of those who sought a Final Solution in the previous century.
Telling people that all this is mere conspiracy theory is pure gaslighting.
Exceedingly well said.
Exceedingly well said.
It’s a theory in so much that Feminism, Race, and Queer are also Theories.
Anyone who has been made to study any of the above critical theories (as I have at college) will know that the biggest thing that unites them is their single-minded hatred of straight white men. Indeed if you look at any big movement today its enemy is the ‘white male devil’.
We, without a doubt, live in one of the most racist times of history where it is institutionally acceptable to encourage genocide against white people. The people encouraging this have the very same mindset of those who sought a Final Solution in the previous century.
Telling people that all this is mere conspiracy theory is pure gaslighting.
A conspiracy is a secret agreement between two or more actors to achieve some end, with a presumption that their activity to achieve that end should also be concealed. The liberal elite has never made any secret about their desire for mass immigration, neither has it attempted to conceal the actuality of mass immigration. I have no idea whether or not there is a great replacement conspiracy going on in parallel with the plain-sight replacement.
It’s not a conspiracy and it is in plain sight. My Critical Theory professor at an east-coast university had us read works from Critical scholarship. She was very open in her hatred of white people and made us read many texts written in the style of the snippet I provide below:
We had to read and write about ten texts a week that were written in this vein. As you can see it is pure academic excrement. Two students had breakdowns during the course. We all thought we were supposed to be on a teacher training program, not learning ways to justify genocide.
How on earth did you survive?
However, and looking on the bright side, it could have been far worse if you had the misfortune to go to Cambridge.
It was tough. The problem is I, with my British accent and strong work ethic, was held up as the textbook example of white privilege by some of my professors, so I would sometimes be put in the strange and uncomfortable position of having to defend myself against accusations of white supremacy and oppression despite having no personal involvement in black slavery.
I tried to tell members of my own family of my experiences, but they thought I was exaggerating or misunderstanding. Like many others, they are good people who are caught up in the myth that Critical Theory is about addressing historical wrongs and evening out the playing field a little. They are totally unaware that it is a hate ideology masquerading as a civil rights movement.
This is an informative article for those who are curious as to where Critical Race Theory is taking us: https://www.politico.com/interactives/2019/how-to-fix-politics-in-america/inequality/pass-an-anti-racist-constitutional-amendment/
Sounds like they (CRT) are taking a page from Mao Zedong and his thought police.
Sounds like they (CRT) are taking a page from Mao Zedong and his thought police.
the old Foot Guards adage ” I trust my head keeper, Master of Hounds, and my Non- Commissioned and Warrant Officers, and no one else”
It was tough. The problem is I, with my British accent and strong work ethic, was held up as the textbook example of white privilege by some of my professors, so I would sometimes be put in the strange and uncomfortable position of having to defend myself against accusations of white supremacy and oppression despite having no personal involvement in black slavery.
I tried to tell members of my own family of my experiences, but they thought I was exaggerating or misunderstanding. Like many others, they are good people who are caught up in the myth that Critical Theory is about addressing historical wrongs and evening out the playing field a little. They are totally unaware that it is a hate ideology masquerading as a civil rights movement.
This is an informative article for those who are curious as to where Critical Race Theory is taking us: https://www.politico.com/interactives/2019/how-to-fix-politics-in-america/inequality/pass-an-anti-racist-constitutional-amendment/
the old Foot Guards adage ” I trust my head keeper, Master of Hounds, and my Non- Commissioned and Warrant Officers, and no one else”
That wasn’t Scarborough by any chance?
I had a girlfriend who went there in the 1970s and when she returned during the following summer she was utterly changed – indoctrinated, and speaking to people as if she was talking to a class of five year olds.
Crikey! There really is no difference between this garbage and the guff produced by everyone’s favourite postmodernism-generating robot:-
https://www.elsewhere.org/pomo/
How on earth did you survive?
However, and looking on the bright side, it could have been far worse if you had the misfortune to go to Cambridge.
That wasn’t Scarborough by any chance?
I had a girlfriend who went there in the 1970s and when she returned during the following summer she was utterly changed – indoctrinated, and speaking to people as if she was talking to a class of five year olds.
Crikey! There really is no difference between this garbage and the guff produced by everyone’s favourite postmodernism-generating robot:-
https://www.elsewhere.org/pomo/
“The liberal elite has never made any secret about their desire for mass immigration, neither has it attempted to conceal the actuality of mass immigration”
Reminds me of the infamous photo taken at the SPLC headquarters and posted on Twitter showing a whiteboard displaying white people as a percentage of the U.S population over time.
What is the SPLC,
Southern Poverty Law Centre. A notorious, but immensely wealthy, anti-white hate group in the US
Southern Poverty Law Centre. A notorious, but immensely wealthy, anti-white hate group in the US
What is the SPLC,
It’s not a conspiracy and it is in plain sight. My Critical Theory professor at an east-coast university had us read works from Critical scholarship. She was very open in her hatred of white people and made us read many texts written in the style of the snippet I provide below:
We had to read and write about ten texts a week that were written in this vein. As you can see it is pure academic excrement. Two students had breakdowns during the course. We all thought we were supposed to be on a teacher training program, not learning ways to justify genocide.
“The liberal elite has never made any secret about their desire for mass immigration, neither has it attempted to conceal the actuality of mass immigration”
Reminds me of the infamous photo taken at the SPLC headquarters and posted on Twitter showing a whiteboard displaying white people as a percentage of the U.S population over time.
A conspiracy is a secret agreement between two or more actors to achieve some end, with a presumption that their activity to achieve that end should also be concealed. The liberal elite has never made any secret about their desire for mass immigration, neither has it attempted to conceal the actuality of mass immigration. I have no idea whether or not there is a great replacement conspiracy going on in parallel with the plain-sight replacement.
CBCDC’s will be used to control people? – 20% don’t know.
Ask that question to ten random people on a street and over 50% won’t know what a CBCDC is.
Disinformation correspondent issues blatant disinformation. We have truly arrived in 1984
It was always 1984, we just have better tech.
It was always 1984, we just have better tech.
CBCDC’s will be used to control people? – 20% don’t know.
Ask that question to ten random people on a street and over 50% won’t know what a CBCDC is.
Disinformation correspondent issues blatant disinformation. We have truly arrived in 1984
The fact that only 35% of people believe that Central Bank Digitial Currency will be used to restrict personal freedom proves that at least 65% of the population are morons.
The fact that only 35% of people believe that Central Bank Digitial Currency will be used to restrict personal freedom proves that at least 65% of the population are morons.
If you take a stroll in any London park on a warm sunny afternoon, you can see something that walks like a duck and quacks like a duck.
If you take a stroll in any London park on a warm sunny afternoon, you can see something that walks like a duck and quacks like a duck.
Theory? We are living it.
Theory? We are living it.
“A new report shows the depth of mistrust in authority”
Clealy some people are regaining their sanity. The Soviet Union collapsed when everyone could see, with their own eyes, that the “truths” promulgated by the government and the media were blatently untrue, often laughably so. Seem familiar Rob? It should do. There is a long way to go, but the direction of travel is clear. Mistrust will grow, and it will grow at an increasing rate. Don’t make the mistake of blaming the wrong people.
“A new report shows the depth of mistrust in authority”
Clealy some people are regaining their sanity. The Soviet Union collapsed when everyone could see, with their own eyes, that the “truths” promulgated by the government and the media were blatently untrue, often laughably so. Seem familiar Rob? It should do. There is a long way to go, but the direction of travel is clear. Mistrust will grow, and it will grow at an increasing rate. Don’t make the mistake of blaming the wrong people.
Reading the presentation, my first reaction would be that the numbers look off. They report that 14% have heard of a paper called “The Light” which Wikipedia describes as a ‘conspiracy theory newspaper’ set up in 2020, and 40% of that 14% ‘subscribe’ – that’s around 3 million people. It feels much too high – the paper claims 100,000 distribution and Facebook and other social media has views of said paper of under 15,000, while links to the paper come from the BBC and Hopenothate as part of their ‘look there’s a conspiracy’ drive.
It leaves me wondering what data and screening controls KCL applied to validate the survey data, as it has a feel of fake answers. Previous waves of the research have the same sense of strange data, particularly among under 35 males and minority groups, who may just be trolling the researchers.
I wondered whether any of the viewpoints were fully defined. And without more moderate alternatives, it’s entirely possible many respondents chose the full-fat conspiracy options as closest to their pov without actually representing it.
The one that startled me was the claim that 18% of respondents thought that the victims of the Manchester Arena bombing were actors. It takes a fair few martinis to give any consideration to that one. Who exactly were they asking?
Yes, I did a double take at that too. I don’t believe it.
Sounds like fake responses to me. I will be generous and put that down to naivety rather than anything else. Yes I can be generous.
I went to see Il Travotore (at the cinema). Lurid melodrama.The stage was full of grotesque peasants and demons – straight out of The Garden of Earthly Delights. The heroine took slow-acting poison – just as well when you consider the amount of singing she still had to do.
You would have loved the curtain call – The baddies, despite giving fine performances, were booed to the rafters. The poor singers were obviously upset – They didn’t understand that the audience was English and raised on panto. Leonara, in contrast, danced around like Cinderella – To wild acclaim.
England lives!
Being a philistine I don’t know Il Travotore but I’ve a visual image of a fat lady warbling interminably during the poisoning scene.
She wasn’t that fat.
She wasn’t that fat.
Being a philistine I don’t know Il Travotore but I’ve a visual image of a fat lady warbling interminably during the poisoning scene.
Sounds like fake responses to me. I will be generous and put that down to naivety rather than anything else. Yes I can be generous.
I went to see Il Travotore (at the cinema). Lurid melodrama.The stage was full of grotesque peasants and demons – straight out of The Garden of Earthly Delights. The heroine took slow-acting poison – just as well when you consider the amount of singing she still had to do.
You would have loved the curtain call – The baddies, despite giving fine performances, were booed to the rafters. The poor singers were obviously upset – They didn’t understand that the audience was English and raised on panto. Leonara, in contrast, danced around like Cinderella – To wild acclaim.
England lives!
Yes, I did a double take at that too. I don’t believe it.
The one that startled me was the claim that 18% of respondents thought that the victims of the Manchester Arena bombing were actors. It takes a fair few martinis to give any consideration to that one. Who exactly were they asking?
It’s not just that problem. The numbers of people who took part in the poll don’t even add up.
On slide 22 we’re told the response comes from “2,274 UK adults aged 18+, surveyed 29–30 April 2023“. The next slide claims to break this down by gender, but now we’re told it comes from “1,075 men and 1,186 women in the UK aged 18+, surveyed 29–30 April 2023“. 1075 + 1186 = 2261 adults. Where did the other 13 people go?
On slide 26 out of the base 2,274 adults 84% say they took the vaccine. Then they asked the “1,842 UK 18+ adults who have received any coronavirus vaccine” if they regretted it, but 84% of 2274 is 1910, not 1842. Where did the other 68 people go? Surely if there are legit reasons why these numbers don’t add up, they should say why?
Moreover, exactly 7% of people claim to have taken part in a protest no matter what the protest in question is about. Protests against government misinformation, CDBCs, 15 minute cities, vaccines and the deep state, always have exactly 7% of the population taking part. 7% of the British population or 4.7 million people have attended a protest against 15 minute cities? Really? Where were these protests? Even assuming some media suppression, how exactly did such a huge number of people on the streets escape notice?
This entire set of claimed poll results is clearly very dubious on its face. The raw tables of results are available online on the Savanta website, but nothing about methodology is provided. Who are these people who are answering these polls and why are they so weird?
It’s all a big conspiracy!
😉
Thanks for finding a source for the data tables. I’m afraid it doesn’t look very good.
According to their survey apparently 15% of the UK population get a great deal/a fair amount of their knowledge about news and events from Truth Social – Trump’s social media platform. (Table 104).
A figure that rises to 45% among those of black ethnicity – which is not what you’d expect.
With Truth Social also having more impact on those who vote Liberal Democrat than other political parties…
There are some other technicalities like people who claim to use Truth Social less than pre-Covid (Table 129) when Truth Social was only launched in 2022.
Someone needed to sense check the data, before sending the press release out.
It reminds one of the census results
:25% of the strictest anti gay population in Brutain class themselves as trans( figures may be exaggerated)
It’s all a big conspiracy!
😉
Thanks for finding a source for the data tables. I’m afraid it doesn’t look very good.
According to their survey apparently 15% of the UK population get a great deal/a fair amount of their knowledge about news and events from Truth Social – Trump’s social media platform. (Table 104).
A figure that rises to 45% among those of black ethnicity – which is not what you’d expect.
With Truth Social also having more impact on those who vote Liberal Democrat than other political parties…
There are some other technicalities like people who claim to use Truth Social less than pre-Covid (Table 129) when Truth Social was only launched in 2022.
Someone needed to sense check the data, before sending the press release out.
It reminds one of the census results
:25% of the strictest anti gay population in Brutain class themselves as trans( figures may be exaggerated)
I wondered whether any of the viewpoints were fully defined. And without more moderate alternatives, it’s entirely possible many respondents chose the full-fat conspiracy options as closest to their pov without actually representing it.
It’s not just that problem. The numbers of people who took part in the poll don’t even add up.
On slide 22 we’re told the response comes from “2,274 UK adults aged 18+, surveyed 29–30 April 2023“. The next slide claims to break this down by gender, but now we’re told it comes from “1,075 men and 1,186 women in the UK aged 18+, surveyed 29–30 April 2023“. 1075 + 1186 = 2261 adults. Where did the other 13 people go?
On slide 26 out of the base 2,274 adults 84% say they took the vaccine. Then they asked the “1,842 UK 18+ adults who have received any coronavirus vaccine” if they regretted it, but 84% of 2274 is 1910, not 1842. Where did the other 68 people go? Surely if there are legit reasons why these numbers don’t add up, they should say why?
Moreover, exactly 7% of people claim to have taken part in a protest no matter what the protest in question is about. Protests against government misinformation, CDBCs, 15 minute cities, vaccines and the deep state, always have exactly 7% of the population taking part. 7% of the British population or 4.7 million people have attended a protest against 15 minute cities? Really? Where were these protests? Even assuming some media suppression, how exactly did such a huge number of people on the streets escape notice?
This entire set of claimed poll results is clearly very dubious on its face. The raw tables of results are available online on the Savanta website, but nothing about methodology is provided. Who are these people who are answering these polls and why are they so weird?
Reading the presentation, my first reaction would be that the numbers look off. They report that 14% have heard of a paper called “The Light” which Wikipedia describes as a ‘conspiracy theory newspaper’ set up in 2020, and 40% of that 14% ‘subscribe’ – that’s around 3 million people. It feels much too high – the paper claims 100,000 distribution and Facebook and other social media has views of said paper of under 15,000, while links to the paper come from the BBC and Hopenothate as part of their ‘look there’s a conspiracy’ drive.
It leaves me wondering what data and screening controls KCL applied to validate the survey data, as it has a feel of fake answers. Previous waves of the research have the same sense of strange data, particularly among under 35 males and minority groups, who may just be trolling the researchers.
The real conspiracy theory is that the state has your best interests at heart!
The real conspiracy theory is that the state has your best interests at heart!
Another flawed survey. Merely asking about ‘conspiracy theories’ rather than ‘alternate opinions’ exposes the bias of the survey.
There is some difference between fearing people deliberately conspiring and fearing groups of people locked into group think. A difference that many activists fail to mention… they want people who hold ‘conspiracy theories’ to exist as challenging them validates the activists opinions.
Another flawed survey. Merely asking about ‘conspiracy theories’ rather than ‘alternate opinions’ exposes the bias of the survey.
There is some difference between fearing people deliberately conspiring and fearing groups of people locked into group think. A difference that many activists fail to mention… they want people who hold ‘conspiracy theories’ to exist as challenging them validates the activists opinions.
The examples given here really aren’t “conspiracy theories” at all.
“Strikingly, a third of respondents said they are now less likely to trust information following the Government response to the Covid-19 pandemic”
Strikingly? People are less likely to believe government after government controls their lives during an emergency which turns out to have been overblown. This is utterly rational. Most striking is that the number isn’t higher.
“think the pandemic constituted a global effort to force people to take vaccines against their will”
Well, people were forced to vaccinate against their will. Oh sure, they had a choice: take the shot or don’t ever work, shop, attend soccer, theatre or go out to eat again. Totally voluntary.
“most popular involves central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) being used to restrict personal freedom”
Central Bank Digital Currencies effectively eliminate cash, allowing govt oversight of all transactions. The idea that this wouldn’t be used for social control is risible. Of course it will be. PayPal already is used this way (They banned me for contributing to the journalist Andy Ngo 2 years ago.)
“Great Replacement, in which white Europeans and Americans are being deliberately replaced by non-white immigrants”
The government’s own data says 15%+ of the UK population is foreign born. This is the highest in history by a large margin. Is the conspiracy theory that it’s happening or that it’s intentional? Does it really matter?
This column says more about the author than her subject.
The examples given here really aren’t “conspiracy theories” at all.
“Strikingly, a third of respondents said they are now less likely to trust information following the Government response to the Covid-19 pandemic”
Strikingly? People are less likely to believe government after government controls their lives during an emergency which turns out to have been overblown. This is utterly rational. Most striking is that the number isn’t higher.
“think the pandemic constituted a global effort to force people to take vaccines against their will”
Well, people were forced to vaccinate against their will. Oh sure, they had a choice: take the shot or don’t ever work, shop, attend soccer, theatre or go out to eat again. Totally voluntary.
“most popular involves central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) being used to restrict personal freedom”
Central Bank Digital Currencies effectively eliminate cash, allowing govt oversight of all transactions. The idea that this wouldn’t be used for social control is risible. Of course it will be. PayPal already is used this way (They banned me for contributing to the journalist Andy Ngo 2 years ago.)
“Great Replacement, in which white Europeans and Americans are being deliberately replaced by non-white immigrants”
The government’s own data says 15%+ of the UK population is foreign born. This is the highest in history by a large margin. Is the conspiracy theory that it’s happening or that it’s intentional? Does it really matter?
This column says more about the author than her subject.
Personally, I worry seriously about those who think the public information provided is accurate and governments are to be trusted!
Personally, I worry seriously about those who think the public information provided is accurate and governments are to be trusted!
A couple of years ago, I read an article on the BBC news site that stated that 43% of pupils in English schools were non-white. I was astonished as I live elsewhere. If true, or even close to it, the the English already have been replaced
A couple of years ago, I read an article on the BBC news site that stated that 43% of pupils in English schools were non-white. I was astonished as I live elsewhere. If true, or even close to it, the the English already have been replaced
When looking at demographic trends, how can one not conclude that white British will eventually become a minority in their own homeland?
The USA as well…
The USA as well…
When looking at demographic trends, how can one not conclude that white British will eventually become a minority in their own homeland?
Critical Theory, the most deranged “conspiracy theory” to come in being.
Critical Theory, the most deranged “conspiracy theory” to come in being.
“The research was commissioned for the new BBC Radio 4 podcast Marianna in Conspiracyland, hosted by Marianna Spring, the corporation’s Disinformation and Social Media Correspondent.”
What a pity this line did not appear at the beginning of the article. It would have saved me the time and trouble reading it!
What the hell is a ‘disinformation correspondent‘? Where does the BBC find these creatures?
Re:
What the hell is a ‘disinformation correspondent‘? Where does the BBC find these creatures?
Considering that “disinformation” has generally referred to misinformation intentionally crafted by state agencies (KGB, CIA, etc.) during the Cold War to mislead their adversary’s populations as well as their agencies; then it’s not a surprise to see the term being re-utilized by current state agencies for the same purposes.
This is where the “disinformation correspondents” come in. It’s amazing, though, to see our own state agencies of thought control, like the BBC and CBC, explicitly identify their own operatives as disinformation correspondents. What do we have here, a Freudian mea culpa?
Re:
What the hell is a ‘disinformation correspondent‘? Where does the BBC find these creatures?
Considering that “disinformation” has generally referred to misinformation intentionally crafted by state agencies (KGB, CIA, etc.) during the Cold War to mislead their adversary’s populations as well as their agencies; then it’s not a surprise to see the term being re-utilized by current state agencies for the same purposes.
This is where the “disinformation correspondents” come in. It’s amazing, though, to see our own state agencies of thought control, like the BBC and CBC, explicitly identify their own operatives as disinformation correspondents. What do we have here, a Freudian mea culpa?
“The research was commissioned for the new BBC Radio 4 podcast Marianna in Conspiracyland, hosted by Marianna Spring, the corporation’s Disinformation and Social Media Correspondent.”
What a pity this line did not appear at the beginning of the article. It would have saved me the time and trouble reading it!
What the hell is a ‘disinformation correspondent‘? Where does the BBC find these creatures?
Those who trust government and believe public information to be true are much more worrying!
Those who trust government and believe public information to be true are much more worrying!
I’m surprised that so far not many have commented on the substance of the issue. I don’t believe in a conspiratorial plan to replace the white population of Britain.
However, there is no mathematical doubt that white people will become a minority on the current trajectory of sky-high net immigration rates and relative fertility.
The media calls it a right wing conspiracy theory then publish all manner of articles eagerly anticipating when it will happen and if anyone objects they are bigots who deserve to be wiped out.
The media calls it a right wing conspiracy theory then publish all manner of articles eagerly anticipating when it will happen and if anyone objects they are bigots who deserve to be wiped out.
I’m surprised that so far not many have commented on the substance of the issue. I don’t believe in a conspiratorial plan to replace the white population of Britain.
However, there is no mathematical doubt that white people will become a minority on the current trajectory of sky-high net immigration rates and relative fertility.
“A new report shows the depth of mistrust in authority”
Reminds me of what my mother used to tell me : Trust is difficult to gain, and easy to lose.
“A new report shows the depth of mistrust in authority”
Reminds me of what my mother used to tell me : Trust is difficult to gain, and easy to lose.
The official line on “The Great Reset” seems to have moved from “this is fictional and you are insane if you believe it’s real. I suppose you also believe the moon is made of cheese?” to “well yes, it’s real but the conspiracy is that the people behind this vision for how to organize society are ill-intentioned”. None of the folks involved in “debunking” any of the misinformation ever seem up for an actual fleshing out of what stakeholder capitalism even is- only in smearing anyone who seems resistant to it as malign and down-the-rabbit-hole. The same could be said about all of the above issues- the aim of anyone involved in the disinfo and factchecking industry is never to genuinely inform, but rather to justify increased control by “experts” over how information is disseminated
The official line on “The Great Reset” seems to have moved from “this is fictional and you are insane if you believe it’s real. I suppose you also believe the moon is made of cheese?” to “well yes, it’s real but the conspiracy is that the people behind this vision for how to organize society are ill-intentioned”. None of the folks involved in “debunking” any of the misinformation ever seem up for an actual fleshing out of what stakeholder capitalism even is- only in smearing anyone who seems resistant to it as malign and down-the-rabbit-hole. The same could be said about all of the above issues- the aim of anyone involved in the disinfo and factchecking industry is never to genuinely inform, but rather to justify increased control by “experts” over how information is disseminated
UK’s immigration crisis all makes sense now…
“Schwab demands a World Government under the UN, which has been brought under its control by the WEF. This is to be achieved by creating as much worldwide chaos as possible in the form of pandemics, wars, including civil wars, and natural disasters, so that the world population becomes convinced that the national governments are overwhelmed and only a world government can help. “
https://waikanaewatch.org/2022/03/08/the-world-economic-forum-wef-and-its-plans/
UK’s immigration crisis all makes sense now…
“Schwab demands a World Government under the UN, which has been brought under its control by the WEF. This is to be achieved by creating as much worldwide chaos as possible in the form of pandemics, wars, including civil wars, and natural disasters, so that the world population becomes convinced that the national governments are overwhelmed and only a world government can help. “
https://waikanaewatch.org/2022/03/08/the-world-economic-forum-wef-and-its-plans/
Trust in all facets of institutional life has deteriorated to such an extent, that even ‘polls’ are not immuned.
I have no belief in polls from biased questions to respondees deliberately not answering truthfully.
Trust in all facets of institutional life has deteriorated to such an extent, that even ‘polls’ are not immuned.
I have no belief in polls from biased questions to respondees deliberately not answering truthfully.
The great replacement is actually happening. I suppose people might think it is happening as a result of a conspiracy because nobody wanted it or voted for it so how did it happen? Anyway, I heard it all before.1 it isnt happening. 2 It is but it is a good thing. 3 it may be a little bad but we deserve the punishment. 4 it is too late to do anything about it now.
The great replacement is actually happening. I suppose people might think it is happening as a result of a conspiracy because nobody wanted it or voted for it so how did it happen? Anyway, I heard it all before.1 it isnt happening. 2 It is but it is a good thing. 3 it may be a little bad but we deserve the punishment. 4 it is too late to do anything about it now.
Aside from loonies suggesting the Manchester arena bombing was a hoax, there’s no need for conspiracy theories when it’s all happening in plain sight! Economics and culture are now driven by organisations far more powerful than those we elect.
Aside from loonies suggesting the Manchester arena bombing was a hoax, there’s no need for conspiracy theories when it’s all happening in plain sight! Economics and culture are now driven by organisations far more powerful than those we elect.
Whatever happened to Kalergi Coudenhove? Coffee coloured people, World’s a great big melting pot? If 20% here and 30% there protest that means 80 and 70% don’t know or care. The lockdowns annoyed because the pubs and the seaside were closed. They just thought dotgovuk and the police were being an ass.
Weren’t we all meant to be speaking Esperanto by now?
Well that turned out to be hopeless, didn’t it?
Nu tio montriĝis senespera, ĉu ne?
yh rubbish
yh rubbish
Nu tio montriĝis senespera, ĉu ne?
Well that turned out to be hopeless, didn’t it?
Weren’t we all meant to be speaking Esperanto by now?
Whatever happened to Kalergi Coudenhove? Coffee coloured people, World’s a great big melting pot? If 20% here and 30% there protest that means 80 and 70% don’t know or care. The lockdowns annoyed because the pubs and the seaside were closed. They just thought dotgovuk and the police were being an ass.
All models are wrong, but some have predictive power.
Eh?
Eh?
All models are wrong, but some have predictive power.
Many people in the US now distrust their Government. Some do so because they believe what they are fed by their media, and some because they don’t believe what their media feeds them.
Many people in the US now distrust their Government. Some do so because they believe what they are fed by their media, and some because they don’t believe what their media feeds them.
As far as the GRT goes, Hanlon’s Razor applies: never attribute to malice what can adequately be explained by stupidity. In this case, immigration and welfare policy is strongly influenced by a combination of leftwing voting incentives and wealthy people who like cheap labour. The replacement effect is indeed happening, but it’s not directly the consequence of a desire to bring about a soft-genocide of white people, as the more strident of the theory’s proponents claim. The effect, however, is most emphatically real, irrespective of the intent.
My own level of mistrust in the government has certainly increased too, and it has changed recently from a recognition that although political parties have always used propaganda, it was usually easy to spot it because all one had to do was to look at who’s doing the talking and then working out why they’d want that particular factoid to be true, eg leftwing politicians claiming that there’s this emergency or social scandal that requires more government spending, or a rightwinger advancing an opposite argument that welfare is badly run and creates defective incentives so taxes ought not to be spent this way etc.
What has changed for me in recent years is the government-in-residence effect: the realisation that explicitly political agendas exist in the machinery of government itself, independent from party politics, and which remain in force irrespective of who wins elections. The propaganda that surrounds this is far more difficult to discern. The obvious recent example was the pandemic, in which it became very clear that Boris Johnson and his government were completely helpless before a pseudoscientific establishment juggernaut that very quickly exposed political biases of its own, most notably a profoundly illiberal balance of power between the State and individual.
The growth of the international NGO, too, is a problem here: the WEF, WHO, IPCC etc – these organisations possess a huge amount of influence on world affairs, there’s no scrutiny at all of their internal processes, and they carry out strategic aims through their influence at the nation-State level by use of propaganda that is often so patently false that we would laugh at it if the threats in question were not so serious.
A final note must be that the public reputation of science itself has been fatally weakened in the eyes of electorates, and for good reason. The political toxification of science is one of the great tragedies of our age, and it has done immense damage to our collective prospects that this is so.
As far as the GRT goes, Hanlon’s Razor applies: never attribute to malice what can adequately be explained by stupidity. In this case, immigration and welfare policy is strongly influenced by a combination of leftwing voting incentives and wealthy people who like cheap labour. The replacement effect is indeed happening, but it’s not directly the consequence of a desire to bring about a soft-genocide of white people, as the more strident of the theory’s proponents claim. The effect, however, is most emphatically real, irrespective of the intent.
My own level of mistrust in the government has certainly increased too, and it has changed recently from a recognition that although political parties have always used propaganda, it was usually easy to spot it because all one had to do was to look at who’s doing the talking and then working out why they’d want that particular factoid to be true, eg leftwing politicians claiming that there’s this emergency or social scandal that requires more government spending, or a rightwinger advancing an opposite argument that welfare is badly run and creates defective incentives so taxes ought not to be spent this way etc.
What has changed for me in recent years is the government-in-residence effect: the realisation that explicitly political agendas exist in the machinery of government itself, independent from party politics, and which remain in force irrespective of who wins elections. The propaganda that surrounds this is far more difficult to discern. The obvious recent example was the pandemic, in which it became very clear that Boris Johnson and his government were completely helpless before a pseudoscientific establishment juggernaut that very quickly exposed political biases of its own, most notably a profoundly illiberal balance of power between the State and individual.
The growth of the international NGO, too, is a problem here: the WEF, WHO, IPCC etc – these organisations possess a huge amount of influence on world affairs, there’s no scrutiny at all of their internal processes, and they carry out strategic aims through their influence at the nation-State level by use of propaganda that is often so patently false that we would laugh at it if the threats in question were not so serious.
A final note must be that the public reputation of science itself has been fatally weakened in the eyes of electorates, and for good reason. The political toxification of science is one of the great tragedies of our age, and it has done immense damage to our collective prospects that this is so.
Anyone who is surprised by the outcome of this poll needs to have their cognitive abilities checked. It is weird that the percentage of people distrusting their government and the experts isn’t much higher in fact. This is probably due to the government’s enhanced narrative control through the media and its censorship of dissident voices.
Anyone who is surprised by the outcome of this poll needs to have their cognitive abilities checked. It is weird that the percentage of people distrusting their government and the experts isn’t much higher in fact. This is probably due to the government’s enhanced narrative control through the media and its censorship of dissident voices.
Anyone who “believes” in anything is as thick as ten short planks.
Anyone who “believes” in anything is as thick as ten short planks.
If you have not worked out by now that the big gov and big corp want to roll back human rights by undermining the very people who fought for these rights, you are stark raving mad or disingenuous.
The West is being colonised by similar actors that colonised the rest of the world and in a similar fashion. Using feminism, consumerism and racism, attack, confuse and disempower the protective males. This leaves families, women and children vulnerable. Then attack, confuse and disempower the women and children. This means the society once made up of family and community that Thatcher says never existed is destroyed.
Bring in hoardes of people without a history of human rights and bingo.
If you have not worked out by now that the big gov and big corp want to roll back human rights by undermining the very people who fought for these rights, you are stark raving mad or disingenuous.
The West is being colonised by similar actors that colonised the rest of the world and in a similar fashion. Using feminism, consumerism and racism, attack, confuse and disempower the protective males. This leaves families, women and children vulnerable. Then attack, confuse and disempower the women and children. This means the society once made up of family and community that Thatcher says never existed is destroyed.
Bring in hoardes of people without a history of human rights and bingo.
I believe in it. I didn’t believe in it until I looked at the wikipedia page for it.
I believe in it. I didn’t believe in it until I looked at the wikipedia page for it.
I have a couple of simple questions for those who buy the conspiracy theories. Who’s actually going to bring them about. (By definition a conspiracy is shrouded in secrecy requiring everyone involved to say absolutely nothing about it). So we’re relying on the same people who couldn’t have a party during lockdown without the photos leaking out. When they can fix the roads & treat the sick in a timely fashion, then I’ll believe they’re capable of a conspiracy.
secondly, where did you first read about these conspiracies. Facebook no less. Yes that great bastion of unreliable news depending on people who don’t normally read the news, to circulate the conspiracy theories.
seriously people, learn to think for yourself. Stories are easily checked from multiple sources these days.
I swear people say that since the 2016 election but I never see news articles on my fb feed unless others post them and that doesn’t happen often.
I swear people say that since the 2016 election but I never see news articles on my fb feed unless others post them and that doesn’t happen often.
I have a couple of simple questions for those who buy the conspiracy theories. Who’s actually going to bring them about. (By definition a conspiracy is shrouded in secrecy requiring everyone involved to say absolutely nothing about it). So we’re relying on the same people who couldn’t have a party during lockdown without the photos leaking out. When they can fix the roads & treat the sick in a timely fashion, then I’ll believe they’re capable of a conspiracy.
secondly, where did you first read about these conspiracies. Facebook no less. Yes that great bastion of unreliable news depending on people who don’t normally read the news, to circulate the conspiracy theories.
seriously people, learn to think for yourself. Stories are easily checked from multiple sources these days.
Well the problem is there is 50% who don’t believe it all! Literally you can do anything to people they are so thick! You just need not say what you are doing, never focus on reality just highlight snippets of progressive propaganda and the masses will fall inline. Well people will learn the hard way, and then they will forget what freedom was over 1 or 2 generations. Goodluck with enslavement. These self entitled people who thought they were smarter and more informed will soon learn how uninformed you were. And how weak you have become and how the real men will now do nothing because you have taken everything from them. Intellectuals ha ha – goodluck in the wars that are coming, although most of you won’t even recognize you’re in one!
The only way to counter conspiracy theories about government control of all aspects of our life is for the government to set up censorship rules on social media.
Four downvotes?
I read it as ironic. Do tell.
Four downvotes?
I read it as ironic. Do tell.
The only way to counter conspiracy theories about government control of all aspects of our life is for the government to set up censorship rules on social media.
I think the psychology profession fairly united on the traits that underpin the likelihood of believing in conspiracy theories. The desire for understanding and certainty in an uncertain World, the desire to control and feel more assured about what is going on, and an element of the narcissist wanting the self image of being a holder of special views and knowledge.
I think there is something too about stress increasing the tendency.
Probably nothing new in much of this. Been the same for millennia. But perhaps what is different is the ability to cascade the theories so rapidly and to find others confirming ones cognitive bias. The narcissist doesn’t need many to confirm it, and they don’t want many anyway as they are seeking the uniqueness of their position. In fact if too many agree they seek a different position.
There is a difference too between scepticism of the correctness and competency of a Policy and how it was formulated and belief in an organised conspiratorial plot. The latter needs the elements described.
Unherd is largely an echo chamber so the majority of the posts we’ll see commenting on this article will be along the lines of ‘we’re right on vaccines/lockdowns/immigration/whatever and everyone else is wrong!’ hence the tiresome, but predictable attacks on the BBC. For the narcissist and the conspiracy theorist there is only one truth, my truth, there are no grey areas, no nuances, only simple solutions to complex problems, thwarted by sinister forces.
All a bit Kenneth Williams “Infamy! Infamy! They’ve all got it infamy”
“Unherd is largely an echo chamber”
Each to his own echo chamber. So why do you visit ours? You must find it very distressing.
PS: The best line delivered by Kenneth Williams was of course, “Sic Transit Gloria”.
Don’t mind Murray, he has been ‘posting’ this sort of drivel for months now !
A narcissist if ever there was one, he even claims to have ‘worked’ in the Cabinet Office, which if true explains quite a lot.
Excellent! The comments by you and Polly couldn’t prove my point better. Puerile’R Us…..
When you lose your cool, you lose the match. By the way, the nom de plume is Polidori, not Polly. Presumably the reference goes over your head. Polly is a popular name for a pet parrot. Polidori existed.
Losing my cool? Hardly, mildly amused sums it up.
Losing my cool? Hardly, mildly amused sums it up.
When you lose your cool, you lose the match. By the way, the nom de plume is Polidori, not Polly. Presumably the reference goes over your head. Polly is a popular name for a pet parrot. Polidori existed.
Someone has to clear the dishes I guess.
Excellent! The comments by you and Polly couldn’t prove my point better. Puerile’R Us…..
Someone has to clear the dishes I guess.
Don’t mind Murray, he has been ‘posting’ this sort of drivel for months now !
A narcissist if ever there was one, he even claims to have ‘worked’ in the Cabinet Office, which if true explains quite a lot.
Not a lot nuance in that comment (or in most of your other comments), eh John.
But presumably you do admit that we were right about vaccines, lockdowns and immigration and that you were in fact wrong
Do you remember Pizzagate? The online ‘theory’ that a cabal of satanic paedophiles, led by Hillary Clinton, was using a Washington Pizza Parlour as a front for an underground chamber where kids were being abused? A man drove up from North Carolina, burst into the restaurant, packed with children, armed with several guns and tried to break into the underground chamber, which turned out to be a store cupboard.
I believe it shows the danger of both conspiracy theories and echo chambers. He thought it was true because the only people he communicated with online also thought it was true. On vaccines and lockdowns, then ‘No’I don’t believe it was some kind of deep state government control thing. I think both were necessary, in the circumstances that were happening at the time.
On immigration, we actually have the Australian style points system that Brexiteers like Nigel Farage recommended. Because there is always a trade off between arbitrary numbers and prosperity.
But I accept none of these positions are popular on Unherd. It doesn’t mean they are wrong, though. That is what can be debated, sensibly and factually.
There are conspiracy theories and there are conspiracy theories.
There are theories that can be backed up by irrefutable evidence which become facts, and there are theories which can be debated when opinions differ, but are still evidence based. I don’t regard these as conspiracy theories. But the key is evidence, that can be independently verified.
Critical Theory is nonsense and most certainly a conspiracy theory.
Ideal for narcissistic and neurotic individuals who endlessly project because of their inadequacy.
You may want to check out the definition of ‘conspiracy’ before you post more of this drivel, Andrew.
Explain how the post is drivel. I’ll save you time you cant.
This from your original post:
“For the narcissist and the conspiracy theorist there is only one truth, my truth, there are no grey areas, no nuances, only simple solutions to complex problems, thwarted by sinister forces”.
Critical Theory fits your own criteria. Anyone who believe in “Theory” is an idiot, are you an idiot?
Stop embarrassing yourself any further.
Andrew, I know very little about ‘Critical Theory’ and care even less but I do know that it’s not a conspiracy theory. So should you.
A few questions:
Is”lived experience” (aka my truth) superior to objective truth (evidence)?
Are words violence?
Are borders racist?
Does “whiteness” through its use of science, law, culture and customs exist to undermine all minority groups?
Critical Theory believes in all of these, sounds very much like a conspiracy as a standard definition and is delivered in universities. As Kathleen Stock said here last week ” Most people aren’t educated to this level of stupidity”.
Try offering actual evidence that Critical Theory is not a conspiracy theory by addressing those questions.
A few questions:
Is”lived experience” (aka my truth) superior to objective truth (evidence)?
Are words violence?
Are borders racist?
Does “whiteness” through its use of science, law, culture and customs exist to undermine all minority groups?
Critical Theory believes in all of these, sounds very much like a conspiracy as a standard definition and is delivered in universities. As Kathleen Stock said here last week ” Most people aren’t educated to this level of stupidity”.
Try offering actual evidence that Critical Theory is not a conspiracy theory by addressing those questions.
Andrew, I know very little about ‘Critical Theory’ and care even less but I do know that it’s not a conspiracy theory. So should you.
Explain how the post is drivel. I’ll save you time you cant.
This from your original post:
“For the narcissist and the conspiracy theorist there is only one truth, my truth, there are no grey areas, no nuances, only simple solutions to complex problems, thwarted by sinister forces”.
Critical Theory fits your own criteria. Anyone who believe in “Theory” is an idiot, are you an idiot?
Stop embarrassing yourself any further.
You may want to check out the definition of ‘conspiracy’ before you post more of this drivel, Andrew.
There are facts that seem to demand an explanation and conspiracies may be posited rather than cowardice, fear of disapproval, political ambition, etc
Critical Theory is nonsense and most certainly a conspiracy theory.
Ideal for narcissistic and neurotic individuals who endlessly project because of their inadequacy.
There are facts that seem to demand an explanation and conspiracies may be posited rather than cowardice, fear of disapproval, political ambition, etc
There are theories that can be backed up by irrefutable evidence which become facts, and there are theories which can be debated when opinions differ, but are still evidence based. I don’t regard these as conspiracy theories. But the key is evidence, that can be independently verified.
I think you ae engaging in conspiracy theories here.
All I said was that we were right that lockdowns would not work, that the untested vaccine would likely be ineffective and would carry potentially serious side and that large scale migration would fundamentally and irrevocably change this country and leave us with a legacy of crime, racial unrest, suppressed wages, struggling services and rising house prices.
Since we were right about this and you were wrong are we not entitled to point this out and to expect you to wonder why you are always wrong?
Pizzagate is the sort of weird American dokt used to smear everybody who does not supinely agree with the Beeb the New Statesman, etc . Also that large numbers of people believe there are lizards among us, also an American meme. Who in?Unherd has ever met a believer in either? Reminds me of Bill Bryson who once pointed out that a large % of Americans believed they were abducted by aliens.
So how many on here believed Pizzagate do you think. Probably 0.
There are conspiracy theories and there are conspiracy theories.
I think you ae engaging in conspiracy theories here.
All I said was that we were right that lockdowns would not work, that the untested vaccine would likely be ineffective and would carry potentially serious side and that large scale migration would fundamentally and irrevocably change this country and leave us with a legacy of crime, racial unrest, suppressed wages, struggling services and rising house prices.
Since we were right about this and you were wrong are we not entitled to point this out and to expect you to wonder why you are always wrong?
Pizzagate is the sort of weird American dokt used to smear everybody who does not supinely agree with the Beeb the New Statesman, etc . Also that large numbers of people believe there are lizards among us, also an American meme. Who in?Unherd has ever met a believer in either? Reminds me of Bill Bryson who once pointed out that a large % of Americans believed they were abducted by aliens.
So how many on here believed Pizzagate do you think. Probably 0.
Do you remember Pizzagate? The online ‘theory’ that a cabal of satanic paedophiles, led by Hillary Clinton, was using a Washington Pizza Parlour as a front for an underground chamber where kids were being abused? A man drove up from North Carolina, burst into the restaurant, packed with children, armed with several guns and tried to break into the underground chamber, which turned out to be a store cupboard.
I believe it shows the danger of both conspiracy theories and echo chambers. He thought it was true because the only people he communicated with online also thought it was true. On vaccines and lockdowns, then ‘No’I don’t believe it was some kind of deep state government control thing. I think both were necessary, in the circumstances that were happening at the time.
On immigration, we actually have the Australian style points system that Brexiteers like Nigel Farage recommended. Because there is always a trade off between arbitrary numbers and prosperity.
But I accept none of these positions are popular on Unherd. It doesn’t mean they are wrong, though. That is what can be debated, sensibly and factually.
“Unherd is largely an echo chamber”
Each to his own echo chamber. So why do you visit ours? You must find it very distressing.
PS: The best line delivered by Kenneth Williams was of course, “Sic Transit Gloria”.
Not a lot nuance in that comment (or in most of your other comments), eh John.
But presumably you do admit that we were right about vaccines, lockdowns and immigration and that you were in fact wrong
Psychobabble.
You are a laughable figure of fun.
Interestingly, the survey also says 19% think the 2005 bombings in London were the work of the government and 18% that the dead in the Manchester Arena atrocity were ‘crisis actors. While at the same time, Jake Berry, MP, tweets “you voted for Brexit – the establishment blocked it (FACT: we left the EU on Boris Johnson’s ‘oven ready’ deal which Berry voted for), you voted for Boris Johnson – the establishment forced him out (FACT: Johnson resigned as PM because of a mass resignation of his own Tory ministers, and he has run away rather than argue his case in Parliament or before the voters of Uxbridge)”.
But that’s the thing about conspiracy theories, they’re very comforting, like a baby’s dummy.
I’m enjoying watching you spitting yours out.
If you’re auditioning for a career as an alternative comedian my advice would be don’t give up the day job….otherwise try and explain why you don’t agree with what I said.
Ah, but are they just your “truths” or are they real “truths”?
Are what ‘truths’? Are we still in the EU, well I don’t think so, but do you? Could Johnson have allowed the recommendations of the Privileges Committee to go to a vote in Parliament and fight a subsequent by-election in Uxbridge? I think so, but don’t you? Explain what you think the ‘facts’ are, and why.
Your problem is, as it is for so many of your generation, that you cannot distinguish between fact and your opinion. I have no intention of spending my time teaching you how to think, how to reason. It is probably to late anyway – You should have been taught that at school. I was.
Your answer is always to deflect, because you don’t actually have any ability to coherently reason with someone you disagree with.. Have we left the EU? Is that a fact or an opinion?
Depends on your defintition of leave doesn’t it. Only time will tell.
Grow up.
Grow up.
Depends on your defintition of leave doesn’t it. Only time will tell.
Your answer is always to deflect, because you don’t actually have any ability to coherently reason with someone you disagree with.. Have we left the EU? Is that a fact or an opinion?
Your problem is, as it is for so many of your generation, that you cannot distinguish between fact and your opinion. I have no intention of spending my time teaching you how to think, how to reason. It is probably to late anyway – You should have been taught that at school. I was.
Are what ‘truths’? Are we still in the EU, well I don’t think so, but do you? Could Johnson have allowed the recommendations of the Privileges Committee to go to a vote in Parliament and fight a subsequent by-election in Uxbridge? I think so, but don’t you? Explain what you think the ‘facts’ are, and why.
Which FACT would you like me to challenge? All of them?
I’m not a fan of stand-up comedy, but i can see the odd pithy witticism i may indulge in occasionally striking home.
Rather than alternative comedy, there are alternative echo chambers and even alternative universes where someone citing “FACT” as a necessary prop to their arguments looks clever not childish; this isn’t one of them.
So in your alternative world we didn’t leave the EU, on the basis of Johnson’s Withdrawal Agreement? This is not true and we’re still in the EU? Really?!?
And no one resigned from Johnson’s Cabinet, he left because someone from the ‘Blob’ made a threatening phone call? Really?!?
And Parliament didn’t pass a motion without any objections to investigate whether Johnson misled Parliament, it didn’t go to a properly constituted committee, including a Tory majority? Their report wouldn’t have to be voted on by Parliament, if they recommended any penalty, a Parliament with a Tory majority who could choose to ignore the recommendations? And if the voters in Uxbridge triggered a recall petition he would be prevented from fighting a by-election? Really?!?
None of those are facts in your world, then?
Hard to argue with if you really are this delusional….
You’re ranting, John.
It matters not how much you blather, using “FACT” to try to bolster your opinions is and always will be juvenile.
I’d advise you to simply stop doing it, and let your opinions stand on their own two feet.
Still deflecting, Steve, and failing to tell me which of the things I said are not facts and are untrue. Rather telling that you can’t remotely back up your assertions. Opinions are interpretations of facts, but you need the facts in the first place.
If you’ve remotely been taking any notice, you’d know i have absolutely no trouble whatsoever in backing up my opinions. My dispute here is with you using “FACT” as a means of trying to bolster your own opinions – i’ve made that perfectly clear.
(FACT: we left the EU on Boris Johnson’s ‘oven ready’ deal which Berry voted for), you voted for Boris Johnson – the establishment forced him out
The person to whom you’re replying is a left-wing Remainer, so your FACT is incorrect
FACT: Johnson resigned as PM because of a mass resignation of his own Tory ministers, and he has run away rather than argue his case in Parliament or before the voters of Uxbridge)
That’s entirely a matter of conjecture, based on your interpretation of events.
I’d have been quite sanguine about you expressing those opinions (this is what Unherd is about, contrary to your ignorant reference to it being an echo chamber) but they quite clearly are not FACTS.
Now, you can either choose to learn from this, or continue with your ignorance. I’d prefer we had people to debate with on here who choose not to be ignorant, hence my trying to help you.
You clearly didn’t bother to read what I originally posted hence this nonsense. The FACTS, Steve, are that the establishment didn’t block Brexit, and the establishment didn’t force him out of Parliament. His deal went through Parliament and we left the EU and he chose to run away rather than fight a by-election in Uxbridge (or wait for Parliament to vote on the Privileges Committee report). These are not opinions, they are FACTS, but hey live in your alternative reality and chunter on in your own merry way.
You clearly didn’t bother to read what I originally posted hence this nonsense. The FACTS, Steve, are that the establishment didn’t block Brexit, and the establishment didn’t force him out of Parliament. His deal went through Parliament and we left the EU and he chose to run away rather than fight a by-election in Uxbridge (or wait for Parliament to vote on the Privileges Committee report). These are not opinions, they are FACTS, but hey live in your alternative reality and chunter on in your own merry way.
If you’ve remotely been taking any notice, you’d know i have absolutely no trouble whatsoever in backing up my opinions. My dispute here is with you using “FACT” as a means of trying to bolster your own opinions – i’ve made that perfectly clear.
(FACT: we left the EU on Boris Johnson’s ‘oven ready’ deal which Berry voted for), you voted for Boris Johnson – the establishment forced him out
The person to whom you’re replying is a left-wing Remainer, so your FACT is incorrect
FACT: Johnson resigned as PM because of a mass resignation of his own Tory ministers, and he has run away rather than argue his case in Parliament or before the voters of Uxbridge)
That’s entirely a matter of conjecture, based on your interpretation of events.
I’d have been quite sanguine about you expressing those opinions (this is what Unherd is about, contrary to your ignorant reference to it being an echo chamber) but they quite clearly are not FACTS.
Now, you can either choose to learn from this, or continue with your ignorance. I’d prefer we had people to debate with on here who choose not to be ignorant, hence my trying to help you.
Still deflecting, Steve, and failing to tell me which of the things I said are not facts and are untrue. Rather telling that you can’t remotely back up your assertions. Opinions are interpretations of facts, but you need the facts in the first place.
You’re ranting, John.
It matters not how much you blather, using “FACT” to try to bolster your opinions is and always will be juvenile.
I’d advise you to simply stop doing it, and let your opinions stand on their own two feet.
So in your alternative world we didn’t leave the EU, on the basis of Johnson’s Withdrawal Agreement? This is not true and we’re still in the EU? Really?!?
And no one resigned from Johnson’s Cabinet, he left because someone from the ‘Blob’ made a threatening phone call? Really?!?
And Parliament didn’t pass a motion without any objections to investigate whether Johnson misled Parliament, it didn’t go to a properly constituted committee, including a Tory majority? Their report wouldn’t have to be voted on by Parliament, if they recommended any penalty, a Parliament with a Tory majority who could choose to ignore the recommendations? And if the voters in Uxbridge triggered a recall petition he would be prevented from fighting a by-election? Really?!?
None of those are facts in your world, then?
Hard to argue with if you really are this delusional….
Ah, but are they just your “truths” or are they real “truths”?
Which FACT would you like me to challenge? All of them?
I’m not a fan of stand-up comedy, but i can see the odd pithy witticism i may indulge in occasionally striking home.
Rather than alternative comedy, there are alternative echo chambers and even alternative universes where someone citing “FACT” as a necessary prop to their arguments looks clever not childish; this isn’t one of them.
If you’re auditioning for a career as an alternative comedian my advice would be don’t give up the day job….otherwise try and explain why you don’t agree with what I said.
You cant seriously believe this survey’s results. I mean, they could say anything. Who of us has ever met or read it or read stuff by someone who believes in that? It means about 20% of the adult population believe these two things but have never mentioned it anywhere to anyone.
I’m enjoying watching you spitting yours out.
You cant seriously believe this survey’s results. I mean, they could say anything. Who of us has ever met or read it or read stuff by someone who believes in that? It means about 20% of the adult population believe these two things but have never mentioned it anywhere to anyone.
Unherd is largely an echo chamber so the majority of the posts we’ll see commenting on this article will be along the lines of ‘we’re right on vaccines/lockdowns/immigration/whatever and everyone else is wrong!’ hence the tiresome, but predictable attacks on the BBC. For the narcissist and the conspiracy theorist there is only one truth, my truth, there are no grey areas, no nuances, only simple solutions to complex problems, thwarted by sinister forces.
All a bit Kenneth Williams “Infamy! Infamy! They’ve all got it infamy”
Psychobabble.
You are a laughable figure of fun.
Interestingly, the survey also says 19% think the 2005 bombings in London were the work of the government and 18% that the dead in the Manchester Arena atrocity were ‘crisis actors. While at the same time, Jake Berry, MP, tweets “you voted for Brexit – the establishment blocked it (FACT: we left the EU on Boris Johnson’s ‘oven ready’ deal which Berry voted for), you voted for Boris Johnson – the establishment forced him out (FACT: Johnson resigned as PM because of a mass resignation of his own Tory ministers, and he has run away rather than argue his case in Parliament or before the voters of Uxbridge)”.
But that’s the thing about conspiracy theories, they’re very comforting, like a baby’s dummy.
I think the psychology profession fairly united on the traits that underpin the likelihood of believing in conspiracy theories. The desire for understanding and certainty in an uncertain World, the desire to control and feel more assured about what is going on, and an element of the narcissist wanting the self image of being a holder of special views and knowledge.
I think there is something too about stress increasing the tendency.
Probably nothing new in much of this. Been the same for millennia. But perhaps what is different is the ability to cascade the theories so rapidly and to find others confirming ones cognitive bias. The narcissist doesn’t need many to confirm it, and they don’t want many anyway as they are seeking the uniqueness of their position. In fact if too many agree they seek a different position.
There is a difference too between scepticism of the correctness and competency of a Policy and how it was formulated and belief in an organised conspiratorial plot. The latter needs the elements described.