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Society

The emotional appeal of a conspiracy theory is in its simplicity. It explains away complex phenomena, accounts for chance and accidents, offers the believer the satisfying sense of having special, privileged access to the truth. For those who become the one-party state’s gatekeepers, the repetition of these conspiracy theories also brings another reward: power.

Anne Applebaum

If a woman has a trailer house full of cats, we call her nuts. But when people pathologically hoard so much cash that they impoverish the entire nation, we put them on the cover of Fortune magazine and pretend that they are role models.

Lester B. Pearson

It is ironic that Elon Musk has taken over Twitter and allowed all sorts of RWNJs to spout their drivel, while he owns shares in Tesla. Those who are cheering him on do not believe in climate change and likely would not even consider buying an EV, while those who are appalled by him are those who know climate change is happening, and are likely to buy EVs, but are now unlikely to buy a Tesla.

Blotreport

Conspiracy theories are a critical mechanism used to delegitimize the mainstream media, which fascist politicians accuse of bias for failing to cover false conspiracies.

Jason Stanley

White supremacists terrorised Black and Indigenous people for 300 years, and when that terror was finally made illegal, white rebel groups rose up to further terrorise Black and Indigenous people for another 100 years, and while zero reparations were paid to remedy that 400 years of terror, now to simply acknowledge that 400 year terror is called the "woke virus". White privilege is when the cancer of white supremacy is to be ignored—but recalling that history is called "a virus".

Qasim Rashid

Under the influence of great fear, almost everybody becomes superstitious. Collective fear stimulates herd instinct, and tends to produce ferocity towards those who are not regarded as members of the herd. Fear generates impulses of cruelty, and therefore promotes such superstitious beliefs as seem to justify cruelty. Neither a man nor a crowd nor a nation can be trusted to act humanely or to think sanely under the influence of a great fear.

Bertrand Russell