People who are into conspiracy theories

I had a dear friend, during the COVID lockdown I believe he had some kind of breakdown. He became obsessed with conspiracy theories, he shut himself away and soon started spouting stock phrases. I'd ring to check in on him and get stuck in a 2 hour phone conversation about everything he had uncovered. He completely lost himself and changed his whole life due to all the nonsense he was digesting.

I hung on for a couple of years but he became quite manic and controlling if you didn't believe everything he said. I've seen on Facebook the people he now socialises and speaks to are basically an echo chamber, all backing each other up. In his photos he looks gaunt and quite grotty, very different to the care he used to put into his appearance. He no longer works, and has left all his 'old friends' behind as we're Sheeple and too dumb to see what's going on around us.

I do believe he had a mental break, or rather is still going through one. It's really sad, because the chap I once adored seems completely gone.

I think people find it comforting to think there's a great hidden plan behind everything rather than their life being basically meaningless and their personal misfortunes being a result of their own actions and circumstance.

I've known a few conspiracy theorists. Fear seems to be the main driving force. They've gone looking for reassurance and found people who tell them they are right to be scared, it's worse than they think! Obviously they have poor critical thinking skills, one tells me my 'problem' is I won't just accept the truth like she does, I need to analyse everything and have proof. She seriously said that. Autism seems to play a large part in it too, the conspiracy becomes their special interest.

I think this thread is the deep state collecting information on truth seekers.

I think at one point or another, most of those were considered to be conspiracy theories. The COVID being developed in a lab was absolutely not the accepted theory when COVID first came out, it was all about wet meat markets.

Paedophilia in Hollywood and BBC etc was once thought of as a conspiracy theory, I remember watching videos about certain people years and years before their crimes were ever spoken about mainstream.

I don't believe many conspiracy theories but sometimes they do turn out to be true. Once they are proven, people forget they called others stupid for believing it.

I think often they are pot smokers.Also have time on their hands and are cut off from society a bit .either not working or like friends abroad living off radR .works doing gardening. Lives free in return for labour. Like young people i I but in their 40s I do think some kind of thinking though rather than just believe all we are told.still not sure about covid. Apparently not 14.4 million saved by vaccine. Much lower success rate.some are just mad though.birds aren't real but have batteries .who knew. Why bird poop on car then.RF are lizards and so on .David Icke has made 20 million!

I wouldn’t consider any of these conspiracy theories.
They are speculation based on conflicting information, or facts coming to light that questioned the narrative.

Biden being unwell played out in front of cameras while his team denied a problem.

conspiracy theories are:

the earth is flat
the illuminati
lizard people
covid is part of the great ‘reset’
birds aren’t real.
9/11 was staged.

they are ‘supported’ by ‘facts’ and speculation that have been widely discredited. Or there’s a wealth of evidence which supports a different reality.

thats not progressive- its critical thinking

I am mentally ill and I cant stand conspiracy theorists. I dont think their mentally ill I think their stupid

I think those I know that are CTs are mentally ill, it’s usually depression.

Who decides? Well back in the 1990s when the internet was still a bit of a mystery to many there was a website that would create a conspiracy theory from a few inputs.

Some are clearly about someone's agenda eg yesterday I saw Joe Rogan claiming that Ozzy Osbourne died because he had a covid jab.

I find CTs fascinating, much in the same way that I enjoy films and sci fi.

I find the post-truth, fake media world alarming - and the consequence of that on public health, social attitudes etc very alarming. Whatever happened to critical reasoning?

The two people I know who are low level conspirator theorists aren’t mentally ill, but have two much time on their hands. Definitely believe in Chen trails, and the latest thing is cash. Ie. If we loose cash, then we’re controlled.

Unfortunately I went down that rabbit hole when suffering bereavement. If you had asked me then am I doing it because I’m mentally ill I would have vehemently denied that. However looking back I now realise I was, or if not ‘ill’ as such I was suffering and traumatised.

The only person I personally know who is into the weirder CTs is sadly suffering from severe mental health difficulties (psychosis and delusional disorder)

I think it's ok to take a casual interest and take everything with a pinch of salt, but my dad got heavily into them and now doesn't trust doctors at all. He has type 2 diabetes, but refuses medication and carries on eating as if he doesn't have it. It's a bit like losing someone to a cult. We used to talk about music, comedy and jokes. Now he just talks about new world orders

I quite like the full-on nutters who think the earth is flat and the royal family are lizards.

But the other side of it, medical misinformation, bigotry, the people who harass the families of mass shooting victims claiming their dead relatives are crisis actors...it's nasty and dangerous.

We have some spectacularly stupid ones on the local FB.

They particularly like chem trails currently, so we get pictures of chem trails with a comment along the lines of "saw at 6am. Now clouds everywhere when will the government admit they're caused by chem trails" only not quite so well spelt iyswim.
Someone put a painting from 18th century and pointed out there were clouds in 1790 or whenever and got the response...
"Well that's just a snapshot of time. If he'd painted it earlier then there would have been chem trails". 🤣

I love a good CT but it’s more out of curiosity rather than belief. I don’t think that’s mental ill health. However I do know someone who on the surface is a perfectly normal person but also believes in chem trails, the covid jab had a microchip in it and the latest - the government has put listening devices in lampposts.

I listened to a researcher who said; most likely to have long term chronic illness, have suffered trauma and struggling financially.
that the beliefs become ingrained and no, not easily changed.
I have an acquaintance deep into MAGA and connection to Christian prophecies.

Don't be so fucking stupid.

That was John Lennon.

I bloody love conspiracy theory and theorists.

They’re all fucking stupid, bigoted or just plain weird, and usually all three.

Come all ye weirdos, convince me that Jeffrey Epstein came down in a flying saucer in Area 51, killed JFK, blew up the twin towers and is living as a lizard in Kensington Palace. 👍

I love a "good" conspiracy theory the ones that frustrate me are the ones so easily disproved that people refuse to see like "911 was a hoax the twin towers are still there" kind of delusion (proved by i think spiderman movie? That came out after they were hit) these people will never hop on a plane to see for themselves

I noticed an increase in conspiracy theorists during covid ie during a time of prolonged stress and isolation. Certainly several people in my circle of acquaintance went down rabbit holes back then and haven't quite emerged fully yet, although they are all less vehement and monomaniacal than they were.

I think having an interest or fascination is one thing…
But to be a fully paid-up CT is a lifestyle choice.

I have an ex-friend who has totally bizarre beliefs.
I mean, the rest of us “sheeple” are often wrong, but…

I enjoy reading some of them.
I also find unsolved mysteries and a lot of true crime very interesting so maybe there’s an overlap there?