Which Conspiracy Theories Do You Find LEAST Convincing?

[eerok]

That link is bad Eeerok, I fixed it for you.

Thanks. I shouldn't be allowed on the internet after 9pm. Especially when I'm not drinking.

 

[Cat Not Included]

Its really hard to top the "covid-19 doesn't exist", especially with as huge and immediate and affecting, like, pretty much EVERYONE as it is.

 

[mgidm86]

Least convincing to me, yet perhaps the most widely believed conspiracy theory in the USA has to be the belief that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump.

I've seen better evidence for 9/11, JFK, and the fake moonlanding conspiracies. Chemtrails? Well at least we can see that something is coming out of those planes!

The 2020 election conspiracy has zero evidence. No photos (even doctored), no videos, no documents, no footprints...nothing but vague accusations that it somehow happened. And not only do people believe it happened, these knuckleheads are affecting politics and our country in a very real way.

For me that's the stupidest and at the same time most dangerous one of all. These same people are the vast majority of Covid deniers as well. Not sure I'd separate the two, though maybe.

I do think that more people believe the Trump one than Covid being a conspiracy, but that's just in my own experience. I do agree though that the post above makes a valid point, that Covid has killed and will kill many people. I'd say the election conspiracy is even less believeable though.

 

[eerok]

Least convincing to me, yet perhaps the most widely believed conspiracy theory in the USA has to be the belief that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump.

Yes, Trump's 2020 election BS is a huge cognitive failure. It's hard to rank stupidity, though there's a good argument that Trump indeed belongs near the top of any such list. QAnon too, though. And covid-19 CTers too.

 

[varwoche]

I'm thoroughly unconvinced that aborted fetuses are an ingredient in Pepsi.

 

[Cosmic Yak]

I'm thoroughly unconvinced that aborted fetuses are an ingredient in Pepsi.

Good find!
That reminds me of another deeply unconvincing one, namely the idea that aspartame is lethally dangerous.
It is astonishing that people can continue to believe this, given that literally millions of cans of soft drinks are consumed worldwide on a daily basis, and yet no-one, no-one, dies of aspartame poisoning.
Bizarre.

 

[ahhell]

Good find!
That reminds me of another deeply unconvincing one, namely the idea that aspartame is lethally dangerous.
It is astonishing that people can continue to believe this, given that literally millions of cans of soft drinks are consumed worldwide on a daily basis, and yet no-one, no-one, dies of aspartame poisoning.
Bizarre.

Ah, but Cancer!. Seriously though, that's why it hangs on. Cancer often has a long lead time to develop and whether you get it or not is all about probability. Sure, its clear that smoking is a leading cause of long cancer but we all know that one guy that smoked his whole life and died at 89. So, sure, can you prove aspartame doesn't cause cancer?

 

[Cosmic Yak]

Ah, but Cancer!. Seriously though, that's why it hangs on. Cancer often has a long lead time to develop and whether you get it or not is all about probability. Sure, its clear that smoking is a leading cause of long cancer but we all know that one guy that smoked his whole life and died at 89. So, sure, can you prove aspartame doesn't cause cancer?

I commend you on your skilful use of conspiracy theory logic and arguments.
Firstly, say it causes cancer. Don't say what kind of cancer, because that would be too specific and too easily checked.
Also, cancer is one of the CT boogeymen, like turning gay or being communist. Ticks another box right there.
Then, be very vague about how long it will take. Ignore the fact that aspartame was invented in 1965, which would be plenty of time for a link to surface.
Bonus point for use of Survivor Fallacy.
Extra bonus point for the demand to prove a negative.
Points for development:
You did sneak in a spelling mistake, but only one. Furthermore, you haven't used nearly enough punctuation, and there's no cap-shouting, no use of conspiratorial pejoratives and you aren't sneering enough.
A rewrite to fix these minor details, and you will be well on your way to waking up the sheeple. Well done!

 

[Fonebone]

I commend you on your skilful use of conspiracy theory logic and arguments.
Firstly, say it causes cancer. Don't say what kind of cancer, because that would be too specific and too easily checked.
Also, cancer is one of the CT boogeymen, like turning gay or being communist. Ticks another box right there.
Then, be very vague about how long it will take. Ignore the fact that aspartame was invented in 1965, which would be plenty of time for a link to surface.
Bonus point for use of Survivor Fallacy.
Extra bonus point for the demand to prove a negative.
Points for development:
You did sneak in a spelling mistake, but only one. Furthermore, you haven't used nearly enough punctuation, and there's no cap-shouting, no use of conspiratorial pejoratives and you aren't sneering enough.
A rewrite to fix these minor details, and you will be well on your way to waking up the sheeple. Well done!

History of aspartame and Donald Rumsfeld
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-rumsfeld-and-the-s_b_805581
[excerpt]

Dr. John Olney, who founded the field of neuroscience called excitotoxicity, attempted to stop the approval of aspartame with Attorney James Turner back in 1996. The FDA's own toxicologist, Dr. Adrian Gross told Congress that without a shadow of a doubt, aspartame can cause brain tumors and brain cancer and that it violated the Delaney Amendment, which forbids putting anything in food that is known to cause cancer. According to the top doctors and researchers on this issue, aspartame causes headache, memory loss, seizures, vision loss, coma and cancer. It worsens or mimics the symptoms of such diseases and conditions as fibromyalgia, MS, lupus, ADD, diabetes, Alzheimer's, chronic fatigue and depression. Further dangers highlighted is that aspartame liberates free methyl alcohol. The resulting chronic methanol poisoning affects the dopamine system of the brain causing addiction. Methanol, or wood alcohol, constitutes one third of the aspartame molecule and is classified as a severe metabolic poison and narcotic. How's that Diet Coke treating you now?[/excerpt]
--AND--
[excerpt]Ronald Reagan was sworn in as president January 21, 1981. Rumsfeld, while still CEO at Searle, was part of Reagan's transition team. This team hand-picked Dr. Arthur Hull Hayes, Jr., to be the new FDA commissioner. Dr. Hayes, a pharmacologist, had no previous experience with food additives before being appointed director of the FDA. On January 21, 1981, the day after Ronald Reagan's inauguration, Reagan issued an executive order eliminating the FDA commissioners' authority to take action and Searle re-applied to the FDA for approval to use aspartame in food sweetener. Hayes, Reagan's new FDA commissioner, appointed a 5-person Scientific Commission to review the board of inquiry's decision. It soon became clear that the panel would uphold the ban by a 3-2 decision. So Hayes installed a sixth member on the commission, and the vote became deadlocked. He then personally broke the tie in aspartame's favor.[/excerpt]

 

[ahhell]

That reminds me of one from the days of Coast to Coast AM. Fluoride is added to water only because its a cheap way to dispose of a toxic byproduct of atomic bomb production.

I'm not going to link to this site on account of not wanting to drive traffic there but:

Fluoride was the key chemical in atomic bomb production, according to the documents. Massive quantities of fluoride – millions of tons – were essential for the manufacture of bomb-grade uranium and plutonium for nuclear weapons throughout the Cold War. One of the most toxic chemicals known, fluoride rapidly emerged as the leading chemical health hazard of the U.S atomic bomb program--both for workers and for nearby communities, the documents reveal.

Other revelations include:

Much of the original proof that fluoride is safe for humans in low doses was generated by A-bomb program scientists, who had been secretly ordered to provide "evidence useful in litigation" against defense contractors for fluoride injury to citizens. The first lawsuits against the U.S. A-bomb program were not over radiation, but over fluoride damage, the documents show.

Human studies were required. Bomb program researchers played a leading role in the design and implementation of the most extensive U.S. study of the health effects of fluoridating public drinking water--conducted in Newburgh, New York from 1945 to 1956. Then, in a classified operation code-named "Program F," they secretly gathered and analyzed blood and tissue samples from Newburgh citizens, with the cooperation of State Health Department personnel.

 

[Cosmic Yak]

History of aspartame and Donald Rumsfeld
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-rumsfeld-and-the-s_b_805581

fonebone, you recently posted about how 'truth-seekers' carefully check every single data point.
Let's see.
The first link in that article is to an organisation called Mission Possible Health International, and references a Dr. Betty Martini.
Has your diligent research uncovered any dishonest tactics used by Dr. Martini to publicise the supposed dangers of aspartame?
The second link is supposedly to evidence that the EPA has classified aspartame as a potentially dangerous chemical.
What has your legendary attention to detail uncovered about this claim?

 

[MinnesotaBrant]

I find the HAARP ones to be particularly laughable.

That already happened I think. Do you still believe so?

 

[ahhell]

I once heard an anti vaxer tell Art Bell that the polio vaccine wasn't real, they just started diagnosing polio as chicken pox and measles.

 

[MinnesotaBrant]

Art bell

I once heard an anti vaxer tell Art Bell that the polio vaccine wasn't real, they just started diagnosing polio as chicken pox and measles.

Didnt care if the story was fake as long as it was a good story

 

[ahhell]

Didnt care if the story was fake as long as it was a good story

I was a night security guard, listening every night.

Kind of a revelation the time he had a guest on one day that totally contradicted the guest on the previous night. Bell, sounded like he totally believed both.

One of my favs, "Mel's hole" Some guy would call in with tales of his bottomless pit in Montana.

Then there was the time when the guest on some thing or another just sort of offhandedly referred to "Pastuer's debunked germ theory of disease". No comment by Bell at all, it was though everyone knew that germs don't cause disease. Like mentioning that the sky was a real pretty shade of yellow today.

 

[kookbreaker]

What was odd is I do remember Bell completely rejecting the conspiracy that Roosevelt allowed the Pearl Harbor attack to happen. No tolerance for that.