conspiracy theories
“Bill Gates is a lizard”
© Berit Kessler / Adobe Stock
We’ve almost gotten used to absurd conspiracy theories. Is it still worth arguing against it? asks Henning Hönicke.
Why have we actually given so little shit about the truth in recent years? Sure, at first glance, of course, it’s not at all. But in dealing with theories that are becoming more and more bizarre, we have landed in a bad phase: On the one hand, there is the small group of loud conspiracy fans who, very seriously and very angry, throw out steep theses (like that the earth is flat after all, it doesn’t matter , what planet photos or natural laws claim). And on the other hand, a much larger majority that has not said goodbye to reality. But she just doesn’t feel like defending clear facts in endless discussions anymore. why? It has now been proven that even undisputed facts only strengthen certain people in their belief in conspiracies. Is the earth supposed to be round? Prove that first, you sleep sheep!
Stories bigger than reality
No wonder we are fed up with these debates. And anyway: is it really that bad if a small group seriously believes that corona vaccinations were actually the most complex Microsoft update of all time? Yes, it is!
Exactly this lethargy is the true goal of disinformation misery: that we are too unnerved to contradict.
I understand how easy it is to get sucked into conspiracy tales: the stories are so larger than life that reality can’t keep up. Which is more exciting: losing an election or becoming a victim of a demonic conspiracy of the devil?
The idea of simply spreading your own conspiracy theories made the rounds on Twitter. Spreading lurid rumors that are no less stupid but at least serve the common good (such as the alleged “blow against conventional medicine” that we could “neutralize” every vaccine in the body if we only drink ginger tea for two days). But somehow it feels wrong to fight lies with more lies, doesn’t it?
Everything under control?
My proposition: Conspiracy theories that everyone can agree on: Because, unfortunately, they are true.
You would never wear a mask, even if Corona came back in autumn? I would always do it anyway, cameras are now set up on every corner and scan our faces – who knows where such recordings are stored. You think chemtrails spread dubious chemicals around the world? Then we should take a closer look, preferably in large-scale studies, which chemicals are already ending up in our air, in our water and in our food.
And what about the 5G mobile network that is supposed to even control our minds? Absolutely right: If you go online with your smartphone via 5G, umpteen corporations will watch you and save exactly what you do on the net. Of course they’ve been doing it for years, but if 5G is now the point where you see it critically, dear own-opinion pictures, I’m quite happy. It is bad for all of us that almost our entire digital life is read, sold and cannibalized with virtually no controls; you are welcome to quote me in your Facebook group “Aluminium hat and proud of it”. Is this all silly? Absolutely, but sadly not nearly as silly as “Bill Gates is actually a lizard” (seriously, folks, lizards would have made better Internet Explorer).
I actually wish nothing more than that we can finally talk to each other again and that every critical opinion is heard. The nice thing is: there are really so many topics that we can’t even think of that we can get excited about together. I want you back, dear conspiracy believers, here with us in reality. The earth is round – so let’s go round together again and be critical together without letting the truth fall by the wayside!