90% of Americans believe at least one conspiracy theory (2 Viewers)

[Sailorsaint]

Oh no you don't. Mark Twain is the pen name of a real character.

Down in town at our court house there's a place where he once sat. I've sat in that same place.

I don't know where he sat, so I solved that problem by my sitting down everywhere one could have sat.

I've sat where he sat.

Even better, Sam got his pen name from his time as a riverboat pilot when they would yell out "mark twain" meaning the water was deep and therefore safe. He lead a fairly controversial life that wouldn't be looked upon too kindly today. And, fitting in with the subject of this thread, he was a Freemason!!!! gasp!

 

[DaveXA]

Even better, Sam got his pen name from his time as a riverboat pilot when they would yell out "mark twain" meaning the water was deep and therefore safe. He lead a fairly controversial life that wouldn't be looked upon too kindly today. And, fitting in with the subject of this thread, he was a Freemason!!!! gasp!

Freemason? Surely you mean Illuminati.

 

[jboss]

Oh no you don't. Mark Twain is the pen name of a real character.

Down in town at our court house there's a place where he once sat. I've sat in that same place.

I don't know where he sat, so I solved that problem by my sitting down everywhere one could have sat.

I've sat where he sat.

I dunno how to break it to you, but Mark Twain is simply a character created by possibly the greatest American author, Huckleberry Finn

 

[bigdaddysaints]

I dunno how to break it to you, but Mark Twain is simply a character created by possibly the greatest American author, Huckleberry Finn

I came in the middle of this convrsation, and now i can't tell if we are being serious or not..

 

[jboss]

I came in the middle of this convrsation, and now i can't tell if we are being serious or not..

We are not

 

[Heathen Saint]

I’m here for the annual Super Bowl conspiracies

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

I’m here for the annual Super Bowl conspiracies

now with Taylor Swift flavor!!

 

[bigdaddysaints]

now with Taylor Swift flavor!!

Don't yall know Taylor Swift is gonna come out at halftime on stage and endorse Joe Biden? c'mon wake up people, this is witchcraft!!! lol

 

[CoolBrees]

And when she doesn't come out and endorse Biden and doesn't promote vaccines they will not say a word about it.

But this is after Hamlin's body double was supposed ti be the pawn of the Biden administration.

Just move on to the next crazy conspiracy.

The people that monetize the fear and ignorance of others need to be forced to confront their marks

 

[bclemms]

I dunno how to break it to you, but Mark Twain is simply a character created by possibly the greatest American author, Huckleberry Finn

Side note, last year we were covering a ton of weather in California and no matter where we went it seemed to have a strong relation to Mark Twain. It was so constant that we were joking that the weather was being controlled by Mark Twain's evil ghost. To kill time while driving we would make up Mark Twain stories as a running joke and then call people up randomly to tell them the fake Mark Twain stories.

Finally in the spring the snowfall and flooding started tapering off and were headed to Iowa for severe weather. We showed up to some middle of nowhere podunk town called Keokuk, Iowa and were joking that the weather was going to bust because the town had no connection to Mark Twain's evil ghost. Pull up to the hotel and when we were checking in there was a huge painting on the wall of Mark Twain. Come to find out, his brother Orion and mother lived in the town and he frequently visited. I know it is not that far removed from St. Louis so it shouldn't be that surprising but I have to say it is impressive how much that man got around for that time period.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Just move on to the next crazy conspiracy.

This is just amazing to me. When the crazy thing that definitely is going to happen doesn't happen they just shrug their shoulders and move on the next crazy thing (which is also definitely going to happen)

The people that monetize the fear and ignorance of others need to be forced to confront their marks

But do the marks ever admit that they were taken advantage of because they were afraid and ignorant?

If not, from their point of view there is nothing to confront

I've posted this before about the people who don't believe a word of the crazy stuff they post, they do it to amuse themselves (and to make money) and know that some take it seriously

True

I think some people are addicted to conspiracy theories and it's no different than being addicted to anything else

And it's cruel to take advantage of someone's addiction

If someone spikes an alcoholic's drink - that's not that funny

 

[Optimus Prime]

WASHINGTON (AP) — At first his stories seemed harmless. Tales about secret organizations plotting to take over the world, about the good guys working to save it, and about the proof that, if you knew where to look, was hiding in plain sight.

To Ramona, her boyfriend Don's tales of conspiracy theories sounded like a movie. A lot of it didn’t make much sense, but Ramona would nod along anyway. Don enjoyed telling his stories and showing off what he’d read online. He always knew the answer.

The pair met while still in high school. They worked at the same fast-food place in Ramona's hometown in western Tennessee. They started dating a few years later. Don was a big guy, good with engines, somebody who could fix anything. Ramona had always wanted to be a teacher and was enrolled at a nearby college. Sometimes she struggled with anxiety, but with Don she felt safe.

The couple moved in together as COVID-19 swept the globe. To Don, the pandemic and the global response to it were filled with clues pointing to some kind of conspiracy, orchestrated by America's leaders and the media. Maybe the virus was accidentally leaked from a lab; maybe it was a bioweapon. Don also suspected the lockdowns had a nefarious purpose, and he believed the vaccines were unsafe, perhaps designed to kill.

Don’s wild stories had seemed innocent and even silly before, but in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic they suddenly seemed plausible. At a scary time, when questions about the virus outnumbered answers, the conspiracy theories filled in some of the blanks.

“I have a lot of fear about what I can’t control,” Ramona, now 23, said of her vulnerable mindset as COVID-19 spread. Ramona agreed to tell her story to The Associated Press after she detailed her experiences on a forum for recovering conspiracy theorists. The AP is not fully identifying Ramona or her ex-boyfriend to protect her privacy and safety. “The stuff he was telling me, it made me feel like at least we understood. He had an explanation for what was going on. I didn’t realize what I was getting into.”

This alternate reality nourished by these conspiracy theories would transform Ramona’s life, sending her down a dark path of paranoia and loneliness that upended her life and spun her dreams of the future into turmoil. Convinced that a “New World Order” was already underway, she fell into a trap that has ensnared millions of Americans and even, at times, hijacked the nation's politics.

Isolated from friends and family, distrustful of the explanations offered by officials and the media, Ramona and Don began to prepare. The military might try to put Americans like them in concentration camps run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA. They had to be ready to flee.

The couple began stockpiling food and supplies. Don started a “go-bag” containing survival gear. He used their modest savings to buy a rifle, a handgun and ammunition.

One cold day in January 2021, Don read about a power outage in Vatican City on one of his conspiracy theory websites. The couple discussed what it might mean: Perhaps the Pope had been secretly arrested for his role in the conspiracy to control the world. Or maybe the bad guys had knocked out the power so they could smuggle child sex victims in or out of the Vatican.

Either way, the outage meant something big was happening. There are no coincidences. Just clues to be deciphered..............

Days of Darkness: How one woman escaped the conspiracy theory trap that has ensnared millions

Fueled by the internet, conspiracy theories are having a big moment in America. They're driving online chat room conversations, influencing our politics and adding to the polarization threatening to undermine our democracy.

apnews.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Days after Maui's wildfires killed scores of people and destroyed thousands of homes last August, a shocking claim spread with alarming speed on YouTube and TikTok: The blaze on the Hawaiian island was set deliberately, using futuristic energy weapons developed by the U.S. military.

Claims of “evidence” soon emerged: video footage on TikTok showing a beam of blinding white light, too straight to be lightning, zapping a residential neighborhood and sending flames and smoke into the sky. The video was shared many millions of times, amplified by neo-Nazis, anti-government radicals and supporters of the QAnon conspiracy theory, and presented as proof that America's leaders had turned on the country's citizens.

“What if Maui was just a practice run?” one woman asked on TikTok. “So that the government can use a direct energy weapon on us?”

The TikTok clip had nothing to do with the Maui fires. It was actually video of an electrical transformer explosion in Chile earlier in the year. But that didn't stop a TikTok user with a habit of posting conspiracy videos from using the clip to sow more fear and doubt. It was just one of severalsimilarvideos and images doctored and passed off as proof that the wildfires were no accident.

Conspiracy theories have a long history in America, but now they can be fanned around the globe in seconds, amplified by social media, further eroding truth with a newfound destructive force.

With the United States and many other nations facing big elections in 2024, , the perils of rapidly spreading disinformation, using ever more sophisticated technology such as artificial intelligence, now also threaten democracy itself — both by fueling extremist groups and by encouraging distrust.

“I think the post-truth world may be a lot closer than we’d like to believe,” said A.J. Nash, vice president for intelligence at ZeroFox, a cybersecurity firm that tracks disinformation. “What happens when no one believes anything anymore?”

Extremists and authoritarians deploy disinformation as potent weapons used to recruit new followers and expand their reach, using fake video and photos to fool their followers.

And even when they fail to convince people, the conspiracy theories embraced by these groups contribute to mounting distrust of authorities and democratic institutions, causing people to reject reliable sources of information while encouraging division and suspicion...........

Grave peril of digital conspiracy theories: 'What happens when no one believes anything anymore?'

It's not uncommon to believe conspiracy theories, and surveys show that many Americans believe in at least one of them. But what happens when those beliefs go too far?

apnews.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

BUTLER, Pa. (AP) — The hotel on the outskirts of town looks a lot like lodging one can find on any American highway. Over the years it has been a Holiday Inn and a Days Inn. The sign outside now bears the brand of a new, growing chain. One that promises a lot more than a good night’s sleep.

At the Tesla Wellness Hotel and MedBed Center, about 45 minutes north of Pittsburgh, the enticements are nothing short of miraculous.

Part motel, part new-age clinic, the facility offers nightly rentals in rooms that come equipped with “BioHealers” –- canisters that the company claims exude “life force energy,” or biophotons. Testimonials from the company’s patients speak to the devices’ power to treat cancer, dementia, chronic pain and a long list of other ailments.

The center also sells the canisters for home use. Prices start at $599 and range all the way to $11,000 for the largest model, with slightly cheaper versions available for pets and children.

Just don’t call the thousands of people who have shelled out big bucks to Tesla “patients.” Dr. James Liu, the physician who founded Tesla, doesn’t like the term -– perhaps the first clue that what he’s selling goes far beyond the abilities of traditional medicine.

“We are not a clinic, not a doctor’s office,” said Liu, who earned a medical degree in China and a Ph.D. in human nutrition at Penn State University. “For me, for the company, I always call them customers.”

Tesla Biohealing, which has no connection to the car company, is part of a growth industry marketing unproven cures and treatments to conspiracy theorists and others who have grown distrustful of science and medicine. Experts who study such claims say they’re on the increase, thanks to the internet, social media and skepticism about traditional health care.

“There have always been hucksters selling medical cures, but I do feel like it’s accelerating,” said Timothy Caulfield, a health policy and law professor at the University of Alberta who studies medical ethics and fraud. “There are some forces driving that: obviously the internet and social media, and distrust of traditional medicine, traditional science. Conspiracy theories are creating and feeding this distrust.”

Blending the high-tech jargon of Western science with the spiritual terminology of traditional and Eastern medicine, these modern salesmen claim their treatments can reverse aging, restore mental acuity or fight COVID-19 better than a vaccine. They promise better health, but what they’re really selling is the idea of insider information, the promise of a secret known only to the wealthy and the powerful.

So-called medbeds are one of the flashiest, most expensive, and least credible. “Medbeds are coming,” exclaims a woman in one TikTok video. Similar videos have been seen millions of times on the platform.

According to believers of the QAnon conspiracy theory, medbeds were developed by the military (in some versions, using alien technology) and are already in use by the world’s richest and most powerful families. Many accounts claim former President Donald Trump, if he wins another term in the White House, will unveil the devices and make them free for all Americans.............

In addition to the biophoton emitting cannisters, the company also sells bottled water — 24-packs of 16.9 ounce bottles of Tennessee spring water — for $150. The company says the water has been imbued with “life force energy” that can increase energy and libido, improve breathing, digestion and sleep, reduce pain and lead to “vivid dreams to indicate enhanced brain activity.”............

Miracle cures: Online conspiracy theories are creating a new age of unproven medical treatments

Online conspiracy theories have created a new age of fringe medical treatments and supposed miracle cures.

apnews.com

 

[Sailorsaint]

BUTLER, Pa. (AP) — The hotel on the outskirts of town looks a lot like lodging one can find on any American highway. Over the years it has been a Holiday Inn and a Days Inn. The sign outside now bears the brand of a new, growing chain. One that promises a lot more than a good night’s sleep.

At the Tesla Wellness Hotel and MedBed Center, about 45 minutes north of Pittsburgh, the enticements are nothing short of miraculous.

Part motel, part new-age clinic, the facility offers nightly rentals in rooms that come equipped with “BioHealers” –- canisters that the company claims exude “life force energy,” or biophotons. Testimonials from the company’s patients speak to the devices’ power to treat cancer, dementia, chronic pain and a long list of other ailments.

The center also sells the canisters for home use. Prices start at $599 and range all the way to $11,000 for the largest model, with slightly cheaper versions available for pets and children.

Just don’t call the thousands of people who have shelled out big bucks to Tesla “patients.” Dr. James Liu, the physician who founded Tesla, doesn’t like the term -– perhaps the first clue that what he’s selling goes far beyond the abilities of traditional medicine.

“We are not a clinic, not a doctor’s office,” said Liu, who earned a medical degree in China and a Ph.D. in human nutrition at Penn State University. “For me, for the company, I always call them customers.”

Tesla Biohealing, which has no connection to the car company, is part of a growth industry marketing unproven cures and treatments to conspiracy theorists and others who have grown distrustful of science and medicine. Experts who study such claims say they’re on the increase, thanks to the internet, social media and skepticism about traditional health care.

“There have always been hucksters selling medical cures, but I do feel like it’s accelerating,” said Timothy Caulfield, a health policy and law professor at the University of Alberta who studies medical ethics and fraud. “There are some forces driving that: obviously the internet and social media, and distrust of traditional medicine, traditional science. Conspiracy theories are creating and feeding this distrust.”

Blending the high-tech jargon of Western science with the spiritual terminology of traditional and Eastern medicine, these modern salesmen claim their treatments can reverse aging, restore mental acuity or fight COVID-19 better than a vaccine. They promise better health, but what they’re really selling is the idea of insider information, the promise of a secret known only to the wealthy and the powerful.

So-called medbeds are one of the flashiest, most expensive, and least credible. “Medbeds are coming,” exclaims a woman in one TikTok video. Similar videos have been seen millions of times on the platform.

According to believers of the QAnon conspiracy theory, medbeds were developed by the military (in some versions, using alien technology) and are already in use by the world’s richest and most powerful families. Many accounts claim former President Donald Trump, if he wins another term in the White House, will unveil the devices and make them free for all Americans.............

In addition to the biophoton emitting cannisters, the company also sells bottled water — 24-packs of 16.9 ounce bottles of Tennessee spring water — for $150. The company says the water has been imbued with “life force energy” that can increase energy and libido, improve breathing, digestion and sleep, reduce pain and lead to “vivid dreams to indicate enhanced brain activity.”............

Miracle cures: Online conspiracy theories are creating a new age of unproven medical treatments

Online conspiracy theories have created a new age of fringe medical treatments and supposed miracle cures.

apnews.com

And Musk isn’t on top of this? Of all his outlandish ideas, this would be the one to attack.