conspiracy theory
noun [ C ]
/kənˈspɪr.ə.si ˌθɪə.ri/
a belief that an event or situation is the result of a secret plan made by powerful people[1]
In 1969, what started as a phone call to an American chat show became a worldwide rumour that The Beatles’ Paul McCartney had been killed in a car accident and replaced by a look-a-like, William Campbell. The Paul Is Dead rumour spread across the world like… wildfire.[2] When asked whether believing that Paul was dead was fun, Professor Diane Purkis replied:
“I think all conspiracy theories are dangerous. […] I think conspiracy theories and the mentality that they bring with them are one of the worst things in the world. And they’ve also excused most of the genocide that took place last century, the idea that the Jews are conspiring against everybody else is a conspiracy theory. Stalin’s Purges were part of a conspiracy theory. Eventually, you decide to take action against the evil people who are oppressing you. […] I've got very very strong views that conspiracy theories are really one of the greatest menaces to democracy. Where it gets dangerous is where you think that people are deliberately keeping the truth from you […] and that to resolve it, you have to kill them.”[3]
Conspiracy theories haven’t disappeared since the 1960s – the coronavirus pandemic has spawned its own conspiracy theory, that the virus is caused by 5G signals. In a live-streamed interview on the 6th of April, David Icke falsely claimed there "is a link between 5G and this health crisis".[4] Like many conspiracy theories, this one is based on loosely related scientific studies. The theory that the coronavirus is using 5G waves to accelerate its spread is based on the work of a Nobel Prize winning biologist who suggested that bacteria could generate radio waves. Although far from being a mainstream theory (not to mention the fact that it refers to bacteria and not viruses), conspiracy theorists such as Icke have used it to advocate the destruction of 5G towers.[5]
In light of this, I couldn’t help but wonder if Professor Purkis was right. Besides the material effects of conspiracy theories, such as anti-vaxxers refusing to vaccinate their children and thus putting their lives at risk, do conspiracy theories have a negative impact on democracy?
There is no doubt that conspiracy theories are born out of a feeling of being under threat. This explains why, when the Republicans are in power, the Democrats start theorising, and vice versa.[6] Wars and elections are the periods when conspiracy theories are most likely to strike a chord with the general public. It’s no surprise therefore that the coronavirus-5G theory would come to life at a time when we are constantly being reminded that “we are at war with an invisible enemy”. According to Brian Keeley, conspiracy theorists are “the last believers in an order universe”,[7] but, as Zbigniew Brzezinski reminds us, “history is much more the product of chaos than of conspiracy”.[8]
The impact of conspiracy, therefore, is that distrust in governing institutions in worsened.[9] Recent polls suggest that 61% of Americans reject the official government account of JFK’s assassination.[10] Distrust in experts is equally worsened, the obvious example being Eamonn Holmes' decision to pit the coronavirus-5G conspiracy against the “State narrative”.[11] This distrust, in turn, undermines democracy and limits the state’s capacity to govern, especially since it makes people less willing to cooperate with the authorities. We fall into what Einstein and Glick called a “vicious cycle of cynicism”.[12] For a liberal democracy, which by definition relies on free communication and trust in public institutions, this is serious. What’s more, such theories target groups who have nothing to do with the issue at stake (which, I find, is the case of the conspiracy surrounding 5G and the coronavirus).[13] In a more mundane manner, conspiracies stop the government from getting on with important business. Muirhead and Rosenblum argue that leaders are faced with the paradox of needing to oppose conspiracy claims all the while reasoning with conspiracy theorists as they are required to maintain a connection with their supporters.[14] This raises the question: how are leaders supposed to represent the conspiracy theorists among their followers all the while remaining responsible to the truth?
However, conspiracies have their worst impact, in my view, when they are spread by those in power. In 1951, Senator Joseph McCarthy stated:
“This must be the product of a great conspiracy on a scale so immense as to dwarf any previous such venture in the history of man. A conspiracy of infamy so black that, when it is finally exposed, its principals shall be forever deserving of the maledictions of all honest men.”[15]
He was referring to the fear that there were communists in the US government, and he did so in order to tar political enemies and assert his dominance. More than sparring with the opposition, conspiracy allows leaders to delegitimise their opponents. Conspiracies can take a darker turn still, as was the case when Nixon tries to subvert the FBI investigation into Watergate.
The real danger, of course, is that in the worst-case scenario, we focus our collective anxiety on one enemy. As Professor Purkis reminds us, last century those enemies included "Trostkyism" and “Jewish people”.[16] These examples show the real danger that conspiracies can become an instrument in the rise of authoritarian and totalitarian regimes.
[1] Dictionary.cambridge.org. 2020. CONSPIRACY THEORY | Signification, Définition Dans Le Dictionnaire Anglais De Cambridge. [online] Available at:< https://dictionary.cambridge.org/fr/dictionnaire/anglais/conspiracy-theory> [Accessed 14 April 2020].
[2] A joke shamelessly stolen from John Finnemore
[3] Paul is Dead (2014) BBC Radio 4, 14 October. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b04l0tvb (Accessed: 14 April 2020).
[4] Kelion, L., 2020. Youtube Tightens Covid-19 Rules After Icke Interview. [online] BBC News. Available at: <https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-52198946> [Accessed 14 April 2020].
[5] ibid
[6] MOORE, A, Conspiracies, Conspiracy Theories and Democracy. Political Studies Review, February 2018, Vol.16(1), pp.2-12
[7] Moore, A. Conspiracy and Conspiracy Theories in Democratic Politics. Critical Review: CONSPIRACY AND CONSPIRACY THEORIES, 02 January 2016, Vol.28(1), pp.1-23
[8] Brooks, A., 2019. Conspiracy Theories Are A Dangerous Threat To Our Democracy. [online] The Washington Post. Available at:< https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/09/03/conspiracy-theories-are-dangerous-threat-our-democracy/> [Accessed 14 April 2020].
[9] Uscinski, J. E. and Parent, J. M. (2014) American Conspiracy Theories. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Wood, G. S. (1982) ‘Conspiracy and the Paranoid Style: Causality and Deceit in the Eighteenth Century’, William and Mary Quarterly, 39 (3), 402–41
[10] Brooks, A., 2019. Conspiracy Theories Are A Dangerous Threat To Our Democracy. [online] The Washington Post. Available at:< https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/09/03/conspiracy-theories-are-dangerous-threat-our-democracy/> [Accessed 14 April 2020].
[11] BBC News. 2020. Watchdog Assesses Eamonn Holmes 5G Comments. [online] Available at:< https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-52279109> [Accessed 14 April 2020].
[12] MOORE, A, Conspiracies, Conspiracy Theories and Democracy. Political Studies Review, February 2018, Vol.16(1), pp.2-12
[13] ibid
[14] Moore, A. Conspiracy and Conspiracy Theories in Democratic Politics. Critical Review: CONSPIRACY AND CONSPIRACY THEORIES, 02 January 2016, Vol.28(1), pp.1-23
[15] MOORE, A, Conspiracies, Conspiracy Theories and Democracy. Political Studies Review, February 2018, Vol.16(1), pp.2-12
[16] Moore, A. Conspiracy and Conspiracy Theories in Democratic Politics. Critical Review: CONSPIRACY AND CONSPIRACY THEORIES, 02 January 2016, Vol.28(1), pp.1-23
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