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originally posted by: humanityrising
I should preface by saying I in no way believe this but love playing hypotheticals out in my head.
Ever wonder if many(not all) conspiracies were fabricated in order to study human psychology, or present the government as being far more in control than it actually really is, or some other purpose? Possibly an experiment in propaganda or subversion? We know about MK Ultra and the absolutely absurd forms of propaganda and subversion documented many times throughout the 20th century during war times, especially during the Cold War. It's really not that far fetched...
I'm wondering, given history, how in the actual flock a government agency was not involved in dispensing at the very least some of the thousands of theories put forth over the last few decades, many of which only serve to discredit the actual conspiracies, or dilute the pool so much that knowing fact from fiction is very confusing if not altogether impossible.
originally posted by: enlightenedservant
originally posted by: humanityrising
I should preface by saying I in no way believe this but love playing hypotheticals out in my head.
Ever wonder if many(not all) conspiracies were fabricated in order to study human psychology, or present the government as being far more in control than it actually really is, or some other purpose? Possibly an experiment in propaganda or subversion? We know about MK Ultra and the absolutely absurd forms of propaganda and subversion documented many times throughout the 20th century during war times, especially during the Cold War. It's really not that far fetched...
Actually, this happens a lot. It's no different than a "live" focus group that tests out certain ideas to see how people react to them. There's a name for it but I can't remember it. Anyway, sometimes firms will leak a bogus story to specific sites or people, then observe how they spread the information. It's a useful technique to see who will stay quiet & who will speak, as well as who the "leakers" are connected to. FYI, organized crime does it too. And marketing firms use something similar to track which ads get responses (that's why some ads have specific codes to enter to receive specific perks, so they can track how many responses each ad gets).
As an example, let's say I have 5 different versions of a story & create documents which detail these stories. Then I hand 1 version to "Activist A", the 2nd version to "Activist B", and so on. Now I can keep track of which activist "leaked" their stories, and to whom, by seeing which version of the story gets printed, published, sent to journalists, etc. I could do this for months or years with hundreds or thousands of people and document who their most trusted contacts are by keeping note of who gets their versions of the stories.
Like I said, this actually happens a lot. Many crime syndicates use it to sniff out snitches, government agencies & corporations use it to sniff out double agents, and 3rd parties can use it for whatever purpose their employers desire. You can see this a lot with 3rd party groups during expensive election campaigns when some obscure group releases crazy crap about a politician or proposed law. So yeah, I wouldn't doubt that some conspiracies are spread like this too.
I'm wondering, given history, how in the actual flock a government agency was not involved in dispensing at the very least some of the thousands of theories put forth over the last few decades, many of which only serve to discredit the actual conspiracies, or dilute the pool so much that knowing fact from fiction is very confusing if not altogether impossible.
That's the purpose of propaganda, isn't it? To bend the truth & sway people to your side. Many times, citizens are too simple minded or simply don't care about the intricacies of global politics. They don't want to hear about the strengths & flaws of an opponent, they want to believe "We good they bad". Otherwise, they may begin to empathize with the "opponents", see the "opponents" as fellow humans, and decide against war, sanctions, or the such. The military Industrial complex & the investors who profit from conflict will never allow this.
originally posted by: RubberSky
a reply to: humanityrising
I just don't understand premise like yours.
Are you actually considering that we live in perfect bubble world where conspiracies don't really exist.
May I point you in direction of 9/11
Or WMDs in Iraq
Or creation of FED in 1913.
List can go on for quite a while.
originally posted by: Kester
a reply to: humanityrising
Disinfo spooks are set up as photographers, artists, writers, radical journalists etc. After redefining the definition of conspiracy it's an easy matter to endlessly add to the swirling mix. Barely a glimpse of the real hidden stories actually registers on the retinas of the glamourised masses.
How about the fact reinforced and pre-stressed concrete has turned out to be a bad choice of building material, and the ultrasound scanning used to detect weaknesses doesn't detect the cracks that form in pre-stressing tendons? Got a pre-stressed concrete nuclear reactor vessel near you? Don't sneeze on it, it isn't as strong as they say.
The aspect I find personally concerning is the brainwashing of intelligent people into thinking I see 'conspiracies' everywhere, just because I talk about things like concrete.
And that I think is the core issue. They're taught not to look or listen through exposure to an artificial world of strange ideas.
originally posted by: humanityrising
originally posted by: enlightenedservant
originally posted by: humanityrising
I should preface by saying I in no way believe this but love playing hypotheticals out in my head.
Ever wonder if many(not all) conspiracies were fabricated in order to study human psychology, or present the government as being far more in control than it actually really is, or some other purpose? Possibly an experiment in propaganda or subversion? We know about MK Ultra and the absolutely absurd forms of propaganda and subversion documented many times throughout the 20th century during war times, especially during the Cold War. It's really not that far fetched...
Actually, this happens a lot. It's no different than a "live" focus group that tests out certain ideas to see how people react to them. There's a name for it but I can't remember it. Anyway, sometimes firms will leak a bogus story to specific sites or people, then observe how they spread the information. It's a useful technique to see who will stay quiet & who will speak, as well as who the "leakers" are connected to. FYI, organized crime does it too. And marketing firms use something similar to track which ads get responses (that's why some ads have specific codes to enter to receive specific perks, so they can track how many responses each ad gets).
As an example, let's say I have 5 different versions of a story & create documents which detail these stories. Then I hand 1 version to "Activist A", the 2nd version to "Activist B", and so on. Now I can keep track of which activist "leaked" their stories, and to whom, by seeing which version of the story gets printed, published, sent to journalists, etc. I could do this for months or years with hundreds or thousands of people and document who their most trusted contacts are by keeping note of who gets their versions of the stories.
Like I said, this actually happens a lot. Many crime syndicates use it to sniff out snitches, government agencies & corporations use it to sniff out double agents, and 3rd parties can use it for whatever purpose their employers desire. You can see this a lot with 3rd party groups during expensive election campaigns when some obscure group releases crazy crap about a politician or proposed law. So yeah, I wouldn't doubt that some conspiracies are spread like this too.
I'm wondering, given history, how in the actual flock a government agency was not involved in dispensing at the very least some of the thousands of theories put forth over the last few decades, many of which only serve to discredit the actual conspiracies, or dilute the pool so much that knowing fact from fiction is very confusing if not altogether impossible.
That's the purpose of propaganda, isn't it? To bend the truth & sway people to your side. Many times, citizens are too simple minded or simply don't care about the intricacies of global politics. They don't want to hear about the strengths & flaws of an opponent, they want to believe "We good they bad". Otherwise, they may begin to empathize with the "opponents", see the "opponents" as fellow humans, and decide against war, sanctions, or the such. The military Industrial complex & the investors who profit from conflict will never allow this.
Very interesting. I didn't realize this was used in marketing and organized crime but it makes perfect sense. My OP was mostly hypothetical but I'm becoming more and more convinced there is some truth to it...though we'll probably never know the details.