Radio Hoaxes, Fake News, and Conspiracy
People will believe anything--facts be damned. In this, the age of information, there are more conspiracies than the truth. We see people crying fake news at anything they don't agree with. People believe the Earth is flat, that President Obama is a Reptilian alien, they believe that we never landed on the moon, and the list goes on. All it takes for someone to believe something is for someone else to believe it too. With the invent of the radio, mass conspiracy and disbelief became more commonplace than ever before.
One of the first true radio hoaxes was Orson Welles radio play of The War of The Worlds. In October of 1938, during the prime time for radio broadcasting, a play designed to sound like a news report terrified the nation. Because the play sounded like it was real, some people on the east coast fled their homes in search of safety from what they thought was the end of the world and a Martian invasion. While many people knew it was fake, there were a few (no real record of the number exists) that believed it to be true.
Fast forward a couple decades and we find ourselves in post-Vietnam America, and one former Marine's obsession with what he thought to be the truth. William "Bill" Cooper was one of the first conspiracy theorists to take to radiowaves and try to convince people of their truth. His book, Behold a Pale Horse, is one of the most influential conspiracy novels ever--inspiring many others to look into things like The Bilderberg Group, The Trilateral Commision, and the Illuminati.
Bill Cooper theories didn't deny that certain events happened, rather he thought that there was more to life than meets the eye. He believed in secret organizations bent on ruling humanity, in government secrets, and even in aliens. In his radio program, "The Hour of the Time", he spouted his ideas to whoever would hear and give him the time of day. While his book popularized him, his radio program immortalized him. His theories would live on after him, which is what he wanted.
One of the people that took up the mantle of Bill Cooper is a man named Alex Jones. Jones has always been a fan of Bill Cooper since he was a kid, but Bill Cooper despised Alex Jones--in fact Cooper called him a "Bold faced, miserable, stinking-coward of a liar." This, in part, is due to the highly politicized and often outrageous nature of many of Alex Jones' claims. The biggest example of this is Jones' claim that the Sandy Hook shooting was a false flag operation and that the children that were killed never existed.
On December 14th, 2012, a lone 20-year-old shooter named Adam Lanza entered Sandy Hook Elementry and shot twenty first-graders and six teachers within five minutes, then used that same gun on himself. This tragedy polarized America regarding gun laws. Though no national laws were changed or added, Connecticut (where Sandy Hook Elementry is) passed some of the most stringent gun laws in the nation.
Following the tragedy, many people online posted their thoughts that the shooting was faked by left-wing extremists to 'take people's guns away' and that the children never existed--chief among these people was Alex Jones. Jones was the loudest voice in this 'conspiracy' due to his platform, a radio and video show called Infowars. The more Jones spewed his views, the more people believed his words and took action.
The parents of the slain children have received numerous death threats from fans and followers of Alex Jones. Many of them have moved several times because their personal information keeps getting 'doxxed' by internet users who believe Jones. Several of the parents are now suing Jones for defamation and harassment--no verdict has been reached as of this post.
The rise of Alex Jones and others like him have spawned a new age of conspiracy--the denial of anything that they don't agree with. This type of conspiracy thought is heavily politicized and tends to be mostly right wing based, though there are some left wing people who fall into this type of thought. This type of conspiracy is very critical of science in general to the point of disbelieving proven fact. It is also, strangely enough, becoming more and more mainstream.
It is theorized that the cause of this popularization of conspiracy is largely due to the internet and what are being called 'echo chambers'. Essentially these 'echo chambers' are forums or chat groups of like-minded people that amplify each other's thoughts and ideas. An example of this would be the group of men who call themselves 'Incels' or involuntarily celibate. They blame women and other men for their lack of relationships. One of these people, Alek Minassian, drove a van down a crowded Toronto street, killing 10 in a terror attack.
While these 'echo chambers' can lead to these kinds of actions, most groups need a loud voice to echo. These are the leaders of the new wave of conspiracies. they are people like Alex Jones, Gary Heathers (a Flat Earther), and Eggy (an Incel). What makes these people so potent in their influence is their platforms. Radio, podcasts, and YouTube are what gives these people their microphone so they can scream into it as loud as they want.
While some sites like Reddit, YouTube, and Facebook have made some attempts at banning some of these groups due to hate speech and endorsing acts of violence, they are stuck in the middle of an argument over free speech and censorship. Trends have shown, however, that the measures of certain websites are usually taken too late and are more reactionary then proactively. Even after measure have been taken, the groups just move to another medium. As long as there are loud voices on the radio or on video, there will be followers who hang on their every word.
One of the first true radio hoaxes was Orson Welles radio play of The War of The Worlds. In October of 1938, during the prime time for radio broadcasting, a play designed to sound like a news report terrified the nation. Because the play sounded like it was real, some people on the east coast fled their homes in search of safety from what they thought was the end of the world and a Martian invasion. While many people knew it was fake, there were a few (no real record of the number exists) that believed it to be true.
Fast forward a couple decades and we find ourselves in post-Vietnam America, and one former Marine's obsession with what he thought to be the truth. William "Bill" Cooper was one of the first conspiracy theorists to take to radiowaves and try to convince people of their truth. His book, Behold a Pale Horse, is one of the most influential conspiracy novels ever--inspiring many others to look into things like The Bilderberg Group, The Trilateral Commision, and the Illuminati.
Bill Cooper theories didn't deny that certain events happened, rather he thought that there was more to life than meets the eye. He believed in secret organizations bent on ruling humanity, in government secrets, and even in aliens. In his radio program, "The Hour of the Time", he spouted his ideas to whoever would hear and give him the time of day. While his book popularized him, his radio program immortalized him. His theories would live on after him, which is what he wanted.
Bill Cooper on sports and distraction
One of the people that took up the mantle of Bill Cooper is a man named Alex Jones. Jones has always been a fan of Bill Cooper since he was a kid, but Bill Cooper despised Alex Jones--in fact Cooper called him a "Bold faced, miserable, stinking-coward of a liar." This, in part, is due to the highly politicized and often outrageous nature of many of Alex Jones' claims. The biggest example of this is Jones' claim that the Sandy Hook shooting was a false flag operation and that the children that were killed never existed.
On December 14th, 2012, a lone 20-year-old shooter named Adam Lanza entered Sandy Hook Elementry and shot twenty first-graders and six teachers within five minutes, then used that same gun on himself. This tragedy polarized America regarding gun laws. Though no national laws were changed or added, Connecticut (where Sandy Hook Elementry is) passed some of the most stringent gun laws in the nation.
Following the tragedy, many people online posted their thoughts that the shooting was faked by left-wing extremists to 'take people's guns away' and that the children never existed--chief among these people was Alex Jones. Jones was the loudest voice in this 'conspiracy' due to his platform, a radio and video show called Infowars. The more Jones spewed his views, the more people believed his words and took action.
The parents of the slain children have received numerous death threats from fans and followers of Alex Jones. Many of them have moved several times because their personal information keeps getting 'doxxed' by internet users who believe Jones. Several of the parents are now suing Jones for defamation and harassment--no verdict has been reached as of this post.
Alex Jones (right) and Neil Heslin, a parent of one of the slain children (left)
The rise of Alex Jones and others like him have spawned a new age of conspiracy--the denial of anything that they don't agree with. This type of conspiracy thought is heavily politicized and tends to be mostly right wing based, though there are some left wing people who fall into this type of thought. This type of conspiracy is very critical of science in general to the point of disbelieving proven fact. It is also, strangely enough, becoming more and more mainstream.
It is theorized that the cause of this popularization of conspiracy is largely due to the internet and what are being called 'echo chambers'. Essentially these 'echo chambers' are forums or chat groups of like-minded people that amplify each other's thoughts and ideas. An example of this would be the group of men who call themselves 'Incels' or involuntarily celibate. They blame women and other men for their lack of relationships. One of these people, Alek Minassian, drove a van down a crowded Toronto street, killing 10 in a terror attack.
While these 'echo chambers' can lead to these kinds of actions, most groups need a loud voice to echo. These are the leaders of the new wave of conspiracies. they are people like Alex Jones, Gary Heathers (a Flat Earther), and Eggy (an Incel). What makes these people so potent in their influence is their platforms. Radio, podcasts, and YouTube are what gives these people their microphone so they can scream into it as loud as they want.
While some sites like Reddit, YouTube, and Facebook have made some attempts at banning some of these groups due to hate speech and endorsing acts of violence, they are stuck in the middle of an argument over free speech and censorship. Trends have shown, however, that the measures of certain websites are usually taken too late and are more reactionary then proactively. Even after measure have been taken, the groups just move to another medium. As long as there are loud voices on the radio or on video, there will be followers who hang on their every word.
Alek Minassian profile (right) and getting arrested (left)
Comments
Post a Comment