Self selection in conspiracy theorists

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_Maksutov
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Self selection in conspiracy theorists

Post by _Maksutov »

https://phys.org/news/2019-11-conspirac ... DwkTGl0M0U

Our aim was to find out the main differences between users who post in r/conspiracy (a subreddit dedicated to conspiracy theories) and other Reddit users.

Using a technique called sentiment analysis we examined what users said, and where they said it, during the months before their first post in r/conspiracy.

We compared these posts to those of other users who started posting on Reddit at the same time, and in the same subreddits, but without going on to post in r/conspiracy.

We then constructed a network of the subreddits through which r/conspiracy posters traveled. In doing so, we were able to discover how and why they reached their destination.
"God" is the original deus ex machina. --Maksutov
_Res Ipsa
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Re: Self selection in conspiracy theorists

Post by _Res Ipsa »

Good article, Mak. Thanks for posting it.
​“The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.”

― Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 1951
_Dr. Shades
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Re: Self selection in conspiracy theorists

Post by _Dr. Shades »

Doesn't everyone self-select?
"Finally, for your rather strange idea that miracles are somehow linked to the amount of gay sexual gratification that is taking place would require that primitive Christianity was launched by gay sex, would it not?"

--Louis Midgley
_Res Ipsa
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Re: Self selection in conspiracy theorists

Post by _Res Ipsa »

Dr. Shades wrote:Doesn't everyone self-select?

Sure, to some extent. I think the point of the paper is that people don't just wander in to online conspiracy forums and get sucked into conspiracy theories. "Conversion" to a conspiracy theory happens by some other mechanism, then they seek out online conspiracy forums. So, say, if I'm a parent and I don't want my kids getting sucked into conspiracy theories, trying to prevent them from, say, reading r/conspiracy will probably be ineffective. Likewise, removing conspiracy theorist forums from social media is likely to be an ineffective strategy to keep people from becoming conspiracy theorists.
​“The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists.”

― Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 1951
_Dr. Shades
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Re: Self selection in conspiracy theorists

Post by _Dr. Shades »

Okay, thanks.

But weren't conspiracy theorists the ones who uncovered Operation Paperclip and the Tuskeegee Experiments?

If so, remind me again why conspiracy theorists are bad?
"Finally, for your rather strange idea that miracles are somehow linked to the amount of gay sexual gratification that is taking place would require that primitive Christianity was launched by gay sex, would it not?"

--Louis Midgley
_EAllusion
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Re: Self selection in conspiracy theorists

Post by _EAllusion »

Dr. Shades wrote:Okay, thanks.

But weren't conspiracy theorists the ones who uncovered Operation Paperclip and the Tuskeegee Experiments?

If so, remind me again why conspiracy theorists are bad?


Conspiracies exist, but the sort of people who get labeled conspiracy theorists tend not to be the ones to uncover them. Conspiracy theory strongly connotes belief in fanciful plots.

I feel like you're being defensive of conspiracy theorists here because you are into a variety of conspiracy theories yourself.
_Icarus
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Re: Self selection in conspiracy theorists

Post by _Icarus »

Dr. Shades wrote:Okay, thanks.

But weren't conspiracy theorists the ones who uncovered Operation Paperclip and the Tuskeegee Experiments?

If so, remind me again why conspiracy theorists are bad?


Because they're wrong almost all of the time. The examples you mentioned aren't really conspiracy theories. When there are hundreds and even thousands of people involved, the truth is bound to get out, which means people can start connecting the dots that actually exist.

Conspiracy theorists who get a bad rap are the ones who imagine dots where none exist.
"One of the hardest things for me to accept is the fact that Kevin Graham has blonde hair, blue eyes and an English last name. This ugly truth blows any arguments one might have for actual white supremacism out of the water. He's truly a disgrace." - Ajax
_Doctor CamNC4Me
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Re: Self selection in conspiracy theorists

Post by _Doctor CamNC4Me »

EAllusion wrote:I feel like you're being defensive of conspiracy theorists here because you are into a variety of conspiracy theories yourself.


Sources for the enquiring mind?

- Doc
In the face of madness, rationality has no power - Xiao Wang, US historiographer, 2287 AD.

Every record...falsified, every book rewritten...every statue...has been renamed or torn down, every date...altered...the process is continuing...minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Ideology is always right.
_EAllusion
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Re: Self selection in conspiracy theorists

Post by _EAllusion »

Doctor CamNC4Me wrote:
EAllusion wrote:I feel like you're being defensive of conspiracy theorists here because you are into a variety of conspiracy theories yourself.


Sources for the enquiring mind?

- Doc


The board's search engine was broken for data purposes, so it's hard to get the deep cuts. He is/was a 911 truther, for one. That one probably is easy to find in his posting history.
_moksha
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Re: Self selection in conspiracy theorists

Post by _moksha »

I notice they conveniently left off Mormon Discussions and Sic et Non. How deep does this conspiracy go? :surprised:
Cry Heaven and let loose the Penguins of Peace
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