Recently, people in this thread were doing exactly that—discussing things that might not be what the general public is used to believing. From recycling being a myth to inaccurate rich lists, scroll down to find netizens’ opinions on the world's biggest secrets.
While you're at it, don't forget to check out a conversation with Stephanie Kemmerer, a former conspiracy theorist and an advocate for recovery from conspiracy theories and cults, who kindly agreed to tell us more about what happens when people reject certain truths.
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Some people go too far with questioning everything. Sometimes even to the point where they start rejecting standard explanations for a phenomenon or an event and instead credit a group or organization with power for carrying out a secret plot or hidden agenda.
This belief is called a conspiracy theory and is more common than we might think. For instance, one in three Americans is convinced that global warming is fake.
Meanwhile, 49% of people living in New York believe that the US government was involved in the 9/11 attacks. And over half of America’s citizens assume that Lee Harvey Oswald wasn't acting alone in the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
In addition, 37% of Americans are certain that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is purposely hiding the natural cures for cancer from the public.
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Curious about how these theories are formed and where they originate from, Bored Panda reached out to a former conspiracy theorist, Stephanie Kemmerer, who kindly agreed to tell us more about them.
She says that conspiracy theories (CTs) are generally broken into several categories of creation, one of which is based on real events but with added fictional elements. Others are completely made up, just like some UFO "evidence."
Some arise from misrepresented or misunderstood data, and 9/11 perfectly illustrates this. Essentially, any event that requires a level of some kind of expertise, like physics, engineering, or geography, can become the target of conspiracy theorists. "The real experts are not trusted, and the theorists create their own non-expert interpretation," explains Kemmerer.
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What drives people to believe such unsupported claims is to make sense of a nonsensical world. “Conspiracy theorists are not all likely to be simple-minded, mentally unwell folks—a portrait which is routinely painted in popular culture,” says Shauna Bowes, a doctoral student in clinical psychology.
“Instead, many turn to conspiracy theories to fulfill deprived motivational needs and make sense of distress and impairment.”
Meanwhile, Kemmerer mentions our need for answers. "More so, we need answers that confirm and conform to our belief systems. CTs give us that. You can pick from a buffet of beliefs and take as much or as little as you like, as long as it all tastes good."
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Wow a lot of people liked this one. I wanted to acknowledge that while my point about the Vatican stands, the Roman Catholic Church is not the only religious community that, even just through tradition piety or shame, has to deal with people with religious authority abusing minors. This is of course abhorrent regardless of the source and anyone guilty of this should be locked up forever. I just wanted to play fair here.
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Some were either so indiscriminate and terrible and some would just cause too much panic.
People who believe a certain conspiracy theory may create a community, like the infamous Flat Earthers, which provides a sense of belonging to individuals. They create a bond by sharing their insights and circulating these theories, leading them to feel like members of a family.
"People who feel helpless, powerless, and isolated are more likely to fall for these things," adds Kemmerer.
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Sadly, falling into an unhealthy rabbit hole of CTs can have negative effects on people. Side effects include dependent narcissistic tendencies; extreme and increasing paranoia; the Dunning-Kruger effect (overestimating one's abilities); a lack of boundaries between online and offline personas; and anger issues.
"It's impossible to grow as a person within that world of CTs," says Kemmerer. "You're fighting imaginary enemies. All that effort, time, and anger—for nothing. In the process of that fight, you alienate friends, family, coworkers and strangers. It's a sad, lonely, and powerless way to live. It robs you of joy and agency."
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