How did we get so casual about conspiracy theories?

I was talking with someone today about nutrition. This person has a PhD in material science. They mentioned eating beef daily and I asked about the cholesterol implications. The answer was about a vague ‘they’ wanted us to think that, but it wasn’t true anymore.

I hear the vague ‘they’ so frequently now it’s just a normal conversation. In truth, as soon as I hear the vague they I dismiss the speaker’s credibility on the subject, but how did we get here? Vague they wanted us to think X is a valid counter argument by the most highly educated people in our society?

This sounds like more of a rant than a question, but I do truly want to know how this happened? Was it pop culture like the X Files that made conspiracy theories main stream? Was it social media? When will the vague they stop being an accepted explanation? Has it always been this way and I didn’t notice?

Thanks, love you!

  • SaltSong@startrek.websiteEnglish
    1·
    11 hours ago

    Israel isn’t responsible for Trump remarkable attempts at destroying the US economy, USD, and the entirety of their softpower.

    No, but they helped get him elected.

    Not sure they did it on purpose, and it only affected the stupidest of Democrat voters, but any argument that the genocide in Palestine didn’t impact our election is not being honest.

    • dawnglider@lemmy.mlEnglish
      1·
      36 minutes ago

      No, but they helped get him elected

      Sure, I mean people made the argument with Russia too for his first term. I still think it’s absolutely insane to conclude that Russia controls western governments.

      Any argument that the genocide in Palestine didn’t impact our election is not being honest

      Of course, and I never made that argument. I can’t give an educated estimate, but folks more knowledgeable than me on US sentiment and voting habits say that this one issue could have massively shifted the election. You could probably even made a case that the democrats would have been a better ally to Israel in the grand scheme of things.