TRACYKING/SCEPTICALANALYSIS
OPINION
Gamer and science enthusiast Tracy King dissects the evidence and statistics behind popular media stories surrounding tech and gaming @tkingdot
O
f alltheoddhappenings 2020 hasthrownatus,the
onethatsurprisesmeleastisconspiracytheories
becomingmainstream.It’stemptingtosaylockdown
made everyoneparanoid,butreallynicheideasjusttakehold
whenevera societyfacesunprecedentedchallenges.It’snatural
and unfortunatethatthosenicheideastendtobeconspiracy
theories.Natural,becausepeoplelookforanswersinthe
absenceofdata,goodleadershipandhope.Unfortunate,
becauseconspiracytheoriesactivelymaketheworldworse.
In criticalthinking,there’sanoldaphorismcalledHanlon’s
Razor, whichsays‘neverattributetomalice
what canbeadequatelyexplainedbystupidity’.
It’s usuallycorrect,butunpopular.Partly
becauseit’snotnicetocallpeoplestupid,
but alsobecauseit’slessexcitingtobelieve
we’re ledbyincompetentwalliesratherthan
Machiavellianschemers.
Whilewe’refeelinghelplessanduseless,it’s
comfortingtothinkthere’sa grandplanorreasonforit.We’re
suffering, but the universe can’t be that random and cruel,
right? Far better to think that the British Government is hiding
the real cause – 5G masts – because its members own shares
in telecommunications. Conspiracy theories provide answers
and give focus to activism. You can burn down a 5G mast, but
you can’t burn down an invisible airborne virus (don’t, though,
as 5G has nothing to do with coronavirus).
I used to debate conspiracy theorists (usually 9/11 Truthers,
although I’ve met all sorts), but eventually realised it was
fruitless. My epiphany was when I asked a conspiracy theorist,
‘what evidence would it take to change your mind?’, and his
replywas‘thereisnoevidencethatwouldchangemy mind’.
There’snowinningagainsta hardcoreconspiracytheorist such
asAlexJones,becausetothemit isn’ta debate.
WhileDonaldTrumphaslongbeena fanofconspiracy
theories,Britainsofarislargelyfreeofsuchclaimsfrom the
government,buthigh-profilesocialmediausersand even a
fewjournalistsaredoingthejobanyway.InlateMay, people
wereadamantthatTwitterwascensoringDominicCummings’
namefromtrending.Thefactisthat‘Cummings’,much like
‘Scunthorpe’,didn’tpassthepornfilter.Noconspiracyor cover-
up,justanoverzealousalgorithm.
Sohowdoyouspota conspiracytheory from
a regulartheory?I’llgiveyouthebasics. First,
workoutwhetherornotyouactivelywant the
thingtobetrue,andwhy.Inmanyways I’d far
ratherCovid-19is causedby5G,because that’s a
veryfixableproblem.OnceI’verealisedI want it
tobetrue,I canleavemybiasatthedoor. I have
tobeasopentotheconspiracynotbeingtrueasbeing true.
Then I ask myself that key question – what evidence would
it take to change my mind? Is there an organisation, an expert,
a debunking journalist that I trust on this particular issue?
Then I collect as much information as possible. I’ve been doing
this for over a decade, so I’m pretty fast at sorting legitimate
sources from dodgy ones, but the Internet is a minefield of
biased resources. It isn’t easy, but it’s a useful skill that makes
you hard to fool.
And the final trick to not falling for a conspiracy theory is to
remember that, in the vast majority of cases, Hanlon’s Razor
turned out to be correct.HOW TO SPOT A
CONSPIRACY THEORY
With misinformation rife on social media, our debunker in chief Tracy King
shares her toolkit for spotting conspiracy theoriesYou can burn down a 5G
mast, but you can’t burn
down an invisible
airborne virus