The Trolls Who Cried Wolf: Keynote Speech
March 28, 2022 — HANNAH RICHTER
After the successful release of Online Lies, Offline Lives, Are We Europe hosted an in-person event at De Buren in Brussels, on March 17. Our Campaign Manager, Hannah Richter, gave the keynote speech. She discussed conspiracy theories, explained how they have been around for hundreds of years, and why we are becoming more worried about them now. Giving examples of different conspiracies from the last couple of years, Hannah’s immersive keynote was an excellent way to kick off the evening.
You can watch the video of her speech here, or read the transcript below.
I want to start by asking you to raise your hand if you’ve ever believed in a conspiracy theory? Would anyone like to tell me what conspiracy theory they believe in?
I’ve believed in a conspiracy theory. I always thought Princess Diana’s death was an inside job, I’d never really done much research into it though, I just thought it seemed pretty dodgy. When I did look into it more, I found that the Metropolitan Police had actually established a special inquiry team to investigate 175 different conspiracy theories surrounding Princess Diana’s death. They concluded that all the allegations made were without foundation and it truly was just a tragic accident. If you’re interested, you can find the whole report publicly available online. It doesn’t seem many people have read it though, because a 2013 YouGov poll found that 38% of Brits believe that Diana’s death was not an accident. Apparently I’m not the only one.
“A 2013 YouGov poll found that 38% of Brits believe that Diana’s death was not an accident”
So what exactly is a conspiracy theory? It’s pretty much an explanation for an important societal event claiming the involvement of a powerful group or a person that secretly plotted to set this event in motion. It nearly always differs from the official explanation. In times of uncertainty, and especially during societal crisis situations, there will always be an increase in conspiracy theories, because people are scared and feel out of control. These feelings stimulate a motivation to make sense of the situation, and to simplify it. This is an incredibly common human reaction, and one that isn’t unique to modern times. People from all eras are likely to believe in conspiracy theories when faced with a societal crisis.
But if conspiracy theories have been around for so many years already, why are we becoming more worried about it now? The answer to this is easy. The internet.
A study by computer scientists at Columbia university and the French National Institute found that 59% of people share links on social media without even clicking on them, implying that they’ve only read the headline. By doing so, users run the risk of spreading misinformation and conspiracy theories, without even realising the harm they might cause. There are almost 5 billion people around the world who use the internet, and whilst this grows on average at 4% each year, research suggests the pandemic will have caused an even bigger increase. The pandemic also gave individuals more time to spend scrolling on the internet. In the US alone, 30% of respondents from one study said they used social media for 1-2 additional hours per day since the start of the pandemic. And when you’re spending more time on the internet, you have more time to end up down the rabbit hole.
“In the US alone, 30% of respondents from one study said they used social media for 1-2 additional hours per day since the start of the pandemic.”
So at what point does sitting at home scrolling through conspiracy theories become dangerous? Well this is something that became really apparent during the pandemic, with Covid-related conspiracies. I’m sure you all heard plenty of them: 5G causes covid, the virus was made in a lab, the numerous different types of cures like eating garlic or taking a boiling hot bath, and of course the ever easy one, the Jews are to blame. The more time individuals spent on the internet being exposed to and believing in such conspiracies, the less they trusted their governments and complied with the regulations in place to protect them from covid. That said, there was one man in government that maintained the trust of individuals believing in conspiracies, a man we all know far too well. Trump. Trump tweeted that hydroxychloroquine could be the cure to covid, a man took it and died. Trump continually called Covid the ‘China virus’, fuelling an environment of hatred towards the Asian community, and subsequently a series of shootings leaving 6 women of Asian descent dead. Finally, although perhaps not the sole cause, Trump was still instrumental in mobilising the attack on the Capitol on January 6 2021. Trump was able to use his power and his influence to cause real life harm, offline. And he’s just one example. The internet has given individuals the ability to amplify their voices on a scale like no other. And those with influence, with a following, can use this to spread their messages dangerously across the world.
“People from all eras are likely to believe in conspiracy theories when faced with a societal crisis. ”
Three weeks ago, Russia invaded Ukraine, bringing with it what Ukraine is calling ‘the first-ever hybrid war’. But Russia has been waging an information war online against Ukraine since 2014 and the occupation of Crimea, some say even earlier. Most recent Kremlin propaganda tactics have involved painting a picture that Putin is saving Ukraine from their own neo-Nazi regime, that the EU is decadent and its expansion is being forced upon Ukraine, and that NATO has continuously provoked Russia so it is only natural they reacted. These narratives and conspiracies have been pushed into the EU by anonymous, troll and bot accounts on social media, most likely deployed in a Russian coordinated action. TikTok has also been facilitating the spread of misinformation, allowing old footage to resurface, or audio from previous explosions to be reused on top of newer videos. It’s algorithm has pushed some of these videos to be viewed millions of times, amplifying fear and confusion, and preventing people from getting access to accurate information. And now, a new cross-pollination of conspiracy theories has appeared, as anti-vaxx covid conspiracy theorists are linking their conspiracies to pro-Russian propaganda and the war. Some of the most interesting ones I've found include the secret biolabs that Putin is helping to get rid of in Ukraine, and that the Jews are using the conflict to distract the world from a meeting in Europe about pandemic preparedness. When will we stop blaming literally everything on the Jews? We’re nice people I promise.
But, it seems that, finally, these conspiracy theories may just stay on the fringe, and there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. By waging this information war online, Russia has allowed anyone to join in. And that’s exactly what everyone has done. It’s not just Ukrainians fighting against Russia, open source intelligence researchers across the world have been verifying every last picture and video to come out of Ukraine. Debunking disinformation often takes time, but this time, the world knew it was coming and was prepared. Russia is finally losing the information war on the rest of the world.
“TikTok has also been facilitating the spread of misinformation, allowing old footage to resurface, or audio from previous explosions to be reused on top of newer videos.”
That’s not to say we are in the clear just yet. The war in Ukraine is a very fluid situation and is constantly changing. New conspiracy theories are always popping up, not only surrounding the current conflict. So what can you do? Well, start by checking your facts and your sources, make sure you are getting your news from reliable sites, not just from social media, especially before you share anything. Work together. Get out your echo chamber. When talking to conspiracy theorists, be empathetic and remember, we’re all human after all.
Thank you and enjoy the rest of the evening.