Posted by
Andrews on Monday, November 30, 2009 12:49:36 PM
As I am not doing any substantial writing today, I have to mention one more upcoming post.
I have recently seen a number of emails reporting on shocking things Obama supposedly said or did. The problem with such emails is... Well, they're just not true. Obama is doing plenty of damage, and even saying some foolish things (eg. promising convictions and executions), but a lot of the more absurdly explicit supposed statements and actions are simple fabrications. Doing a little checking, a number of them come from rather loopy sources, such as
Sorcha Faal, who appears to be
a fictional entity created by another conspiracy theory peddler. Then again, the whole matter is a bit hazy. And it doesn't help that
many doing the debunking are themselves peddlers of other conspiracy theories, many dismissing rival theories as "psyops" or "disinformation", generally assuming any delusional snake oil other than their own must come from the government in order to discredit their "truths". (This specific one gives some indications -- Leibnitz praise, for example, and cryptic acronyms presented as if the readers knows what they mean -- of being a LaRoucher. Though I am not entirely certain.)
What I hope to get out of my journey into this bizarre world of pseudo-news and conspiracy theories is a little bit of insight into what should and should not be believed. I am well aware of the short comings of the media, especially concerning Obama, but I also know that many "alternative media" sources are every bit as unreliable in the opposite direction.
But, as I said, it is rather hard to type for any length of time, so this will have to wait until later.
POSTSCRIPT
For those interested, my earlier writing on conspiracy theories can be found in "
Dabbling at Being a Film Reviewer? Not Exactly...", "
Maybe Obama Was Born in Gulf Breeze, Florida" and "
False Flag Theories and 9/11", and by following the links in those posts. I also address the "vast right wing conspiracy" in "
Fort Hood and Oklahoma City", just to prove I am an equal opportunity debunker. I also have a very silly conspiracy related post at "
I Am Surprised at Conspiracy Theorists...".