It’s wild.
No, we just have a larger presence on the internet relative to our share of the global population, meaning our idiocy is noticed a lot more often.
Call it the Florida Man effect, it’s not that other states don’t also have crazies, it’s just that Florida’s are more well documented and publicized.
The Simple answer is No. Every country has its fair share of loud and dumb.
The complicated answer is, the less education and the more propaganda, the more likely you are to believe dumb shit.
I really think it’s a question of the sheer amount that is aimed at them through propaganda foreign and domestic. There’s definitely a huge, deliberate push to destabilize the US.
This 100%
Yes we are! It’s a result of all the subliminal messaging we receive from our kitchen appliances.
Yvan eht nioj
Nice try, refrigerator.
That’s why you cook everything on a wood fire in the middle of your kitchen.
Make sure you punch a hole in the roof for the smoke!
Removed by mod
Eating Pork will slowly turn your heart inside out
Now I want to know what they think happens when it’s half-way inside out.
Low educated people are more prone to being superstitious. End of conversation.
E: Oh, right, it also gets much worse if you hardcore propagandize it.
Educated people are harder to control. It’s why Republicans attack education at every opportunity.
It’s why fascists always attack education at every opportunity.
Yeah, that’s what I said.
That’s what I said, too! We should be friends.
I think there may be a factor of sample size; There’s something like 40 million Canadians, 40 million Australians, 60 million British, and 340 million Americans. So if you take a random sample of English speech on any topic, it’s statistically most likely to be from an American.
You forgot Russia, india & china
No I didn’t. India might be an asterisk.
I would also add things we consider conspiracy like UFO’s have been seen all over the world just other countries usually have a religious or spiritual reason for the sightings and thus they don’t become a conspiracy just part of their everyday life. Look up Jacques Vallee he does great research into this.
IDK if it’s that or just the fact that there’s both a lot of us and a great sense of nationalism instilled in us from a very young age. I’ve been to Mt. Rushmore twice. Only recently did I learn about how it was a sacred site to the native people that we promised to leave alone, before stealing it and blowing it to hell.
What I’m getting at is that we’re taught that America is the greatest nation on the planet, and we’re encouraged to be loud about that statement. So when a certain group of people in the government who are also very loud about their beliefs start saying some things that might sound completely bonkers to a foreigner, a lot of people find themselves agreeing purely because they like the attitude of the people talking.
You think brainwashing may have something to do with it?
Yeah that’s essentially what I wanted to describe.
I agree. Definitely brainwashing.
The anti-vax movement is alot bigger in the US than any other western country, so yeah.
That’s basically the answer.
I wouldn’t say individuals are more susceptible to it, but the US’s history is intertwined with conspiracy theories from the start. The founding “father” Sam Adams had tracts printed claiming the British had a secret plan to enslave white colonists ahead of the American war of independence.
The Spanish American war was stoked by a conspiracy that Spain had sabotaged our warship “Maine”. If you’ve ever wondered why the US Navy has a base in Cuba.
The “corrupt bargain” of 1824 was a supposed deal between JQ Adams and Clay to exclude Jackson from the presidency despite his electoral victory. Jackson too, was the subject of a theory that he and congressmen disgruntled over tariffs would dissolve the union and install Jackson as a military dictator should he loose in 1828.
People believe there is a magic sky dad who loves you so much they send you to suffer for eternity with the original naughty child who apparently wants to punish you for doing what they want.
Religions generally make conspiracy theories seem rational.
Absolutely not. People might give you reasons Americans are but that’s because they don’t know about the crazy shit people believe elsewhere but there’s nowhere that’s immune to conspiracy theories.
The thing that differentiates America is that it’s a major country (so on TV a lot, in English) and a low-trust society. But Italy and Uganda and Japan all have wild ass conspiracy theories. (Italy has some actual conspiracies like Propaganda Due.)
We see a lot of efforts to convince suckers of absurdities in the US because there’s a lot of economic value in swinging American votes.
In other countries that either don’t have voting, or don’t have a lot of economic power, there’s less to be gained by befuddling morons.
There is a hidden assumption in your comment: conspiracy theories are intentionally created or reinforced with specific strategic goals.
I think that the distrust of governments and generally those in power is a world-wide phenomenon. But I personally don’t think that it is unwarranted. Corruption, abuses of power, and conspiracies are widespread.
Now explain why the conspiracy theorists always side with fascist rulership.
What do you mean? Can you describe what you mean with ‘fascist rulership’? Then maybe I can try.
For example… people in Mexico many people suspect that politicians have associations with drug dealers, and many believe believe that particular bureaucratic systems (such as handing out public infrastructure projects) are exploited to distribute funds in ways that benefit those in power and their friends, these people I would classify as “conspiracy theorists”, and in many cases they have been correct. You think that these people will always side with fascist rulership?
Fascist as in the US actively supporting and financing terrorism in countries it wants control over, historically. Like the Contras, that type of fascism.
And I think that being suspicious has been co-opted by the right wing, yes.
Fascist as in the US actively supporting and financing terrorism in countries it wants control over, historically.
Isn’t this a conspiracy theory? I think that the official position of the US is that they are not financing terrorists, and many of their military actions have been performed to defend citizens from their ruler’s human rights violations. Isn’t the Cuban embargo officially there to protect the Cubans against human rights violations? I think that arguing otherwise makes one a conspiracy theorist.
I am not saying this to argue, I am trying to explain what I understand with conspiracy theory - someone who is skeptical about the official narrative, and believes that those in power will not always be transparent and honest to the public.
And I think that being suspicious has been co-opted by the right wing, yes.
I am aware of the “drain the swamp” rhetoric, that there was a QAnon, anti-vax, and other more fringe theories. But I think that this is a sub-set of conspiracy theorizing that is amplified by the media. Many conspiracy theorists are investigative journalists and critics of governments. And many conspiracy theories have ended up being true. I don’t think that critical thought and skepticism is an exercise that only right-wingers should participate in.
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Literally Sandinistas and Contras. Literally one of the world’s most egregious and “oh shit we got caught” moments in US history. Iran-Contras affair doesn’t ring a bell, does it? Why don’t you start there for both our sakes.
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Home grown conspiracy theorists are basically all fascist, yes. That whole segment of knowledge, if you can call it that, was astropaved by the right wing decades ago. Let’s put it this way, Alex Jones isn’t voting left. There is always a big bad wolf that you can’t see, and the only cure is voting right.
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It rings a bell but I am not familiar with the details, I will look into it but I can’t address it right away. I am well aware that the US is an imperialist nation that has committed and continues to commit horrible acts all over the world. But the point is that this is not the official narrative of the US government. They may give some concessions about what occurred in the past, but the official narrative about what is happening now is always that they and their friends are the good guys.
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I am not from the US and the question is about conspiracy theories in other countries. If the question means whether Americans are more prone to believe US-conspiracy theories, then yes, simply because they are much more likely to be aware of them. Many people in other countries don’t consume as much media in English and might have no idea who Jeffrey Epstein was. So they probably have no opinion on whether there was foul play on his dead. But I think that if you talk to someone in Mexico and tell them the story of Epstein, most will agree that there was foul play involved. I am telling you this from my personal experience, at least within my circle but I think it expands more generally. We have a general distrust of the government and law enforcement, and so a story in which foul play is involved to silence someone else resonates. It happens all the time! Journalists are being killed all the time around here to silence them, and very often they are being critical of people in power… Is it really that unwarranted to be suspicious?
Those are fair points- I’m not native US either, just to make clear, and I understand what you’re saying. It’s kind of like, better safe than sorry? There is an evolutionary advantage in beings suspicious, in fact some say that the act of lying and lie detection in humans had a significant impact in forming our ability to communicate through language, so it’s a big deal, sure. We don’t want to get hustled, know what I mean?
The issues arise later, when all our needs are met and we’re fed and cozy, and still our minds try to evolve and suspect everything around us because- better safe than sorry, right?
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I have met several people who moved into Usa during the last years, and they all said Yes very much.
Moved from where?
Some Germans and some Usamericans who had lived in Europe for a while.
Why would you do that?
