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Here's a secret: People who spew online lies may not actually believe they're true. You could even call it a conspiracy among conspiracy theorists.

Social psychologist H. Colleen Sinclair and her colleagues highlight a few subgroups of these people. They include straight-up #trolls just trying to promote conflict and harass others, along with people who are making money from the lies they tell and extremists fishing for new recruits.
https://theconversation.com/some-online-conspiracy-spreaders-dont-even-believe-the-lies-theyre-spewing-237730
#socialmedia #misinformation

Some online conspiracy-spreaders don’t even believe the lies they’re spewing

These people share conspiracy theories to promote conflict, cause chaos, recruit and radicalize potential followers, make money, harass, or even just to get attention.
The Conversation
#socialmedia #misinformation #trolls

reshared this

in reply to The Conversation U.S.

Ulrich_the_Elder, 🇨🇦,🇺🇦
Ulrich_the_Elder, 🇨🇦,🇺🇦
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They are liars. They do not care if the words they are spreading are lies. The only metric is their own wants and desires. They have nothing to offer.
in reply to The Conversation U.S.

Regezi
Regezi
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There is another category: those who share conspiracy content for amusement
* this may reinforce one's own feeling of being at home in the "right" worldview (through corresponding DruKos), but fails to recognize that it is of little help to present the abstruse side as idiotic and to fight a further slide into conspiracy theories (ridiculed, labeled individuals do not become more accessible as a result - in my opinion, amusement also seems to be a vehicle for self-assurance)
in reply to The Conversation U.S.

Patty Kimura for Harris2024
Patty Kimura for Harris2024
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Someone recently said something hurtful to provoke "a rise" out of me. I said "Why would you say that?" "To get a rise out of you, it's funny." "So hurting me is funny for you, but, let's be clear, not funny for me. Why would you do that?" Shrugs, looks away, and stops talking.
People are emotionally immature, and sometimes cruelly so. And I am a notorious adult buzz-kill. Grow up, people.
in reply to The Conversation U.S.

A.Stringer
A.Stringer
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didn't the original online trolls not actually perpetuate harmful conspiracy theories but their purpose was to try and get a rise out of people for no other reason than their own amusement? It later morphed (or was hijacked) into something far more dangerous (as most social media behaviours so often do).
https://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2012/apr/19/trolls-where-come-from#:~:text=It%20seems%20to%20be%20widely,dungeons)%20or%20Usenet%20discussion%20groups.

Trolls: where do they come from?

Andy Bodle: From goat-hassling monsters to online nuisances, trolls have had a bad press. But they are not the same as bullies – recent stories have created a linguistic muddle
Andy Bodle (The Guardian)
This entry was edited (2 weeks ago)
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