Muddled Thinking

Conspiracies Everywhere    

   Recently a friend remarked that many of those who live in a country close by apparently believe some rather bizarre things. I replied that I had just read a piece which indicated that a significant number of Canadians also hold views that can be characterized as 'strange.' Given that I read quickly and recall little, I was unable to come up with the number, or provide a 'strange' example and couldn't even remember in which publication the information could be found. So I went searching for the source. Here it is:

   The data indicating that even Canadians succumb to conspiracy theories are provided by ABACUS DATA. They are worth recording below and I hope the folks at ABACUS don't mind.

"Millions Believe in Conspiracy Theories in Canada," By Bruce Anderson & David Coletto, June 12, 2022

"We recently completed nationwide surveying among 1500 Canadians.  The focus was on the levels of trust people have in institutional sources of information, and belief in conspiracy theories.  This is the second in a series called “Trust & Facts: What Canadians Believe”
• 44% (the equivalent of 13 million adults) believe “big events like wars, recessions and the outcomes of elections are controlled by small groups of people working in secret against us”. Almost as many agree “much of our lives are being controlled by plots hatched in secret places.
• 37% (or 11 million) think “there is a group of people in this country who are trying to replace native born Canadians with immigrants who agree with their political views. This is an articulation of what is commonly referred to as replacement theory.
• 20% believe it is definitely or probably true that “the World Economic Forum is a group of global elites with a secretive strategy to impose their ideas on the world.” Another 37% think it is possibly true or aren’t sure either way.
• 13% think it is definitely or probably true that Microsoft founder Bill Gates is using microchips to track people and affect human behaviour. Another 21% say it’s possible, or aren’t really sure.
Summary:
Canadians who want to believe that Canadian society is relatively unaffected by conspiracy thinking will find little comfort in these results. Millions believe that our lives are controlled by secret plots to undermine our interests…..
Perhaps the most disconcerting thing in these numbers is the fact that mistrust of institutional accounts isn’t simply neutral skepticism – it is often accompanied by a willingness to believe dangerous contrarian theories. This threatens to undermine the ability of political parties, businesses, civil society groups, and governments to help build consensus and make progress together."

   One can argue that pollsters have often been wrong of late, or that perhaps they are part of a conspiracy. Or perhaps you do not find the percentages 'significant' and think them not "disconcerting." After all, a larger number of Canadians do not believe that Bill Gates is implanting microchips.

   

The Epoch Times
   Although the number of odd notions seems to be increasing, the number of newspapers available to assess them is decreasing. This may be a good example of an "inverse relationship." The need now for reliable sources brings me to The Epoch Times, which I am sure cannot be characterized as such. 
   Back at the beginning of 2021, I received a printed copy of The Epoch Times in my mailbox, as did many Canadians. I told you all about it in my post, The Epoch Times. At the beginning of June I began receiving copies of The Epoch Times in my inbox and I collected them over a few weeks. There were lots. I thought I would offer another assessment, but have changed my mind. I did enough work on the original one. Although Mr. Tang, the founder, says this, I don't agree: "As a media dedicated to truth, we pledged to report the news factually, honestly, and completely, without a political agenda." I do agree when he notes that,  "The Epoch Times was born with the purpose of telling the world about the destructiveness of socialism and communism, and specifically, to expose the disinformation and human rights violations of the Chinese Communist Party and how it works to infiltrate other countries." It also becomes clear as one reads The Epoch Times that vaccine mandates are an example of totalitarian oppression.  In closing, I will say that when I checked "unsubscribe", my request was granted and I was not continually badgered as I am by some other publications.

Beware the "Pink Slime"
   As local news outlets have closed, "pink slime" publications have slithered into many areas and neighbourhoods pretending to be produced within the communities in which they appear. The information provided is then more likely to be accepted and the information is very likely to have a very conservative bent.  In our area, if a newspaper suddenly appears bearing the title of The Masonville Times or The Wortley News, be suspicious. 

Sources: 

   The image above is found in: "Trump, QAnon and an Impending Judgement Day: Behind the Facebook-fueled Rise of The Epoch Times," Brandy Zadrozny and Ben Collins, NBC News, Aug. 20, 2019. Some of The Epoch Times emails I received, addressed such attacks from the 'mainstream" media. 

   There is now a Wikipedia entry for, "Pink-Slime Journalism."  For an original account about "pink slime" see: Hundreds of ‘pink slime’ Local News Outlets are Distributing Algorithmic Stories and Conservative Talking Points,"  Priyanjana Bengani, Columbia Journalism Review, Dec. 18, 2019.

"An increasingly popular tactic challenges conventional wisdom on the spread of electoral disinformation: the creation of partisan outlets masquerading as local news organizations. An investigation by the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia Journalism School has discovered at least 450 websites in a network of local and business news organizations, each distributing thousands of algorithmically generated articles and a smaller number of reported stories. Of the 450 sites we discovered, at least 189 were set up as local news networks across ten states within the last twelve months by an organization called Metric Media."

The Bonus: 

   It does not help when famous people, who should know better, help spread vaccine misinformation: "The Anti-Vaccine Movement's New Frontier: A Wave of Parents Have Been Radicalized by Covid-era Misinformation to Reject Ordinary Childhood Immunizations - With Potentially Lethal Consequences," Moises Velasquez-Manoff, NYT, May 31, 2022.