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Books > Reference & Interdisciplinary > Controversial knowledge > Conspiracy theories
‘Timely and troubling’ Evening Standard
‘A necessary book’ David Aaronovitch
‘Frequently jaw-dropping’ Huffington Post
From UFOs to the New World Order, the inside story of how conspiracy
theories won over America.
In November 2017, a serial climate change denier and anti-vaxxer was
elected President of the United States. The rise of Donald Trump marked
the beginning of a new American epoch: the age of the conspiracy
theorist.
Now, Anna Merlan goes undercover in America’s sprawling network of
conspiracy theorists and uncovers their secrets. She meets the
UFOlogist who claims to have travelled to Mars with a young Barack
Obama. She chats with the ‘pizzagate’ truthers who think Washington
D.C.’s favourite pizzeria is run by a satanic paedophile ring. And she
bumps into Alex Jones, the YouTube impresario who thinks the state is
using chemical warfare to turn the population gay – and who happens to
be on first-name terms with the leader of the free world.
Merlan reveals a world of innuendo and propaganda lying just beneath
the surface of US culture. It might just help explain the political
turmoil of our time.
In a quest to discover the truth behind the twentieth century's
disastrous record of conflict and war, Terry Boardman considers two
contradictory approaches to history: so-called cock-up theory and
conspiracy theory. Could there be truth to the often-dismissed
concept of conspiracy in history: the manipulation of external
events by groups and individuals mostly hidden from the public eye?
In the work of philosopher and scientist Rudolf Steiner, Boardman
finds convincing evidence of the existence of secretive circles in
the West, which have plans for humanity's long-term future. Steiner
indicated that such 'brotherhoods' had prepared for world war in
the twentieth century, and had instructed their members, using
redrawn maps as a guide, on how Europe was to be changed. If these
brotherhoods existed in Steiner's time, could they still be active
today? Based on detailed research, Boardman concludes that such
groups are directing world politics in our time. As backing for his
theory, he studies a series of important articles and maps -
ranging from an 1890 edition of the satirical journal Truth to more
recent pieces from influential publications that speak for
themselves. He concludes that vast plans are in progress for a New
World Order to control and direct individuals and nations, and he
calls us to be vigilant, awake and informed.
Machiavelli is one of the most famous strategists of all time. In
this collection he discusses the dangers of conspiracies, and the
component parts of an army, vital for gaining and holding power in
his day. He also gives advice on tactics and discipline, and
explains why promises made under force ought not to be kept. GREAT
IDEAS. Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They
have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They
have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have
enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched
lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the
great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas
shook civilization and helped make us who we are.
Enter a hidden world of mysteries, scandals, secrets, and lies
Perhaps it is human nature to believe there is more to the world
than meets the eye - that the greatest secrets and truths are
hidden from us. Whatever the reason, conspiracy theories are a
global phenomenon. Conspiracies Uncovered delves into some of the
most pervasive theories, from the "The assassination of John F.
Kennedy" to the moon landings, showcasing the evidence for and
against each one, revealing the surprising truths behind some and
the bizarre inspirations for others.
The evidence in this book may not ultimately give you the "smoking
gun" you are looking for on your journey, but I guarantee it will
give you a box of bullets when you find it. In 1996, John
Greenewald, Jr. began researching the secret inner workings of the
U.S. Government at the age of fifteen. He targeted such agencies as
the CIA, FBI, Pentagon, Air Force, Army, Navy, NSA, DIA, and
countless others. Greenewald utilized the Freedom of Information
Act (FOIA) to gain access to more than two million pages of
documents. This archive includes information relating to UFOs, the
JFK Assassination, chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons, and
top secret aircraft. He took the millions of pages, and over the
course of more than two decades, has built an archive known around
the world, as The Black Vault. Inside The Black Vault: The
Government's UFO Secrets Revealed takes you on a journey within the
secret world of unidentified aerial phenomenon that has plagued the
military since at least the 1940s. Declassified records prove that
the UFO topic is one of the most highly classified and most elusive
subjects the U.S. Government has ever dealt with. Each chapter
explores various agencies and their documents, and Greenewald
breaks down the meaning of why some of the most important documents
are relevant to proving a massive cover-up. Along with declassified
documents, Greenewald outlines the struggle it took him to get
them. No other topic has proven so difficult, in more than 8,000
FOIA requests that he has filed. He explores why that might be and
meets skeptics and debunkers head on, outlining why some of their
more prominent rebuttals for it all cannot be true.
The contributors to this volume argue that whilst there is a
commonplace superstition conspiracy theories are examples of bad
beliefs (and that the kind of people who believe conspiracy
theories are typically irrational), many conspiracy theories are
rational to believe: the members of the Dewey Commission were right
to say that the Moscow Trials of the 1930s were a sham; Woodward
and Bernstein were correct to think that Nixon was complicit in the
conspiracy to deny any wrongdoing in the Watergate Hotel break in;
and if we either accept the terrorist events of 9/11 were committed
by Al-Qaeda, or that the Bush Administration was responsible, then
it seems we are endorsing some theory about a conspiracy to commit
an act of terror on American soil. As such, there is no reason to
reject conspiracy theories sui generis. This volume challenges the
prima facie that conspiracy theories are irrational beliefs,
arguing that we should treat conspiracy theories and the phenomena
of conspiracy theories seriously. It presents fresh perspectives
from the wider philosophical, sociological and psychological
community on what is becoming an issue of increasing relevance in
our time.
Modern Conspiracy attempts to sketch a new conception of conspiracy
theory. Where many commentators have sought to characterize
conspiracy theory in terms of the collapse of objectivity and
Enlightenment reason, Fleming and Jane trace the important role of
conspiracy in the formation of the modern world: the scientific
revolution, social contract theory, political sovereignty,
religious paranoia and mass communication media. Rather than see in
conspiratorial thinking the imminent death of Enlightenment reason,
and a regression to a new Dark Age, Modern Conspiracy contends that
many characteristic features of conspiracies tap very deeply into
the history of the Enlightenment itself: among other things, its
vociferous critique of established authorities, and a conception of
political sovereignty fuelled by fear of counter-plots. Drawing out
the roots of modern conspiratorial thinking leads us to truths less
salacious and scandalous than the claims of conspiracy theorists
themselves yet ultimately far more salutary: about mass
communication; about individual and crowd psychology; and about our
conception of and relation to knowledge. Perhaps, ultimately, what
conspiracy theory affords us is a renewed opportunity to reflect on
our very relationship to the truth itself.
The Telescreen is the pervasive media screen put in front of, and
injected into, the eyes and ears of humans in the American
electronic techno-culture. This begins from birth, and moulds
consciousness throughout life: not a genuine human consciousness,
but rather is a less-than-human, despiritualized
semi-consciousness. People today continually flood their
consciousnesses with images and impressions from television,
videogames, church, radio, billboards, textbooks, magazines,
newspapers, etc.- the "telescreen world" of Orwell's 1984. The
Telescreen is about how this pseudosphere destroys consciousness
and society as humans give their attention, consciousness, and
vital spirit to the telescreen. The result is a society of unholy
subhumans, who no longer act like they have souls: They cannot turn
off the telescreen world even to have dinner and talk to each other
or to their children. When they do talk it is mostly about
impressions from the telescreen world. Their inner subjective
consciousness is constructed and formed by the telescreen, leading
to a world of despiritualization and warmongering by hordes of
conformist, petty, unhappy troll-like "yes-men." -- Jeff Grupp The
telescreens of 1984 substituted fiction lives for the empty ones of
a brainwashed population, as in Plato's cave. Grupp drives it home
that this is our world now. Some features of this dream-world of
The Telescreen: Materialism and consumerism make people into
robots, shallow stooges. Degrading self-images, down-dumbing
education of drills, not thinking skills. War propaganda fed on
pure fakery and repetition by the media, censored of truth and
filled with non-news, gossip and cant. Brainwashing underpinned by
fallacious reasoning. Example: Iran and Iraq slandered as
murderously planning to unleash WMDs, while the US really has and
uses them for genocide against target nations. Information warfare:
The bias of "educational" TV shows like the "History Channel."
Trusted figures hired to peddle suspect messages. Journalists who
stray from the party line into real issues are fired. Exploiting
the herd instinct to impose conformity. Psychological tyranny is
more effective than brute force. An artificial consciousness is
dinned into people by constant electronic stimuli. They depend on
it -- and on pharmaceutical drugs too -- for a feeling of
well-being: they are addicts. Appendix -- Infowars articles: the
NWO is taking over the patriot and truth movements, seemingly
attacking itself. We need Jeffersonian militias, not gun control.
-- J-P Leonard
The second edition of this popular text, updated throughout and now
including Covid-19 and the 2020 presidential election and
aftermath, introduces students to the research into conspiracy
theories and the people who propagate and believe them. In doing
so, Uscinski and Enders address the psychological, sociological,
and political sources of conspiracy theorizing. They rigorously
analyze the most current arguments and evidence while providing
numerous real-world examples so students can contextualize the
current debates. Each chapter addresses important current
questions, provides conceptual tools, defines important terms, and
introduces the appropriate methods of analysis.
In June 2021, U.S. National Intelligence publicly admitted that
UFOs are real physical objects and that they have been penetrating
restricted military airspace since at least 2004. Despite this
bombshell and further recent admissions by the Pentagon, the
identity of these mysterious craft remains unknown. This book
brings the full scientific method to bear on this enigmatic issue.
Written by Daniel Coumbe, a former research scientist at the Niels
Bohr Institute in Copenhagen with a PhD in theoretical particle
physics, this book defines one of the first scientifically credible
studies of UFOs in the modern era. Anomaly reveals new results
derived from radar, optical sensors, and scientific instruments,
rather than speculating on unreliable eyewitness testimony. This
scientific approach provides the reader with clear and reliable
answers, something that is desperately needed in the murky field of
UFOs.
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