Media Disinformation and the Conspiracy Panic Phenomenon | Global Research
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Ironic that this was posted just a day after I sent the following letter to the NYT:
To The Editor:
The term “conspiracy theorist” is used pejoratively to marginalize or dismiss anyone who disagrees with the “official story” of any event, as provided by the government or one of its agencies (“Why Rational People Buy Into Conspiracy Theories,” May 26). Yet Maggie Koerth-Baker notes that, “conspiracy theories wouldn’t exist in a world in which real conspiracies don’t exist,” citing Watergate and Iran-Contra as two of the latter. She could also have mentioned the infamous Gulf of Tonkin incident – used by President Johnson to support escalation of the Vietnam war – which the release of the Pentagon Papers proved never occurred.
The reality is that there is as much evidence – and arguably even broader expert testimony – to support alternative theories of complicity and/or cover-up with respect to the assassinations of J.F.K. and R.F.K., and the attacks of 9/11, as there was to support the Gulf of Tonkin, Watergate, and Iran-Contra conspiracies.
“Conspiracy theorists” such as Daniel Ellsberg, and the brave law enforcement, media, and government personnel who tenaciously investigated the Watergate and Iran-Contra conspiracies, were “rational” people. In this regard, the reason why “rational people buy into conspiracy theories” is because, all too often, it is rational to do so.
Ian Alterman
Posted on 27-May-13 at 1:50 pm | PermalinkNew York, NY