One of the striking things about this moment is the almost total disconnect between the conspiracy theories that go viral online and seep into our culture and the actual conspiracies being uncovered that few care about. Which illustrates that while conspiracy theories may claim https://twitter.com/icijorg/status/1308315181978705921

to show us the real story behind the facades of power, they actually work to distract us from what really goes on. Hence why governments and non-state actors weaponise them in their attempts to retain or disrupt power.

Plus the actual vast conspiracies of corruption and the abuse of power are often mind numbingly complex, without simple narratives that can be easily wrapped up, and have blurred lines between the good and bad guys, thus are unpalatable to our age of infotainment.

When information was easier to control, governments could shut down newspapers or pressure journalists. One of the first places to seize in a coup was the TV station. Now in our networked Information Age, there are too many sources to shutdown. So you release a swarm of competing

and contradictory stories, you seed a world of misinformation and disinformation. This playbook has been around for a while but gained centre place after the downing of MH17. You want to do three things 1. You overwhelm people with info so they give up trying to understand. 2 You

undermine any possibility of finding the truth by seemingly encouraging the individual to pursue the truth at all costs by questioning everything (it’s no coincidence that Russia Today TV’s slogan is ‘Question More’) which inculcates an atmosphere of skepticism and faux enquiry

3. You exploit human’s nature as story based creatures, knowing that they, having been overwhelmed with info, and encouraged into generalised skepticism, are ripe for the narrative structure of conspiracy theories. Which are deeply attractive to disorientated and tired minds.

Some of this happens organically but is also becoming an established political tactic, even in the West. Info-disruption overwhelms our cognitive brains pushing us into the irrational and emotional, giving politics and thus culture a whole new emotive and confusing atmosphere.

ps the ‘question everything’ mantra turns up a lot in Qanon circles.