How to Recognise and Design viral Conspiracy Theories.
Blogue article by Friederike Balthasarina Freifrau von Münchhausen
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A Fateful Encounter
It is your destiny to read these lines.
You will learn unprecedented secrets that will change you and your worldview forever. But beware: this information is dangerous. Powerful figures are trying to suppress it from becoming public. The malicious rulers work in secret, they have conspired to obscure the – for them – inconvenient truth with their lies.
If you disclose their secrets, you may be targeted by their secret empire. Be warned: these people are not only powerful and selfish, but also unscrupulous.
How do I know this?
I was once one of theirs.
That’s why I thoroughly know their plans, their strategies and tactics, their underhand tricks.
Trust me, I’m a Liar
Conspiracy narratives seductively whisper to their audience, promising a new identity as part of a community that is superior to ordinary mortals by providing access to secret knowledge about which sinister individuals secretly control the destiny of humanity – and how they achieve this.
In fact, however, conspiracy stories are weapons used to charm readers, manipulate them and inflict damage on your opponents.
In my blogue article, I explain how you recognise conspiracy theories, what makes them narratively appealing and provide …
| … tips on how to create your own conspiracy narrative (framed). |
»Nothing is true, everything is permitted«.
Hassan-i-Sabah, often quoted by conspiracy theorists
Let’s acknowledge: We live in a post-factual age, teeming with fake news, a great era in which we choose what we believe and no longer feel compelled to struggle with such tiresome things as the search for „truth“, no, thankfully we live in an era in which:
»Truth is, what pleases.«
Friederike Balthasarina Freifrau von Münchhausen
At the same time, the media literacy and scepticism of our fellow human beings have been so bombarded by advertising and PR messages and pseudo news that our contemporaries have become so gullible that they can be reliably led astray by well-designed conspiracy tales.
But How Are Conspiracy Narratives Created?
I write »conspiracy narratives« or »stories« because they are admittedly not theories in the strict scientific sense. Because they are narratives, they become interesting for a blogue about storytelling. They constitute the »dark side of storytelling«, so to speak.
But how do we develop conspiracy stories that enable us to elevate ourselves to the status of superior knowers and do harm to our enemies?
The Fascination of Outrageous Secrets
Many conspiracy narratives begin with a sensational, outrageous event that is puzzling: how did a crisis, an accident, an injustice, a catastrophe or a disappearance without a trace come about?
This very mystery cannot be solved without further ado; there is no clear, satisfactory solution, only attempts at an answer.
However, the tension of a mystery is difficult to bear for us human beings, who always long for control over our world. So the mystery demands explanations and stimulates the collective imagination. The more crisis-ridden the event, the stronger the desire for orientation, explanation and thus manageability.
| * To craft your own conspiracy narrative, find a high-profile unexplained event as a starting point – and then set about explaining it. * If you can’t find such an event, simply make a pessimistic claim about a dangerous development, a crisis, a danger that society is heading towards. * An outrageous claim, such as that a cure for a previously incurable disease has long since been found, is also suitable – making it puzzling why this is not public knowledge. * Divide your conspiracy narrative into the visible and the invisible. The visible: The mysterious event/the alleged crisis/the invented scandal and conventional (mainstream) explanations. The invisible: The secret conspiracy that fills the gaps in the knowledge of the visible. Your invisible plot solves the mysteries and contradictions of the visible through the simple explanation of who is behind it. * The assertion that the mainstream explanations all sound suspiciously unanimous and that the truth – which is inconvenient for the powerful conspirators – is being suppressed is helpful here. |
Cui bono? – Choose Your Enemies Wisely
Probably the most important decision you have to make to create your conspiracy narrative is the choice of your adversaries.
The British master director Alfred Hitchcock already revealed to his colleague Francois Truffaut – to be read in his Hitchcock {*}, that a story is only as good as its antagonist.
In conspiracy narratives, opponents are those for whom all conceivable evils in the world are useful, which they cause and exploit for their own purposes.
Michael Butter, a professor of American Studies, distinguishes in his The Nature Of Conspiracy Theories {*} Conspiracies …
- »from top down«, i.e. by powerful people, the government or technologically superior aliens,
- »from bottom up«“, i.e. by outsiders or marginalised groups,
- »from within«, for example when Illuminati recruited Freemasons to gain access to their lodges or …
- »from the outside«, for example due to infiltration by double agents or as we know it from narratives that turn people into scapegoats who come to us from distant countries out of fear of war, persecution or poverty or by secret powers that allegedly secretly control their migration.
If we look at various conspiracy narratives, we get the impression that malicious Othering is their actual purpose, as if they are concerned with making a certain out-group contemptible.
Will Storr explains in his Science of Storytelling {*] – which you can find a review of here on Schonology©: slanderous othering accommodates our already existing, sinister tendency to ascribe noble motives and solid ethics to our own in-group, whereas when we come into conflict with so-called »others«, we hastily ascribe base motives to them – sometimes without even realising it.
Simplify!
In order to make your story easy to consume, it is essential to press the far too complex, unmanageable reality into a template of simple black and white: We – the good ones, the knowledgeable and enlightened – on one side and the conspirators on the other, who can be accused of any, even the worst, evil deed.
This simplistic black and white is also incredibly tempting for your audience because it allows to avoid the question of whether the listener might have to change their favourite lifestyle, whether they might be part of the problem.
| Use stereotypes and clichés to fabricate your conspiracy narrative when selecting alleged conspirators. |
The worse the alleged motives, intentions, plans and actions of the conspirators, the greater the outrage – and the greater the advantage that your narrative will spread more quickly on social networks. Studies have shown that emotionalising lies are shared more often than sober – let’s just say boring – facts.
It is not only the naming of villains who are behind every evil that causes radical simplification. Another such oversimplification: claim that the conspirators – like larger-than-life characters in popcorn cinema – have complete control thanks to their superior skills.
Unlike in our unpredictable reality, which is determined by countless factors, in conspiracy narratives the simplest cause-and-effect relationships transform will into action and omnipotent conspirators achieve exactly what they want. Therefore, depict them as powerful individuals, they control the destiny of world history – which only appears inscrutable to the clueless uninitiated.
A logical consequence of their omnipotence is that – contrary to all plausibility – it is not difficult for them to keep their conspiracy secret, possibly even for centuries.
| * Organise your conspiracy narrative in black and white: conspirators evil, conspiracy theorists good * Present (world) history as a simple cause-and-effect relationship * Design the conspiracists as all-powerful actors: What they want happens |
Conspiracy Story = A Substitute Religion?
Conspiracy narratives are similar to religious narratives in some respects.
They also tell of a truth behind reality to which initiates attained access after an awakening or through a vision, of a truth that changed them from the ground up.
Of course, traditional religions with their »golden rule« – »Do not do to others what you would not like done to yourself« – actually counteract the denigration of certain groups of people; in this respect, it is also a hindrance when an apostle Paul proclaims: »we do not fight against men, but against the powers and authorities of evil« (Ephesians, New Testament, Chapter 6, verse 12).
It is a well-known fact, however, that neither the »golden rule« nor the immaterialisation of opposing forces has prevented some religious zealots from disparaging certain groups. Conspiracy believers are usually just as unwavering and unteachable as these fanatics, namely as stubborn missionaries of their »salvation doctrine«.
In some respects, conspiracy narratives are secular alternatives to the narratives of religions that create a sense of meaning. Conspiracy stories as well as religious narratives show how storytelling is able to create identity, establish credibility and trustworthiness (at least in the short term) and provide orientation.
Some basic patterns of religious narratives form an excellent soil in which the seeds of our own conspiracy plots grow fruitfully.
| The following religious story patterns are suitable for your conspiracy narrative: * Creation stories that explain the origin of a mystery, * Confession and conversion stories that tell of a profound change in our personality – for example as a first-person narrative of how we found our way from the »wrong path« to the path of »virtue«, whereby we went from »deluded“ to »enlightened«. * Apocalyptic narratives of approaching catastrophes that emphasise the urgency of action |
Are We Not Even Allowed To Ask Any More?
Sometimes it is necessary to be more subtle as a conspiracy storyteller, for example when your actual intention – to slander a specific group – is recognised and criticised.
In such situations, it is advisable not to point the finger at the conspirators, but to take a diversion:
Practise asking harmless suggestive questions that portray you as a naive, inquisitive, sincere seeker of truth – but which only allow for those answers that are suitable for you.
Skilfully executed, you manage the feat of making your listeners trust you all the more and believe you even more firmly, as they were the ones who gave themselves the correct answer: Behind everything is __________________ !(Insert the conspirator group of your choice here).
Endlessly Expandable – Conspiracies as Series
Your conspiracy plot becomes particularly captivating thanks to (supposedly exclusive) interactivity, which allows your basic narrative to be expanded almost indefinitely.
Once the conspirators have been named and their unscrupulousness has been established, develop a cheerful scavenger hunt game with fake evidence and clues.
Claim that the secret villains think they are safe and therefore, just for the fun of it, mockingly arrogant as they are, lay out hidden clues to proudly sign their misdeeds as their perpetrators.
To do this, use published content, especially data junk from the group you want to conspiratorially slander, by hiding patterns and clues in it. In this way, you extend the »visible vs. invisible« duality that structures your basic narrative into the material of the chosen out-group and use it as a weapon against them by counter-reading it – and teaching your audience to do the same.
Once your readership is hooked on this game, they can read the (supposed) clues on their own and recognise the (apparent) ambiguity, which seems to confirm that the evil conspirators are everywhere, secretly mocking all those who are unable to read their texts »correctly«.
Cleverly executed, this type of gamification ensures that your audience only becomes more deeply entangled in your narrative, enticing them to continue spinning in a self-confirming and convincing way, so that at some point they think they can recognise clues about the conspirators everywhere.
The result: the claimed omnipotence of these villains seems to be confirmed.
| * Make your conspiracy story interactive by guiding your audience to find infamous »truths«, outrageous plans and malicious mockery in innocuous pronouncements by the alleged conspirators. * The more omnipresent the clues are – think of the all-seeing eye on the other side of the one-dollar bill – the better, because the more omnipotent and comprehensive the alleged conspiracy seems. |
Insiders, Initiated, Visionaries – Doomed to Apathy
Remain humble as a narrator of conspiracy stories. You face the all-powerful, secret string-pullers like David once faced Goliath. The asymmetrical constellation emphasises your heroic nature; after all, you dare to stand up to powerful opponents.
But you are unable to do any more than explain their supposed machinations. The conspirators are too powerful for that.
This shows the resigned, politically disenchanted and passivity-paralysed character of conspiracy stories.
But be prepared for the fact that belittling your chosen group as conspirators could provoke violence from your audience. Some conspiracy narratives seem to be all about inspiring atrocities.
Conspiracy designers should therefore not have overly tender hearts, otherwise they could regret the foreseeable consequences of their actions forever.
So think carefully before you join the chorus of conspiracists or even publish your own conspiracy narratives.
With conspiratorial greetings
Yours
Friederike Balthasarina Baroness von Münchhausen is a privatière and spends her leisure hours as a freelance maledictologist, essayist and artist of life.
Caution: Satire! – Editor’s Comment
Dear reader,
smart as you are, you have long since realised that our Schonology© guest author is by no means interested in actually giving lessons in conspiracy theory disparagement and slander.
Rather, her satirical article above is intended to help debunk conspiracy narratives, expose their reality-distorting simplification and warn of their fatal consequences.
It is no coincidence that Friederike Balthasarine von Münchhausen recently warned that conspiracy narratives can provoke violence. Which is by no means an exaggeration.
Philip Zimbardo, psychology professor and inventor of the (in)famous Stanford Prison Experiment of 1971, finds – in his book The Lucifer Effect {*} – influences that tempt completely normal, previously unremarkable people to commit atrocities:
- anonymity or the fact that perpetrators assume that they will get out unpunished,
- a mindset and language that dehumanises the victim group,
- a belief system that justifies immoral behaviour towards this group.
Will Storr confirms the last point when he explains in The Science of Storytelling {*} that acts of violence are statistically more likely to be motivated by a supposedly »right«, seemingly »moral« conviction than by base motives such as greed, envy or revenge.
Many, sometimes even all three of the influencing factors mentioned by Zimbardo are present in a number of conspiracy narratives – which makes them deadly dangerous.
When spy thrillers portray super villains or a Dan Brown Illuminati or Catholic extremists as spawns of evil, this may – since it is fiction – provide suspense and sometimes dazzling entertainment.
However, if such fictions are believed as truth, this is something completely different.
It is therefore extremely important – as our guest author demonstrates – to warn against the sinister objective of many conspiracy narratives, the objective of making certain groups of people contemptible.
Simplifying Complex Reality
»Storytelling« is forced to simplify its depiction of the world because, metaphorically speaking, as a map it can only depict the area in miniature, two-dimensionally and abstractly.
Accordingly, stories – as models of reality – are usually manageable and well-organised, which gives us a comfortable impression of control.
But beware, warns Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman: this is precisely why our brains love stories, our thinking organs are only too happy to be ensnared by them – and they reliably fall for stories, believing the illusion of reality that comes across as so palatable.
It is therefore important, like our guest author, to awaken scepticism towards narrative simplification. After all, »storytelling« may have become a buzzword, but it needs to be handled with care as it can degenerate into propaganda.
Gradually, more and more voices are speaking of a »cult of storytelling«, and in academic circles there is already talk of »narrative imperialism«: simple, easily consumable stories are replacing more ambiguous, detailed and complex – and therefore more realistic – models for describing and explaining our world, which is particularly tricky where this is inappropriate, for example in therapy and science communication.
Conspiracy narratives (and their resonance) often reinforce the impression that storytelling is particularly effective when it sows „mistrust“ – of the seemingly obvious, of science, of the mainstream: regrettably, fake news repeatedly achieves greater reach than its démystification, debunking, disenchantment as what it is: Misdirection, deception, lies.
I am convinced that in the long term, truthful, trust-building storytelling is more sustainable and successful.
Lurid, simplistic, untrue and manipulative narratives lose the trust of readers in the long term, at least those who want to recognise reality and train their own judgement.
Instead of relying on the simple, catchy and polarising narrative alone, I recommend observing reality closely and describing it truthfully.
Of course, especially in fiction, subjectivity, exaggeration and hyperbole are tried and tested methods that are often refreshing and entertaining.
However, storytellers also benefit immensely from sharpening their view of the world and people inherent in their storytelling.
Anyone who wants to make sweeping accusations against certain groups should, instead of telling stories and conspiring, be ashamed and silent.
Because: refreshing and innovative storytelling questions and undermines clichés and stereotypes, fans out black and white representations into shades and tones of grey, encourages people to think, including self-questioning, puts widespread assumptions to the test, warns of dangers qua dystopia or counters resignation with creative utopias.
As always, I wish you, dear readers, only the very best.
Yours sincerely,
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