Did You Hear the Latest About Hillary? Zeynep Tufekci

New Post Public Reply Private Reply Replies (0) Message Board

Sep 13, 2016 at 8:59 AM

Quote:

Did You Hear the Latest About Hillary?

Zeynep Tufekci SEPT. 12, 2016

Credit Eric Thayer for The New York Times

Hillary Clinton has pneumonia. Did you know she has a body double? She was that blond woman waving at reporters in front of Chelsea Clinton’s apartment a few hours after Mrs. Clinton felt unwell and left the Sept. 11 commemoration at ground zero.

Did you also hear that Mrs. Clinton has Parkinson’s disease? Her coughing fits prove it, as does her latest bout of illness. She has epilepsy, as well as advancing dementia. She has managed to hide all these illnesses through almost a year and a half of a grueling campaign because the man the world thinks is the head of her Secret Service detail is actually her hypnotist. He’s also a medical doctor.

No, I haven’t lost my mind. I’ve just lost many hours on social media, where these conspiracy theories run rampant.

Well before Mrs. Clinton fell ill and had to be assisted into a van on Sunday, former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York, a supporter of Donald J. Trump, said on Fox News that the news media had failed to cover her health and that viewers should “go online and put down ‘Hillary Clinton illness,’ take a look at the videos for yourself.”

The events of last weekend will not help Mrs. Clinton, who spent Monday at home and canceled a trip to California. Nor will they help the rest of us, stuck in this conspiracy election.

Yes, the Clinton campaign should have disclosed her pneumonia diagnosis on Friday, curtailed her schedule and allowed her to recover. Lack of disclosure only increases the number of people who suspect she’s hiding something.

But there’s also no amount of disclosure that would change the minds of people who think she’s been hiding epilepsy, Parkinson’s and dementia, thanks to her secret hypnotist and persuasive body double.

The problem is much bigger than a single moment, or this particular campaign. Conspiracy theories are like mosquitoes that thrive in swamps of low-trust societies, weak institutions, secretive elites and technology that allows theories unanchored from truth to spread rapidly. Swatting them one at a time is mostly futile: The real answer is draining the swamps.

I’m originally from Turkey, so I’m used to my Western friends snickering at the prevalence of conspiracy theories in the Middle East. It is frustrating, but the reason for these theories is not a mystery.

Elites do practice excessive secrecy. Foreign powers have meddled in the region for decades. Institutions that are supposed to be trusted intermediaries, separating facts from fiction while also challenging the powerful, are few and weak. It makes sense to gravitate toward explanations that attribute everything to secret cabals.

And now, with social media, what remained of controls on keeping the worst stuff out of the public sphere has been demolished.
Wait, what part of the world was I writing about again?

My coughing fit brought about by my own advanced dementia must have confused me again.

Conspiracy theories have been around a long time, but thanks to new technologies and decline of trust in institutions, it’s getting worse.

First of all: There are actual conspiracies in the world. The powerful do routinely collude to hide information. To add to this, people like stories, and conspiracy theories are a form of storytelling. The trouble here isn’t a healthy suspicion of power, but the transformation of a culture of political distrust into a swirl of bizarre tales divorced from facts.

We expect traditional news outlets to act as gatekeepers for information, helping us distinguish truth from rumor. They’ve never been perfect at this job, but the precarious economics of the industry is making the situation even worse.

The new, internet-driven financing model for news outlets is great for spreading conspiracy theories. Each story lives or dies by how much attention it attracts. This rewards the outrageous, which can get clicks more easily.

However, conspiracy theories can live only to the degree they can find communities to flourish in. That’s where social media comes in. Finding a community online has been great for many people — the dissident in Egypt, the gay teenager in a conservative town — but the internet is not Thor’s hammer, which only the purest of heart can pick up.

Connecting online also works for an anti-vaccination parent or a Sept. 11 truther. Conspiracists can organize online and can push their version of the world into the mainstream.

To fight conspiracy theories, we also don’t just need more fact-checkers. We need to fix the underlying dynamics.

People think that their governments are working against them, or at least not for them, and in some cases this is true. Ruling elites around the world are circling their wagons, and fueling more suspicion and mistrust.

Reversing that would be the best defense against baseless paranoia that masquerades as political action.

The predominant internet business model isn’t always great for democracy, but it’s not the only option.

We should support subscription, donation and philanthropy funded sources of information. Once “go viral or die” isn’t the only game in town, and with a more transparent and responsive government, our conspiracy fever might break.

Zeynep Tufekci is an associate professor at the University of North Carolina School of Information and Library Science and a contributing opinion writer.

Newer

Older

Scroll down for more posts ▼

Top 10 Most Recent News Articles

Baseus Debuts Innovations at IFA 2026: Earbuds to Security

Baseus Pumps New Blood into Tech Gadgets Well, if you're looking for some fresh tech pumping in from Berlin, Baseus tossed out some intriguing gizmos at IFA 2026 that'll perk up your ears. We're looking at an evolution from a brand that's clawed its way from everyday accessories to a full-blown tech ecosystem—pretty ambitious, if you ask me. Baseus isn't playing small...

Sunseeker Unveils 2027 LiDAR Models at IFA 2026

Big Moves at IFA 2026 Sunseeker’s latest unveiling at IFA 2026 in Berlin signals a bold leap. They’re stepping beyond the usual automated mowers to unveil a comprehensive, high-tech garden ecosystem for 2027. It’s not just about lawn care anymore; it’s about integrating AI and robotics into our everyday green spaces. This isn’t just tinkering with your garden;...

Roborock Expands into Pool Cleaning, Partners with Real Madrid

Roborock's Strategic Leap at IFA 2026 Ah, Roborock—those smart folks who want to squeeze every second out of your day—even if it means they have to steam-blast your tile floor to free you up for something else. They've strutted their stuff at IFA 2026, and I'm not just talking robot vacuums clunking through living rooms. Nope. They're diving into pools now. What’s...

Baidu Joins Shanghai-HK Connect, Expanding Reach

Big News from Baidu: Connect Program Inclusion Bet you didn't see this one coming. Baidu, the titan of AI in China, just rolled out some significant buzz. Starting September 7th, their Class A ordinary shares will join the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect program, shaking things up on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. This move is set to give investors from the Chinese...

Allison Ng Earns Prestigious NAPABA 'Best Under 40' Award

Allison Ng's Achievement: Beyond the Legal Grind Without warning, the legal world has another star rising up through its ranks, and this time it's Allison Ng catching the spotlight. She’s tucked away in Greenberg Traurig’s Atlanta office, plugging away in pharmaceutical and medical device litigation. But every now and then, these legal eagles get a chance to spread...

GreenCore AI Agents Shatter Monthly Record in Ops Surge

Dispatch from the Digital Trenches GreenCore Solutions Corp. (GSC) just made a bit of a splash with those numbers any company would salivate over. We're talking 24.5 million AI agent transactions in just one month. If that doesn't jolt your morning coffee, not sure what will. AI Agents Getting Busy For those out of the loop, GSC isn't your run-of-the-mill tech outfit....

Simply Good Foods Class Action: Deadline Nears

Turning Points in the Simply Good Foods Saga Investing always comes with its share of heartaches, but when a company's strategic blunders land you in hot water, it's personal. Simply Good Foods (NASDAQ: SMPL) finds itself in the legal spotlight, with upcoming deadlines that investors should circle in red. If you took a hit with SMPL between October 24, 2024, and April 8,...

AARP New York Promotes Affordable 'Staycation' Experiences

Exploring New York Without Breaking the Bank Tough times call for creative solutions, and AARP New York is on the ball. With travel costs soaring and many older New Yorkers scrimping to make ends meet, the 'Staycation' campaign steps in with an offer too good to pass up: uncovering the gems of New York right under our noses without shelling out hefty sums. The plan? Turn...

Exemplar Luxury Group Taps Gretchen Koback Pursel

Changing the Game with a New Chief People Officer There’s an old saying in retail: talent rules everything. Well, Exemplar Luxury Group is doubling down on this with its appointment of Gretchen Koback Pursel as Chief People Officer. Set to take the reins on September 28, Pursel brings an impressive resume chock-full of luxury and innovative transformations from big...

NOVOSENSE's Bold Performance Amid Rapid IC Demand

Surge in Revenue Growth Marks a Milestone for NOVOSENSE Give a pat on the back to NOVOSENSE (HKEX: 02676), because reporting a robust 66.73% bump in first-half revenue isn't small potatoes in today's tech landscape. This translates to around $374.54 million rolling into their coffers, which is quite a spectacle if you're watching the trend of sequential revenue growth...