



America has a gullibility problem, and it’s getting worse.

Whether you blame it on the Internet or political polarization or whatever, the fact is that more and more people seem more and more inclined to believe more and more crazy theories about (as a satirist once put it) plots to sap us of our precious bodily fluids.

Newsweek is out with a DISTURBING REPORT on this phenomenon:

Conspiracy theories have been woven into the fabric of American society since before the signing of the Constitution. But what was once dismissed as the amusing ravings of the tin-foil-hat crowd has in recent years crossed a threshold, experts say, with delusions, fictions and lunacy now strangling government policies and creating national health risks. �These kinds of theories have the effect of completely distorting any rational discussion we can have in this country,�� says Mark Potok, a senior fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center who recently wrote a report on the impact of what is known as the Agenda 21 conspiracy. �They are having a real impact now.�

Experts say the number and significance of conspiracy theories are reaching levels unheard-of in recent times, in part because of ubiquitous and faster communications offered by Internet chat rooms, Twitter and other social media. �Conspiracy narratives are more common in public discourse than they were previously,�� says Eric Oliver, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago who has published research on the phenomenon. �We seem to have crossed a threshold.�

America has a gullibility problem, and it’s getting worse.

Whether you blame it on the Internet or political polarization or whatever, the fact is that more and more people seem more and more inclined to believe more and more crazy theories about (as a satirist once put it) plots to sap us of our precious bodily fluids.

Newsweek is out with a DISTURBING REPORT on this phenomenon:

Conspiracy theories have been woven into the fabric of American society since before the signing of the Constitution. But what was once dismissed as the amusing ravings of the tin-foil-hat crowd has in recent years crossed a threshold, experts say, with delusions, fictions and lunacy now strangling government policies and creating national health risks. �These kinds of theories have the effect of completely distorting any rational discussion we can have in this country,�� says Mark Potok, a senior fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center who recently wrote a report on the impact of what is known as the Agenda 21 conspiracy. �They are having a real impact now.�

Experts say the number and significance of conspiracy theories are reaching levels unheard-of in recent times, in part because of ubiquitous and faster communications offered by Internet chat rooms, Twitter and other social media. �Conspiracy narratives are more common in public discourse than they were previously,�� says Eric Oliver, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago who has published research on the phenomenon. �We seem to have crossed a threshold.�