Tag Archives: conspiracy theories

282 – Coronavirus Conspiracy: A Pandemic of Misinformation

Here we go again, it’s a new year and there’s a new type of flu going around that’s going to kill us. The 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) first originated in Wuhan, a city of eleven million people in China, and since it began, internet rumors have been flying fast and furious, in many places spread through memes.

Some are fun…

Some aren’t:

How does bogus information spread so quickly? Trust.

Trust in the media is at an all time low. Only 41% of Americans have a lot or a good amount of faith in the veracity of mass media. Trust in the government is even lower. In 1958, 73% of Americans had faith in their government, in 2019, it was at 17%. People just don’t believe what they’re told. And it’s not like the government hasn’t lied to them before or that the media has completely gotten a story wrong. When you don’t trust the institutions that are supposed to tell you the truth, conspiracy theories start looking a lot better.

How are people just supposed to trust the party line when official stories look ridiculous (looking at you Jeffrey Epstein)?! And we know that China censors the Internet, how can we trust anything coming out of there? That’s what we tackle this week as we discuss conspiracy theories, the Coronavirus, and why people are attracted to misinformation.

So what are some of our favorite Coronavirus conspiraces?

  • That the Virology Institute of Wuhan is a “real life” Umbrella Corporation like in the video game and movie, Resident Evil
  • Bill Gates patented the Coronavirus in 2015 and now he’s going to use it to depopulate the planet
  • It’s a Chinese bioweapon that escaped from the lab
  • That using a special soution called MMS (miracle mineral solution) can cure you of the Coronavirus, even though it’s actually just bleach
  • That China is doing a media blackout as crematorium employees report hundreds of bodies being burned so the disease won’t spread
  • That the virus contains 4 “protein inserts” from HIV that show the virus was designed and didn’t just occur naturally

For conspiracies to work like crackpots think they do, it would require geniuses at the top. Benjamin Franklin famously said, “Three can keep a secret, if two of them are dead.” Whether it’s UFOs, cars that are powered by water, or bioengineered virii, the truth would get out. We keep believing that humans are actually smarter than they are, when the truth is that the inmates are running the asylum.

And in the jungle we’d be compost,
in the Savannah we’d be meat.
We’re so petty and we’re so mean,
We are everything we hoped we wouldn’t be.

Just so you know, the inmates are running the asylum.
Just so you know, they’re just as dumb as they seem.

And in the water we’d be sharkbait,
In the Taiga, freezer burn.
How old were you, when you finally knew,
that no one really has a clue?

Just so you know, the inmates are running the asylum.
Just so you know, they’re just as dumb as they seem.

256 – Conspiracy Theories: From Sword Of Trust to The Moon Landing

The new film Sword of Trust features a deep-dive into a fictional conspiracy theory that the South actually won the Civil War. Directed by mumblecore veteran Lynn Shelton and starring everyone’s favorite curmudgeon Marc Maron, Sword of Trust is a comedy about a couple who inherit a Confederate sword that actually proves the South won the war and their journey into tinfoil hat-land to sell the sword to the highest bidder.

Our colleague Scott Markus from What’s Your Ghost Story.com got to work the Sword of Trust red carpet at the film’s premiere at SXSW this year for the International Screenwriters’ Association and he asked the cast and crew (including director Lynn Shelton and lead Marc Maron) about what their favorite conspiracy theory was for this episode.

In addition to that fun segment, Scott joins Wendy and I for a discussion of our favorite conspiracy theories. Because of course, July 20th 2019 was the 50th anniversary of the landing on the moon and the idea that we faked it because we needed a big propaganda win at the end of the 60s continues to this day. Who doesn’t love this video of Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin punching A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon filmmaker Bart Sibrel…

In addition to discussing the movie and the moon landing conspiracy theories, here are some of the other topics we talk about:

Because Sword of Trust features a Civil War conspiracy theory, we wanted to record a song that was popular during the era. Released in 1861, you could hear “Aura Lee” on any night around army campfires on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line. You might recognize the melody because it was repurposed for Elvis’ classic, “Love Me Tender”.

As the blackbird in the spring, ‘neath the willow tree,
Sat and piped, I heard him sing; sing of Aura Lee.
Aura Lee, Aura Lee, maid with golden hair
Sunshine came along with thee, and swallows in the air.

In thy blush the rose was born, music when you spake.
Through thine azure eye, the morn, sparkling seemed to break.
Aura Lee, Aura Lee, birds of crimson wing
Never song have sung to me as in that night, sweet spring.

Aura Lee, the bird may flee the willow’s golden hair
Swing through winter fitfully, on the stormy air.
Yet if thy blue eyes I see, gloom will soon depart.
For to me, sweet Aura Lee is sunshine through the heart.

When the mistletoe was green, midst the winter’s snows
Sunshine in thy face was seen kissing lips of rose.

Aura Lee, Aura Lee, take my golden ring.
Love and light return with thee,
and swallows with the spring.
Aura Lee, Aura Lee, take my golden ring.
Love and light return with thee,
and swallows with the spring.

16 – They’re After Me: Celebrities Who Believe In Conspiracy Theories

With the recent news of Creed frontman Scott Stapp’s meltdown, it seemed like a good time to discuss some of the craziest celebrity conspiracy theories and what some of our favorite stars believe in.

Many celebrities have not shied away from their beliefs that the government is lying about something or that it is after them. 9/11 Truth is one of the big ones, with Oliver Stone, Marion Cotillard, Charlie Sheen, and Mos Def having their doubts about the official September 11th story.

We go in depth on Randy Quaid and his “Hollywood Star Whackers” theory, which goes into just how far off the deep end this talented comic actor and his wife have gone. We also touch on Korn’s Jonathan Davis discussing Miley Cyrus being secretly tool of the Obama government, and of course we give plenty of time to the latest celebrity conspiracy… just who is after Scott Stapp?

Featured Song: Big Data Christmas

You used to be such a pain to shop for,
It used to be so tough,
I never knew just what to get,
and I never bought enough.
It always broke my heart to see you,
sad under the tree,
But this year will be better thanks to your Internet cookies.

We used to think the government would try and read our minds,
And put us in a gulag, maybe make us work a mine.
We gave up all our secrets for some email that was free,
Who’d have thought the techies were the real enemy?
This Christmas I just want my privacy.

So I’ll get suggestions from now ’til Christmas Eve,
Of all the things that I should get you, of all the things you need.
I feel like they know you better than I ever could,
Since they read all your texts I guess they probably should.

So let those Jingle Bells ring on,
It’s just the latest sale from good ol’ Amazon.

We used to think the government would try and read our minds,
And put us in a gulag or make us work a mine.
But we gave up all our secrets for some email that was free,
And pictures of vacations of people I never see.
This Christmas I just want my privacy.

Santa might be creepy ‘cuz he spies on little kids,
But that bearded fatman don’t have Analytics.

Santa don’t sell your information,
Santa don’t work for corporations,
Santa don’t use Black Hat marketing,
Santa don’t use Facebook retargeting.

And they don’t care if you’ve been naughty or you’ve been nice,
The only thing that matters is if we’ll bite at the price.

We used to think the government would try and read our minds,
And put us in a gulag or make us work a mine.
But we gave up all our secrets for some email that was free,
Who’d have thought the techies were the real enemy?
This Christmas I just want my privacy.
This Christmas I just want my privacy.
This Christmas I just want my privacy.

Santa don’t sell your information,
Santa don’t work for corporations.
Santa don’t sell your information,
Santa don’t work for corporations.

Links on Celebrity Conspiracy Theories