Liquifying Conspiracy Theories in the Age of Social Media (I)

Liquifying Conspiracy Theories in the Age of Social Media (I)

Apart from a literal encounter with the word ‘conspiracy’, I practically met this word in late 2003. It was at a public lecture which I could not vividly recollect its details. As a personal culture, immediately the programme was over, I went to browse through the stack of books displayed at the venue’s mart, and my eyes got hinged to this book titled: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion! Can I have that book? -I said, pointing to the unappealing cover design but heart-catching titled book. The book seller replied: You want Jewish Conspiracy? I didn’t know the book which goes by ‘The Protocols of Elders of Zion’ has its aka as Jewish Conspiracy. Yes, I responded in affirmative, since I know Zionists and Jews are related, though not substitutable. 

Whether the content of the book is real or fictitious (anti-Semitic as alleged from some quarters), the fact is I enjoyed the book, and it even propelled me to get some corroborating books like CIA and the Third World by Satish Kumar and the Third World Calamity by May Brian. These books and others –addressing the same or similar theme- which I have been ‘unfortunate’ to read have made me a potential victim of conspiracy theory. For the benefit of those who might not have come across such conspiratorial books, their content can be safely summarised as narrations of undercover plan and actions of the West sponsored and supported by the Zionists in a bid to control the world (and keep controlling the world) and quench all potential obstacles of this supreme goal. A deep and profound dialectical analysis of these books is not the focus of this essay. This introduction is basically to point to the possibility of absorbing all dicks and harry conspiracy theories, no matter how logical minded you want to be, most especially if you have been exposed to similar narrative espoused by these books and their ilk. Without mincing words, we cannot discard the possible plausibility of these conspiratorial narrations for two reasons: 1. self-confessions from the alleged characters like the Hillary Clinton's assertion of the US complicity in the creation of al-Qaeda, and 2. the complexity of global politics dated back to the bipolar cold war of East versus West bloc.

 However, believing these narrations ought to be after exhaustive probe and questions to concretely establish its correctness. But because of its often emotional and sentimental attachment, we rush to find succour in conspiracy theories; we unknowingly become victims of misinformation.

At circumstance powered by technological advancement will have it, the advent of social media and almighty internet have totally dislodged the wall of gatekeeping in journalism. As it affords us the opportunity of multiple sources of information, it dilutes the possibility of controlled mainstream media, but further exposes us to the era of cyber misinformation; we are more than before prone to be victims of conspiracy theories. In avoidance of historical revisionism, the most potent conspiracy theory being sold to Nigerians at the moment, and massively bought by the Muslims is that the North-West carnage chaired by a group of scavengers called Boko Haram is sponsored by the combination (or in isolation) of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), the Presidency, Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), France, and United States of America –working towards the ‘prediction’ that Nigeria will break by 2015.

The proponents of this conspiracy theory have loads of para-convincing arguments to forge their proposition to the target conclusion. They even exhibit ideological fanaticism by casting doubt on ones' intelligence quotient when you challenge the veracity of their anti-mainstream information. They label you a West brainwashed audience, and they hardly conceive the possibility of also being a brainwashed victim of conspiracy theorists. The debate of: who and who are the architects of the unfortunate experience in the North-eastern part of Nigeria is equally not my focus here. However, I have to reiterate this point (as I always do): in as much as there are possibilities of all the propositions being hawked by the conspiracy theorists, to absorb or deny the presence of some misguided Muslims as foot soldiers perpetrating this savagery and failure to internationalize Boko Haram's agitation in the same context with what is obtainable with Seleka rebel of Central African Republic, al-Shabaab in Somalia,  Moro Islamic Front in Philippine, and Southern Thailand Muslim separatist movement  is intellectual dishonesty. 

In the ocean of probabilities of all events thereof, not becoming victims of cyber misinformation or preys in the claws of conspiracy theorists requires a more robust mind set; a psycho-cognitive composition that endeavours to separate emotional attachment to the story aired from the sense of judgement in the cause of probing and fact finding. It is against this backdrop that I outlined the following steps as practical approach to be liquifying conspiracy theories, most especially during this social media age –when its negative influence on our collective psyche is better imagined than described. 

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