In recent years, following terrorist attacks or certain global phenomena, we have repeatedly discovered conspiracy myths that use disinformation to create a manipulative perspective.
The summary on the topic of “conspiracy myths”:
Conspiracy myths use recurring narratives and contain political strategies to destabilize existing systems. This often involves accusing the media of lying and portraying governments as incapable of taking action.
These are conspiracy myths that deliberately work to destabilize politics and carry certain narratives: the media lies, governments are weak and unstable.
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These exact same conspiracy myths are currently circulating on social media in relation to the terrorist murders in Hanau ( we have reported ). These myths are also intended to fuel uncertainty.
These conspiracy myths, some of which are completely unrealistic, are spread partly out of personal conviction, but also out of political motivation, because they are about destabilizing existing systems.
Misleading information & conspiracy myths
Whether it's about the terrorist attack in Brussels in 2016, the shooting spree in Munich in 2016, even the Notre Dame fire or, last but not least, the coronavirus: in the wake of serious media reporting, there is always manipulative information or conspiracy myths that primarily spread virally.
This makes optimal use of the functions of social media, which in turn is also an important part of classic fake news: As information about conspiracy myths, instructions are often given that you should not share the content, but rather re-upload it and resend it.
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This in turn reinforces the viral effect on several levels, because if the information from the original source disappears, there will still be countless re-uploads. At the same time, a conspiracy myth can be wonderfully incorporated into it, namely the story that this video/image/sound file would be deleted due to its supposed explosiveness. The accusation of censorship resonates here and the conspiracy myth thereby legitimizes itself.
The constant conspiracy myths also rely on a very specific effect: repetitions! As the narrative constantly and everywhere emerges that the media lies and the state is powerless, these statements gradually manifest themselves. This effect is also definitely political, because it creates uncertainty and paralyzing mistrust.
This is not new and has become particularly noticeable in relation to 5G technology and vaccinations: especially due to disinformation, destructive trends have developed on both topics that paralyze progress. Trust in existing structures (including state and media structures) is disrupted by conspiracy myths.
The effect after Hanau
This effect is now also occurring after the terrorist murders in Hanau. Unproven theories speak of false flag actions, lying media or a government conspiracy. The image is sometimes created that the murders were staged in order to damage the image of a certain German party.
These myths are also spread virally. Videos and sound files are distributed unchecked on WhatsApp or Facebook, and various claims are simply made without any correspondence to reality. The goal is not to inform people truthfully, but rather to create the resulting uncertainty in the long term. Sentences like: “Soon you won’t be able to believe anything anymore!” show the creeping effect.
Check the facts, react prudently, ignore conspiracy myths
The rule of thumb is actually quite simple: If something is pure conjecture or speculation, then you should treat it as such and rely on facts instead of spreading reckless stories.
Especially with the knowledge that there are political intentions behind conspiracy myths, one should generally be careful about spreading unproven statements. Here you unconsciously become a handmaiden of destructive political strategies.
Article image conspiracy myths: Shutterstock / By Tero Vesalainen
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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )

