This Year’s Biggest Fashion Trend: The Tinfoil Hat

Conspiracy theorists have always been present, but what is it about the last two years that has driven wildly misled conspiracy theorists to the forefront of society?

The COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with raging climate change, volatile stock markets, and increasing pressure to address racial inequality across North America has led to a particularly turbulent period in human history.

Following closely behind news articles and opinion pieces related to these topics, it only takes a few short scrolls to come across inflammatory comments of individuals calling one another sheep, Karens, tin foil hatters, or Koolaid drinkers — all terms intended to identify the other as a fool and spark a divide that is becoming increasingly difficult to cross. All terms are the least bit productive in sharing opinions and highlighting new viewpoints.

Unfortunately, when it comes to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Reddit, no matter what side you support (whether that be siding with government policy or siding with an outspoken podcaster) you are on the side of the doomed and misled. You know little about what you speak of and you, in fact, are a conspiracy theorist. You have been indoctrinated by falsehoods and will spew as much of your beliefs as possible to gather more followers to your side. You must be silenced.

In 2021 terms, we are all conspiracy theorists. We all don the tinfoil hat.

So what happened in our society, where we all feel the other side is lost and only we, the enlightened, can truly share the truth? How do we get back to having intelligent conversations and the ability to share credible sources without ridicule?

When it comes to diagnosing the root cause of conspiracy theories, we undoubtedly turn our heads to social media and raise our fists in anger at mainstream media, who tend to be blamed for fueling the conspiracy theory fire with more ammo and rumours than ever before.

We can point to the pandemic and the rise in uncertainty across the vast majority of society. We continue to be bombarded by news of the virus we still don’t truly understand, while also coping with devastating humanitarian and climate disasters that feel closer to home than ever before.

We are a society of the lost and we desperately need something to ground us. So we turn to conspiracy theories and cults driven by groupthink on the internet, who make us feel validated, safe, and all-knowing. We take refuge in the idea that only we know the truth and therefore, we are protected from the corruption rampant in government and greater society.

In a sense, as religion continues to fade from western culture, we increasingly turn our sights to a new belief system — one that is growing increasingly harmful, inaccurate, and violent.

The comments on Facebook from enraged believers of whatever new theory regarding COVID-19 or the “great reset” are eerily reminiscent of the berating cries from street preachers, calling us out on our sins and devastating errors in our ways. They remind us of how we have been led astray and that we are doomed to perish. Yet they give us no real accurate proof for their claims, other than — believe me, and do what I say.

Conspiracy theorists would say that scientists operate in the same way. But there is proof — it’s called science.

The issue here is we are trying to fit “intelligent” conversation into small outbursts on social media and discussion becomes fragmented. There is no humanity when you are arguing with a faceless screen and tone cannot be discerned. Miscommunication runs rampant and people continue to misunderstand one another, feeding into the anger and growing into more rumours.

Arguments surrounding freedom of speech allow these baseless claims to continue as conspiracy theorists fight to spread their “truth”. Yes, in a sense we have the right to say what we think. But, should we? When it leads to mass harm and mitigates public safety measures, do we have the right to say our piece on a public platform?

Now, we have to ask if these conspiracy theorists will ever crawl back into the dark depths of the web where they came from. Like the street preachers, if we just ignore them and refuse to engage, will they eventually give up and go away?

One can only hope.

So as we look to living beyond the pandemic, or at least living a life that has managed to contain and assimilate with COVID-19, we need to remain vigilant, double-check our points before we publicly post, and come to terms with why we think the way we think. Was there a pivotal moment that swayed our thinking? Who led us to this ideology? Do we generally seem in agreement with the vast majority of our peers?

Being truly critical requires us to always check in with our thinking and second guess our sources. Just because the majority of society agrees with a viewpoint, does not make it inherently groupthink. This might just indicate that it’s incredibly accurate and based on objective fact.

But absolutely, do your research first.

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