HN Conspiracy Theories

Conspiracy theorists are generally beyond help. It's not worth arguing with them. But if you leave it unchallenged, it might lead an uninformed observer to think, "maybe the truth is in the middle." These kinds of posts are best used as a springboard to point impressionable observers to reliable sources of information to help prevent the spread of nonsense.

I'd be very curious to know how many people actually believe that. I speculate that it's vanishing small.With these kind of "conspiracy theories" some people like to engage in the thought experiment, essentially thinking through what would have to be true for the conspiracy theory to hold. They adopt a position about it to engage in debate, sometimes as an intellectual exercise (even if a low brow one) and sometimes just to troll. I've got caught by such peopl

Not sure why you got downvoted. Wide spread belief in conspiracy theories seems to prove your point.

It's just a popular opinion. Not everything is a conspiracy.HN has lots of people who can think for themselves and lots who can't.

All sorts of conspiracy theorists on HN. We're not immune to Dunning Kruger.

If you're looking for conspiracy theories/FUD everywhere, you'll surely find it. This is what happens when people don't temper the hobgoblins of their minds with facts and the acceptance of unknowability.

I'm sorry, but I don't think invoking a conspiracy is adding much value either. I think it's completely unwarranted. That conspiracy nuts don't like it is their problem. You'll get downvoted if you enter a flat earth convention and describe those assholes accurately too.Hacker news is weirdly populated by people with no grounding in reality on very specific topics, like this and the MOND bullshit people spew in all physics discussions. I think it's an unhealthy o

What is it with HN and belief in various absurd conspiracy theories? Is it an American thing?

There's a disturbing amount of conspiracy mindedness on HN, pretty much always has been.

Not all people with such a belief are immutable in that view, nor are all conspiracy theorists.There’s value in debunking a myth that seems plausible to the masses. In this case, the myth is plausible, and enough people without sufficient critical thinking skills believe it, therefore it’s worth debunking consistently at least within the tech community.