Social media has always been a breeding ground for conspiracy theories, but in recent years, the internet, particularly on X (formerly Twitter), has been awash with bizarre, fanciful conspiracies coming from all corners of the political spectrum. The Right specifically has been so inundated with conspiracy theories that many pundits and content consumers alike have seemingly no ability to discern fact from fiction.
When a Singaporean cargo ship collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore this week, resulting in the bridge’s collapse, many social media users immediately convinced themselves that the only possible explanation was a conspiracy carried out by either a foreign adversary or by the government of the United States. Of course, we won’t know the facts until a thorough investigation has been conducted, but considering that the captain of the Dali issued a mayday warning allowing authorities to clear the bridge before impact; the ship visibly lost power twice, all caught on camera; and no bridge of its design could withstand an impact of that magnitude, there is simply no evidence at this moment that there was any foul play afoot.
Other recent hits include the Right’s assertion that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are Democratic National Committee operatives and all manner of conspiracy theories surrounding every bigot’s favorite punching bag: the Jews. These theories flooding social media range from the annoying to the outright racist or antisemitic, but the fact of the matter is that enough conspiracies have been proven true over the years that you can hardly blame the public’s skepticism.
The federal government has been lying incessantly to America for generations. The state used the false flag Gulf of Tonkin incident to justify U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. In 2003, then-Secretary of State Colin Powell knowingly lied to the United Nations, assuring the world that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction in order to justify the second invasion of Iraq. It turns out the weapons didn’t exist, and now, neither do nearly 5,000 U.S. military personnel (and counting) and hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper lied under oath and claimed that the National Security Agency was not surveilling American citizens.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the lies came fast and furious. COVID-19 wasn’t created in a Wuhan, China, laboratory (until it was). It was safe to send COVID-19 patients back to nursing homes (until it wasn’t). The experimental mRNA vaccines would prevent transmission (until they didn’t) and would have no negative side effects (until, of course, they did). The government insisted that visiting your dying grandparent would spread COVID-19, but you would be perfectly safe participating in race riots.
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Powell kept his pension, Clapper was rewarded with a lucrative career as a cable news commentator, and former President Donald Trump gave Dr. Anthony Fauci a presidential commendation.
If you want to know why no one trusts the government anymore, look no further than the state, its enablers, and its beneficiaries and their myriad lies designed to silence and subjugate the very people they are paid handsomely to protect.
Brady Leonard (@bradyleonard) is a musician, political strategist, and host of The No Gimmicks Podcast.