Should conspiracy theories be banned?

[The Curmudgeon]

Here's something you may not know. Did you know that Holocaust Denial, that being saying either the number of victims were grossly exaggerated, the events that happened there were either rumours or exaggerations or that the whole thing didn't happen at all (that would be the "Holohoax") is actually a punishable crime in 14 countries. So belittling the grief and suffering of an entire race of people after the greatest act of evil is just not on. Fair enough.

So similar measures are being suggested with the seemingly unstoppable rise of "conspiracy theories" that pop up on Youtube and the internet in general every time something bad happens. Amongst the non-stop grim and depressing coverage of the Paris attacks, I knew the inevitable was being formed by some asshole somewhere; that hey, the whole thing didn't happen. It was a false flag attack! And here's the proof...

You name it, someone somewhere is going to post a Youtube video saying it didn't happen. Maniacs shooting up a school? False flag! That guy who shot up the cinema? Hoax! And then there's actual pictures shared of the "same girl" crying at all of these tragedies. Crisis actors!

So some states have taken measures to stop this thing from happening. I mean, you Google "Sandy Hook" and the first fucking thing that pops up is "hoax." Imagine you're one of those grieving families. Shit, imagine you're the girl crying in the photo, and a bunch of people are sharing your image saying you're being paid to be there as some undercover government agent.

France has already taken steps to make sure this sort of thing is on the same level as Holocaust denial and of course it's already feeding the conspiracy theorists who are being "SILENCED!"

What do you think? Should this sort of thing be stamped out, or is another stab at free speech?

[trashcanman]

Who gets to decide what to stamp out and what's a legit opinion? Are you comfortable with giving anyone unilateral power to silence dissenting opinions? And if the conspiracy isn't a thing, what exactly is the threat? What are the tangible benefits of making it illegal to think for yourself instead of just accepting whatever TV tells you is true? If they're kooks, let them kook. It's usually apparent and therefore harmless. But if they're right, you're making truth illegal. The last thing we need is official fucking thought police locking people up for having ideas. And to thicken the plot there;s this: themindunleashed.org/2014/10/scientific-study-reveals-conspiracy-theorists-sane.html

So no, let's not try to make Orwell's 1984 a reality.

[The Curmudgeon]

First thing I thought of. Where does it all end? I think it's 9/11 that gave rise to the "false flag/government hoax!!1!" conspiracy theorists, and Youtube was a perfect vehicle for all that shit.

Here's a question; do you agree in making Holocaust denial, which is a genuine Wikipedia entry thing, illegal?

[trashcanman]

Nope. They don't have a case. Let them rant and rave all they want. I've seen their studies and they're disprovable in an instant. Also, we've got countless witnesses, photographic proof, and every possible form of evidence there is. Were the numbers inflated? Who gives a fuck? I'll trust the estimates of the people who cleaned it up over some random shithead if it's all the same. It happened. Living people saw it happen. Living people had it happen to them. It was documented happening. All denying it is going to do is show people how stupid and probably racist they are and the only people who are going to be convinced are the stupid and probably racist. That much easier for us to avoid them if they want to express themselves that way. Go right ahead. I'll take a handful of raving kooks to laugh at over the notion that we should accept anything we are told via television as definitively true. You've heard of FOX News, right? We should be allowed to question anything and everything regardless of the source because the truth should always hold up under scrutiny. That's what makes it true.

[Ben]

I'm not nor will I ever be a proponent of censorship of this sort. Trashcanman is on point in this thread.

"And if the conspiracy isn't a thing, what exactly is the threat?"

I do want to focus on this for a moment though. The threat, clearly, is offended sensibilities. I get that saying it didn't happen might make it emotionally worse for people who have been traumatized by terrorist acts or the Holocaust or other terrible violent events, but at the end of the day I don't care. That may seem callous, but the alternative is much worse.

I mean, Hell, we're already seeing the effect of this sort of thing in America. I'm not sure if you cats overseas have been exposed to much of the recent happenings at college campuses in the U.S., but former Presidents' names are being scrubbed off of campus buildings because they held beliefs that today are considered gruesomely racist, students have gotten professors fired for failing to provide "trigger warnings" about "traumatizing" topics ranging from sexual assault to imperialism to gun violence to whatever else, and yoga class was recently banned at a prominent Canadian university because it was deemed to be an "offensive" example of cultural appropriation. Our society has become so focused on trying not to offend people we're all acting like a bunch of twits.

Criminalizing conspiracy theories on the grounds that they cause unnecessary trauma to survivors is an extension of what's already happening, and I'm not okay with any of it.

[trashcanman]

There's that old quote that fascism is always descending on America, but it only ever lands in Europe. People are always at one point or another trying to stamp out everybody different than themselves in the name of making the world a better place (for themselves), and this is why the 1st Amendment of America's Constitution is the most important. By declaring everybody's viewpoint legally valid it stops any one ideological group from seizing power and putting everybody else in prisons or ovens. Freedom means that good people have the opportunity to live their lives as they see fit, but it also frees up shitty people to say and do shitty things. Personally, it's a price i'm willing to pay.