These aren’t conspiracy theories. They’re well documented, exhaustively researched, and heavily reported upon programs and organizations.
The conspiracy theories came about as attempts to cover up the above. The Helter Skelter motivation, which then bled into increasingly lured claims about rock music being mind control and a race war prophecy were the conspiracy theories. These claims helped cover up MK Ultra as a project and deflected state effects at manipulating civilians onto mass media and The Culture War.
Similarly, it wasn’t “Big Tobacco” that was the conspiracy, but the repeated denial-ism funded by tobacco corporations which sought to conflate restrictions on smoking with some kind of police state pogrom on the working class. The same game got played with asbestos and lead paint and motorcycle helmets and seat belts. Wave after wave of reactionary media funded by libertarian-aligned business interests tried to blame the victim or mystify the source of harm.
“Big Sugar” is a complete misnomer, as the shift to corn syrup over sugar was in direct response to the Cuban Revolution and the sudden shortfall in sugar supplies following the US embargo. That, again, wasn’t any kind of conspiracy. But the increasingly aggressive sales tactics of soft drink salespeople certainly created misconceptions about their benefits and hazards.
And what’s the point of trying to dismiss all conspiracy theorists as racist lunatics?
Yes, why would anyone conflate eugenics, phrenology, and other pseudo-scientific claims of racial superiority, or the increasingly apocalyptic predictions of social collapse coming from segregationists and their business allies, might feed into conspiracy media.
They’re [now] well documented, exhaustively researched, and heavily reported upon programs and organizations.
Now they’re conspiracy facts. But they did start as “theories” before all the proof came out. Time travel to before 1975 and mention government mind control programs however, and I am confident you’ll get a different response regarding MK Ultra than you would today after what documents that weren’t destroyed have been declassified. Same goes for MK Naomi, Groom Lake/Area 51, the CIA’s psychic spying program out of Monroe VA, etc, before being declassified (and even after in most cases) it is “you’re crazy,” and then come to find out after declassification “nuh uh, I was right.”
Edit: in fact now that I think of it you don’t even have to go back that far. Even in the 90s when you would talk about it, only the people into it knew. Now all the casuals know because of podcasts like LPOTL and other internet sources, but before the internet was commonplace (and even after, for those who were late adopters) still there were people who didn’t believe it, but then you could tell them “go look it up” and they actually may instead of “go buy this book” which is a harder sell. We really take for granted how well the internet can be and was used to disseminate information, though with all the misinformation around now I can see why people have forgotten.
These aren’t conspiracy theories. They’re well documented, exhaustively researched, and heavily reported upon programs and organizations.
The conspiracy theories came about as attempts to cover up the above. The Helter Skelter motivation, which then bled into increasingly lured claims about rock music being mind control and a race war prophecy were the conspiracy theories. These claims helped cover up MK Ultra as a project and deflected state effects at manipulating civilians onto mass media and The Culture War.
Similarly, it wasn’t “Big Tobacco” that was the conspiracy, but the repeated denial-ism funded by tobacco corporations which sought to conflate restrictions on smoking with some kind of police state pogrom on the working class. The same game got played with asbestos and lead paint and motorcycle helmets and seat belts. Wave after wave of reactionary media funded by libertarian-aligned business interests tried to blame the victim or mystify the source of harm.
“Big Sugar” is a complete misnomer, as the shift to corn syrup over sugar was in direct response to the Cuban Revolution and the sudden shortfall in sugar supplies following the US embargo. That, again, wasn’t any kind of conspiracy. But the increasingly aggressive sales tactics of soft drink salespeople certainly created misconceptions about their benefits and hazards.
Yes, why would anyone conflate eugenics, phrenology, and other pseudo-scientific claims of racial superiority, or the increasingly apocalyptic predictions of social collapse coming from segregationists and their business allies, might feed into conspiracy media.
Anymore because
Now they’re conspiracy facts. But they did start as “theories” before all the proof came out. Time travel to before 1975 and mention government mind control programs however, and I am confident you’ll get a different response regarding MK Ultra than you would today after what documents that weren’t destroyed have been declassified. Same goes for MK Naomi, Groom Lake/Area 51, the CIA’s psychic spying program out of Monroe VA, etc, before being declassified (and even after in most cases) it is “you’re crazy,” and then come to find out after declassification “nuh uh, I was right.”
Edit: in fact now that I think of it you don’t even have to go back that far. Even in the 90s when you would talk about it, only the people into it knew. Now all the casuals know because of podcasts like LPOTL and other internet sources, but before the internet was commonplace (and even after, for those who were late adopters) still there were people who didn’t believe it, but then you could tell them “go look it up” and they actually may instead of “go buy this book” which is a harder sell. We really take for granted how well the internet can be and was used to disseminate information, though with all the misinformation around now I can see why people have forgotten.