Conspiracy theories are nothing new. From “who shot JFK” to world leaders sharing tea with aliens, they are a part of any major historical or unexplained event. Conspiracy theories are usually outlandish, a little fun, and largely harmless speculation that most people recognize for what they are: alternative explanations and thoughts about real-world issues.
For conservatives across the United States, things turned very dark, very quickly. Speculations about the origins of COVID, voter fraud, the Hunter Biden laptop, and numerous other questionable occurrences were more than unwelcome. Those speculating were punished for daring to voice their thoughts.
The difference between recent “conspiracy theories” and Big Foot’s involvement with President Clinton is that conservatives’ theories are based on common sense.
COVID’s sudden appearance in a city that hosts a laboratory that happens to do research on gain and function with COVID is, to conservatives, a direct link to the virus’ origins. Emails showing Dr. Anthony Fauci funneling millions in US taxpayer money to the lab means that Dr. Fauci did, in fact, funnel money to a lab that ultimately released a virus ending in millions of deaths and unprecedented economic disaster.
During an election where all signs pointed to one candidate’s victory, multiple voting sites were shut down in swing states in the middle of the night, people were videotaped entering the buildings with boxes, conservatives were not permitted to watch the vote counting, and suddenly the US woke to “President” Biden. Using common sense, conservatives were able to deduce that there were major problems with the election.
Hunter Biden turned a laptop full of incriminating evidence into a local repair shop. The owner turned it over to the FBI, and the laptop disappeared until after not just one, but two election cycles had passed. The left denied the existence of the device while “conspiracy theorists” knew that the device was not only real but had the potential to rock the Biden presidency. Common sense conservatives connected the dots to recognize the cover-up.
On January 6, video footage showed security and police waving protestors into the White House and ANTIFA members changing into MAGA gear to lead the charge. Nancy Pelosi refused to act on President Trump’s advice to increase security, and an FBI whistle-blower confessed to leftist “plants” inciting violence. For conservatives, the entire incident rang untrue because historically, the right is not the creator of large-scale violence and chaos.
“Conspiracy theory” conservatives claimed to be shut down on social media platforms for voicing concerns and opinions and were laughed at by the media. For the platforms, labeling conflicting viewpoints as “misinformation” and “disinformation” was a convenient way to ensure that the populace remained quietly ignorant.
Behind the scenes, however, the big players on the national stage including the White House, the FBI, the National Institute of Health, and the CDC were badgering social media platforms and insisting that opposing viewpoints be censored.
On Thursday, March 31, 2023, the first-of-its-kind censorship lawsuit, Louisiana and Missouri v. Biden et al., kicked off with its discovery phase. Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt is expected to testify that the Biden administration “colluded with social media giants Meta, Twitter, and YouTube to censor free speech in the name of combating so-called ‘disinformation’ and ‘misinformation.’” He will continue his testimony by adding, “Discovery obtained by Missouri and Louisiana demonstrated that the Biden administration’s coordination with social media companies and collusion with non-governmental organizations to censor speech was far more pervasive and destructive than ever known.”
This appalling breach of the first amendment was historically only seen in communist countries, where governments completely control the narratives to exert control over their citizens. Censorship and propaganda were how the Nazis came to power, how Stalin ruled his country, and how Kim Jong-Un maintains his tyrannical rule today.
The fact that conservative Americans were afraid to post “conspiracy theories” on social media speaks volumes about the current state of the country. But the fact that so many conspiracy theories have proven to be true speaks volumes about the current state of the Democratic Party.
