Web of Lies: When conspiracy theories spill over into the real world, results can be tragic

Nobody is immune to fake news — all of us are at risk of falling down the rabbit hole, warns the author of a new book that delves into conspiracy theories

Aoife Gallagher's book offers essential context for, and solid advice about, conspiracy theories in Ireland and abroad.

An extraordinary scene played out in a Connecticut courtroom in the final week of September as parents of some of the 20 children murdered at Sandy Hook elementary school in 2012 testified about how conspiracy theorists have tormented them since that terrible day.

Robbie Parker, whose six-year-old Emilie was killed at the school, was one of the parents singled out by Alex Jones, one of the most influential conspiracy theorists in the world, who founded the far-right radio and fake news website, Infowars, more than 20 years ago. The day after Emilie and her classmates were killed, Jones used his platform to describe the event as “completely false”, claiming the shooting was “a hoax” organised by the US government to make it easier to pass stricter gun control measures. Jones went after grieving parents like Parker, repeatedly playing Parker’s press interviews and accusing him of being a “crisis actor.”

Last year, Jones lost four defamation lawsuits filed by the families of 10 Sandy Hook victims, leading to the recent trial by jury to decide how much Jones should pay in compensatory and punitive damages.

The trial also begs other questions about how and why fake news and conspiracy theories flourish and who they benefit and who and how they harm.

Web of Lies, an intelligent, thorough, and accessible new book by Irish researcher Aoife Gallagher, is a valiant attempt at answering some of those questions.

Gallagher borrows political scientist Joseph Uscinski’s definition of a conspiracy theory as a “way to explain a certain event or phenomenon by invoking a sinister plot orchestrated by powerful actors, who are acting in secret for their own benefit and against the common good”.

While Ireland is fortunately not a hotbed for conspiracies, Gallagher warns complacency is dangerous. One of her main messages is nobody is immune to conspiratorial thinking; all of us are at risk of falling down the rabbit hole.

“Everyone is susceptible. Sometimes there’s this kind of feeling of ‘Oh, I’m not going to fall for that stuff.’ But what people need to realise is that our brains are built for falling for this stuff,” she says, referring to the process by which human beings constantly try to make sense of what we are experiencing.

And to put it mildly, right now we are experiencing a lot, all at once.

The climate is changing before our eyes; technology is racing to new highs and lows, and we’re in a global pandemic.

Infowars host Alex Jones was sued by relatives of some of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims for calling the massacre a hoax. Picture: AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana

Gallagher turns to Professor Jan-Willem van Prooijen, a behavioural scientist and expert in the psychology of radicalisation, extremism, and conspiracy thinking, to explain that feelings of fear and uncertainty are often a trigger.

“Such feelings cause people to ruminate, to try to find the cause of their negative feelings and make sense of the situation they find themselves in. He says this is likely part of our evolutionary psychology of self-preservation: it’s a survival instinct.”

So, we are wired to fall down rabbit holes, and there are so many rabbit holes.

Gallagher started out as an investigative journalist at Storyful, verifying online video content from breaking-news scenarios so news organisations could use it.

She now works as an analyst at the Institute of Strategic Dialogue, a think tank investigating the intersection of far-right extremism, disinformation, and conspiracy theories.

She is well placed to illuminate readers on the most common conspiracy theories in circulation today and those on the horizon.

The interesting thing is how few of them are actually brand new; many are simply rinsed and repeated, juiced-up versions of old conspiracy theories. From the Illuminati to the Red Scare, COVID-19 deniers to QAnon, today’s conspiracy theories often evolve from from old tropes.

Early in the book, she brings us through a potted history of the last few centuries worth of conspiracy theories and their roots in anti-Semitism, xenophobia, and white supremacy, and all their deadly consequences.

Gallagher writes, “The same pattern has repeated itself over and over again for centuries: fear, discrimination and stereotyping lead to an irrational belief in a plot to destroy the world. While the Illuminati and Freemasons bore the brunt of this fear for decades, its coalescence with the scourge of anti-Semitism brought a trail of death and destruction that changed the face of the world.

“Modern conspiracy theories that borrow the themes of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion often mask the role of the Jews, but scratch the surface slightly, and you’ll find anti-Semitism staring back at you.”

While far-right extremist thought is undoubtedly present in Ireland, Gallagher says it’s minimal compared to other parts of the world, especially the US, where it has been a hugely polarising factor in an already contested country.

She describes QAnon as “a wild conspiracy theory movement, built on the belief that Democrats and liberals are evil, murderous child abusers who want to control the world, and that Trump and his allies are the saviours.”

That specific web of lies is so outrageous it could almost be funny, except consequences can be horrific.

In early September, Igor Lanis, a suburban Detroit auto industry employee, shot and killed his wife and injured one of his daughters with a shotgun, before police killed him. His other daughter Rebecca Lanis told The Daily Beast she believed they had been arguing about conspiracy theorists.

“In 2020, after the election, he started going insane. He went off the deep end,” she said, “He started going down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories and QAnon. First, it started with the ‘stolen election,’ and then he started talking about worse things, 5G, the vaccine, just everything.”

Lanis explained her father believed the “deep state stole the election and there’s a worldwide cabal out to get conservatives.”

When conspiracy theories spill over into the real world, results can be tragic, such as the Lanis shootings or when people refuse to be vaccinated, believing anti-science narratives.

In a recent US study published by The National Bureau of Economic Research, registered Republicans had far higher death rates than registered Democrats during the pandemic, primarily after vaccines were available.

Conspiracy theories and misinformation helped Vladimir Putin to justify Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, now grinding on into winter and displacing millions of Ukrainian people.

There are other, less deadly, but very damaging consequences for people who subscribe to specific conspiracy theories.

Some of the most moving and insightful parts of Gallagher’s book are when she speaks to family members and loved ones of people they feel they have lost, mentally and emotionally, to obsessions around a whole variety of conspiracy theories.

Many of us have people in our lives that have fallen down a rabbit hole, and Gallagher is both practical and compassionate with her advice on handling this situation.

She advises, above all, to keep that person in your life, adding, “This may involve setting boundaries, by telling your loved one that certain subjects that may lead to arguments, such as politics or vaccines, are off the table when spending time together.”

Gallagher says it’s almost like dealing with an addict: there is little point in berating or shaming them; that will just drive them further away.

Instead, she says, “If you wish to try to help a loved one back to the surface, it is critical to approach this in an empathetic manner and without judgment.”

There is only so much we can do on an individual level. As long as profits are made from luring people into conspiracy theories, they will continue to flourish.

Aoife Gallagher, author of Web of Lies, works as an analyst investigating the intersection of far-right extremism, disinformation, and conspiracy theories.

Toward the book’s end, Gallagher looks at who gains from this global, radicalised force.

She quotes Melanie Smith, who told her that the beneficiaries are chaos merchants, “Any covert or overt networks operated by political actors [state-backed or not] stand to gain from the confusion sown by disinformation and conspiracy theories.

“In other words, groups who wish to influence voting segments, and those who promote hate or distrust in institutions and governments, all stand to gain from pandering to these communities.”

Individuals and corporations get rich from people who believe in conspiracy theories; Alex Jones is one such individual.

During the trial, a forensic economist testified that Jones and his Free Speech Systems network has a likely combined net worth of between $135m and $270m. By selling sensational lies and dietary supplements, Jones built an empire on conspiracies and those who believe in them.

In writing Web of Lies, Gallagher has given the fight for truth a much-needed boost.

When we spoke, I asked her what would change to improve the whole sorry state of affairs around conspiracy theories.

Her reply was not surprising: she’d like to change the fundamental structure of social media platforms so that outrage and sensational content isn’t always the thing that drives the most engagement, which in turn creates enormous profits.

“All the platforms want is for eyes to be kept on screens in order to push more advertising at people; that’s the actual business model. If I had a magic wand, that would be the thing I’d change.”

That would be a massive help, but it’s unlikely to change anytime soon.

In the meantime, Gallagher’s book offers essential context for, and solid advice about, conspiracy theories in Ireland and abroad, along with suggestions for protecting yourself and and your community from the worst of them.

• Web of Lies is published by Gill