Category | Op Ed

The Internet: A wealth of information or a room full of idiots?

Published on April 28, 2009 by Justin Hayes

Arguably the greatest invention of the 20 Century, the Internet provides a mass of information to people all over the world in a split second. With social networking sites, blogs, Wikipedia, Google, countless web sites and a billion other things, you can find just about anything and everything you are looking for with a few clicks of a mouse. I use the world wide web for just about every column I write for this paper. However, there is a downside to this wonderful invention. Anyone, and I mean anyone, can use it to post their beliefs, thoughts, opinions and “facts” for the world to see. Unfortunately the ideas of some of these people can occasionally catch on, creating a countrywide phenomenon based on a crazy idea that pops into someone’s brain.

The Internet is a hotbed for writing about and discussing numerous conspiracy theories. The most popular ones include the New World Order, the 9/11 Truth Movement, the Illuminati, Kennedy assassination conspiracies, proof that Elvis is still alive, aliens in Roswell, the faking of the moon landing and even some as idiotic as claims that former President George W. Bush is a descendent of the shape-shifting lizard people who run our world. Google it yourself if you don’t believe me.

Speaking of Google, if you type in the word “Obama,” you will find about 281,000,000 results. The words “9/11 Truth” will bring up about 112,000,000 results. “New World Order” gives about 167,000,000 results. Herein lies the problem with the Internet. Without regard to the objectivity or validity of a source, the average Web surfer can potentially come across seemingly factual, albeit idiotic and irrational, information and regard it as having some truth.

Just because some guys in a basement can put together a good-looking “documentary” about how the government caused 9/11, does not make it true. Their arguments might seem strong but lack crucial empirical evidence for their claims. It is also easy for the 9/11 Truth facilitators to dismiss anyone who objects to their claims as puppets of the government. However, the 9/11 Truth movement has a rather large (or at least larger than a rational person would anticipate) following. There have always been conspiracy theories, but it seems that the Internet inflates their access and stimulates their spread quicker than ever.

Even politicians and celebrities have caught on to some of these conspiracy movements. Georgia’s own Cynthia McKinney, who ran as the Green Party candidate in 2008, believes in the 9/11 conspiracy theory. It is unfortunate that the movement has tried to involve Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul in their cohort of “truthers,” even though he has repeatedly stated that he does not believe in such nonsense. Former talk show host of The View Rosie O’Donnell and actor Charlie Sheen are among some of the celebrities who have joined the 9/11 Truth hysteria. All of this because of a few “documentaries” and web sites posted on the Internet.

Is the Internet an actual facilitator in the increased popularity of conspiracy theories? Obviously, conspiracy theories have been around for a long time, even before the Internet. People believe in conspiracy theories because it helps them explain sometimes extreme and seemingly irrational events. Many scholars attribute this phenomenon to increased paranoia, the need to find scapegoats and often, psychological problems. They also agree that these occur across ideological lines. The Internet assists in the sharing of this paranoia among mass groups of individuals.

For now, the spread of these conspiracy theories is virtually harmless to society and some believe it would be more harmful for the government to get involved to try to squash the discussion, however insane the general population may find it. The speech and dialogue on the Internet should be protected under the first amendment just like any other forum. The good information that the Internet provides certainly outweighs the bad. Still, I would advise that you to double or even triple-check your sources before automatically believing everything you read.

KSU Students: Good luck on all of your papers and finals for the rest of the semester. Have a good summer!